Lou Reed is cool.
For most of my life I’ve had a huge gap in my musical knowledge. It’s called Velvet Underground. As with art, I’ve been discovering everything by myself. I’ve never really responded to peer pressure and have always gone my own route. This way I’ve discovered much wonderful music and seen many unique and inspiring artists. I’ve also become interested in charisma and presence. Some people take up more space than others. Whenever they’re in a room, they draw attention to themselves. Not by doing but by being. Then, one evening (well, night), I was watching Later (that’s why it’s called Later) with Jools Holland. It’s a show where all the performing artists stand in a circle and the audience stands around and in between them. At the beginning they all play along with a song started by Jools. As the camera spins round past all the bands the song changes with the different instruments and styles the guests play. This time, as usual, it was a really dynamic thing with the audience really getting into it and everyone moving and grooving. Until the camera had nearly come full circle. Just in front of the audience sat a man on a chair. An older man, looking quite muscular and menacing. He sat totally still. He was bent forward, with his underarms on his legs, hands folded, looking quite grim. It was like a bubble of silence had spread around him. That part of the space-time continuum had lost one of its dimensions. It’s the most material manifestation of someone’s personality I have ever seen. And that is why Lou Reed is eternally cool. Oh. And he’s made some nice songs too, by the way.
7:42:47 PM 
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