The Velvet Underground: History: Stages of Developmen in Music Essay

Introduction

Music has been in existence as far as the history of humanity dictates. Furthermore, it has continually played a very significant role in society. This has been through its influence in the manner in which the young generations shape their future. It has also continued to entertain the old and middle-aged generations as they continue to enjoy the sweetness of life the world over. Nevertheless, as one listens to a particular set of music, composed by a certain artist, it is important to examine the nature of that piece of art, and then try to juxtapose it in the context of its author. In many cases, authors enter into the music industry with a view of expressing their innermost feelings and aspirations.

Besides, music is very crucial in society, for it aids in the destruction of illusions in society by bringing to focus the actual societal outlook.¹ Additionally, music has been regarded as that which soothes even the savages, smoothens rough edges, and also assumes a role synonymous to water in people’s lives.² However, in music three discourses must be brought to focus, that is, “art, folk, and commerce.³ But, music practitioners progress in their careers as musicians cognizant of the differences that ought to exist between music and noise for it is understanding this disparity that they are bound to display relevance in their music. For instance, according to Jean-Jacques Nattiez, this border depends on cultural dispositions, and that there is no “single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be.⁴ In other words, it is upon individual artists to determine the manner in which they are to present their artistic works in an environment permeated by cultural diversity.

Such was the predicament that the Velvet Underground band had to encounter in their bid to rock and roll music in the United States. The emergency of rock and roll music came due young people’s quest to experience a different approach to music.⁵ The Velvet Underground practitioners, formed by John Cale and Lou Reed way back in the 1960s became a very influential band during that period.⁶ They authors of this group achieved their aspirations by blending rock energy with sonic adventurism, which had been explicated by the avant-garde.⁷ They also came up with a new realism in society as well as “sexual kinkiness” within rock lyrics.⁸ Hence, the purpose of this essay is to explore the Velvet band in a bid to understand its music identify, social identity, and political identity as construed in different media channels. Furthermore, this essay shall proceed to exploring the choices that the Velvet performers made in representing themselves, and the manner in which those choices created a music identity.

The History of the Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground is a rock and roll band that started back in 1964 in New York.⁹ The band was composed of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Angus MacLise, Maureen Tucker, Doug Yule, among others.¹⁰ According to Michael Silverberg, people seemed to ascribe to the Velvet Underground music band to a number of factors; first, “its original fan base was absurdly out of proportion to its later influence, and (that) it benefited from a brief association with Andy Warhol.”¹¹ Additionally, Silverberg continues to observe that the nature of the Velvet Underground was partly composed of the visual.¹² The visual aspect was displayed by “the uniform of sunglasses and black clothes (which) was partly a response to the barrage of films projected onto them.” ¹³

The Velvet Underground band had a short lifespan ranging between 1964 and 1973, but within that period, they revolutionized the rock music industry by going beyond their era, leading to the experimentation and growth of rock music. However, in its era, the Velvet Underground underwent very little commercial success, but this did not mean that they were less appreciated. In fact, they were greatly embraced by a number of critics as well as some cult audience, even though the public at large looked at them with an indifferent and scornful eye, and yet had an occasional encounter.¹⁴ Moreover, this cult had been distinguished by passion and realism. ¹⁵ Despite all their passion, they had little success as far as popularity is concerned. However, even after their shortfall, during their earlier years, the Velvet Underground band did not turn bizarre in the later years. This continued growth saw the acknowledgment of the Velvets as being among the best rock bands of all time.

The Founders

As one reminisces over the formation of the Velvets, it is important that one focus also on the elements that made the band what it came to be, that is, the members of the band. At the introductory remarks of this essay, Lou Reed was identified as one of the key founders of the Velvet Underground. In addition, for purposes of profoundly understanding the nature of this group, one must call to mind the energetic figure that helped shape the future trend of the Velvets. Lou Reed has been captured in his earlier years as a lover of rock and roll music, something that made him record a doo-wop single towards the end of 1950s, where he performed as part of the Shades.¹⁶ This earlier and promising involvement saw the teenager develop into a poet who had deep appreciation for avant-garde jazz due to Delmore Schwartz’s influence while at Syracuse University.¹⁷ At Syracuse University, during the period of late 1960s, Reed was able to acquaint himself with creative writing, and was able to participate in the publication of some student magazine.¹⁸ Upon graduation, this vibrant young man proceeded to the Pickwick Records where he participated in song writing, and as a result, he was able to learn tremendously regarding production.¹⁹ Moreover, as he continued to grow in terms of knowledge and skills at Pickwick Records, he met John Cale who later became a co-founder of the Velvet Underground band.

John Cale was a Welshman, who had initially undergone classical training, had moved to America in a bid to perform and study specifically in music.²⁰ Well, John Cale performed with artists such as John Cage as well as LaMonte Young, and as a result, developed a strong interest in rock and roll music. Therefore, the encounter of John Cale with Reed ignited an interest in the fusion of rock and roll styles with the avant-garde one, a very drastic move especially in the 1960s.²¹.

Society and Choices in Music

Most musical artists, like other artists, tend to pick aspects in society that interest them the most, and then present them in their pieces of art. This is exactly what the Velvet Underground group did when they embraced the life situation of Manhattan featuring sadomasochism²², drug use, as well as the use of heroin.²³ They brought these hard realities into music and ingrained them in the hard rock musical endeavours. Despite the fact of this group not being successfully commercial, they were able to obtain someone who came to promote them, Andy Warhol.²⁴ After catching site of the Velvets at a club, Warhol in took charge and sort to incorporate them within his “mixed-media/performance art ensemble, the Exploding Plastic inevitable.”²⁵ Afterwards, Warhol introduced Nico who rather brought in what came to be regarded as an ornamental presence.²⁶

From the aforementioned paragraph, it is important to observe the manner in which the Velvet Underground group chose aspects in society that mattered most and which they perceived were of concern to the society.

Political Elements in Music

Artists operate within political environments, which determine the manner in which they are to present their materials. In addition to politics, artists must embrace the immense role that company politics play in determining their successes and failures. In the Velvet case, there were delays in the release of their album. Even though their association with Warhol was a major boost, they were expected to exhibit a profile that could be welcome in the commercial radio, something that became hard to achieve owing to the nature of the music that they were engaged in. in their case, their music had been characterized by sensational drug-and-sex items, coupled with immense naked introspection.²⁷ The politics of the society within which they were, could not have allowed them to release their albums to the public. This, however, saw the emergency of the “underground rock radio” in which the album managed to attain position 171 in the charts.²⁸ The band was greatly disadvantaged by the social factors of the time. Indeed Andy Schwartz and Scott Schinder have been critical enough to point out that the band had been “misunderstood by many, ignored by most, and treasured by a small coterie of broad-minded followers…(even though it) introduced a multitude of innovations whose reverberations are still being felt decades later.”²⁹

Commercial aspects of Music

In the music industry, artists must strive to market their music through various publications, shows, television displays, and radio presentations. However, in the case of the Velvets, their popularity was hampered by the nature of their music. Hence, Scott and Schwartz, in relation to the reduced popularity among the Velvet observe that this band had been “too weird for the AM radio and too dark for the progressive, album-oriented FM stations that were emerging at the time.”³⁰ This, therefore, implied that they had to receive very little exposure to radio, and consequently, to the public at large. In response to this low popularity, the MGM attempted to gain mainstream airplay through the release of two singles (Sunday Morning, and All Tomorrow’s parties, as well I’ll Be Your Mirror), but never made much impact. ³¹

Moreover, in order to commercialize albums, artists must embrace values within their artefacts in order to attract the public. The majority of artists that have tremendously remained popular in the music industry have been those that put aside the “look-alike bands whose aim is to mimic the sound and look of the great bands of the past, rather than developing a style of their own.”³² However, whenever artists develop their own style, they must ensure that they make it understandable and acceptable in the eyes of it audiences. This is what the Velvet Underground band tried to achieve by blending the rock and roll music with avant-garde music. In so doing, they revolutionized the music culture. This was an innovative approach to music, a thing that has been echoed as by Nicholas Cook as being key to the music culture.³³

Group Dynamics in Music

Contrary to commercial success, there emerged a graver problem involving a conflict between Cale and Reed, the pillars of the group.³⁴ For Reed, in order to continue being part of the group, Cale had to leave. As a result, the other members joined hands to recruit Doug Yule in place of Cale. The conflict between Reed and Cale had emerged because of the two parties’ egoistic tendencies. This problem is typical of any group in which two powerful members tend to exhibit dominance over the rest of the members. However, even though Cale was no longer part of the group, the Velvets continued to produce compelling music especially between the 1960s and 70s.³⁵

Concluding Remarks

After analysing the various stages of the Velvet Underground, it is quite vital to note that music is very pervasive in society. Different cultures represent different styles, languages, and behaviours of musical practitioners. To have a better grasp of this perspective, one might be tempted to call to mind Merriam who in The Anthropology of Music (1964) observes that

…musicians behave socially in certain well-defined ways, because they are musicians, and their behaviour is shaped both by their own self-image and by the expectations and stereotypes of the musicianly role as seen by society at large.³⁶

To put Merriam’s assertion into perspective, the Velvets have been seen attempting to fit into society by addressing both the societal expectations in the light of their behaviours. This was attempt is clear in the kind of attire they wore on stage and the message they inclined to transmit in their music. Thus, in respect to this perspective, a good example of ideas that rock musical artists tend to address is sexual deviancy.³⁷ This is exactly the trend that the Velvets follow when addressing issues of drugs and sexuality in society.

Similarly, in music, artists tend to create a distinction between individual identity and self-conception.³⁸ In this regard, self-conception deals with the manner in which individuals view themselves, abilities, characteristics, and preferences; in other words, it involves making a cognitive decision regarding one’s essence and the manner that one appears to the rest in society.³⁹ This is exactly, what defines the mode of dressing, the language used, and the artists’ nature of music.

It is also important to note that music goes hand in hand with business, for without the commercial consideration one cannot survive in the music industry. Thus, at some point the Velvets had trouble in their music. And in deed they had to seek help from Warhol as their promoter. Certainly Eric Beall rightfully asserts that “being (one’s) own publisher will take time away from (one’s) writing”⁴⁰ something that signifies what artist need to do in order to focus on the quality of their work. Furthermore, in order to achieve competence in music, artists need to embrace “an integrated complex of skills and knowledge upon which a musician relies within a particular cultural context.”⁴¹

Bibliography

Beall, E. Making Music, Make Money: An Insider’s Guide to Becoming Your Own Music Publisher, Berklee Press, Boston, 2004.

Bockris V., & Malanga, G. Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story, Omnibus Press, London, 1983.

Brinner, B. Knowing Music, Making Music: Javanese Gamelan and the Theory of Musical Competence and Interaction, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995.

Chancer, L. S. Sadomasochism in Everyday Life: The Dynamics of Power and Powerlessness, Rutgers University Press, United States, 1992.

Contrell, S. Professional Music-Making in London: Ethnography and Experience, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, 2004.

Cook, N. Music: A very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998.

Garvin, H.R., Heath, J. M. Art, Society, Literature, Associated University Press, Inc., England 1984.

Jean-Jacques, N. Music, and discourse: toward a semiology of music, Carolyn Abbate (translator), Princeton University Press, 1990.

Longhurst, B. Popular Music and Society, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2007.

Merriam, A. P. The Anthropology of Music, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, Illinois, 1964.

Riggs, K. Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, Creative Education, Minnesota, 2008.

Schwartz, A; and Schinder, S. Icons of Rock: The Velvet Underground, vol.2, Greenwood Press, London, 2008.

Silverberg, M. ‘The Art of the Velvet Underground’, Rovi Corporation, Web.

Tanenbaum, S.J. Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York, Cornell University Press, New York, 1995

Unterberger, R. ‘The Velvet Underground: Bibliography’, AllMusic, Web.

Footnotes

1. Harry Raphael Garvin, James M. Heath, Art, Society, Literature, Associated University Press, Inc., England 1984, p.110.
2. Susie J. Tanenbaum, Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York, Cornell University Press, New York, 1995, p.11.
3. Brian Longhurst, Popular Music and Society, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2007, p.192.
4. Nattiez, Jean-Jacques, Music, and discourse: toward a semiology of music, Carolyn Abbate (translator), Princeton University Press, 1990, p.48.
5. Kate Riggs, Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, Creative Education, Minnesota, 2008, p.6.
6. Richie Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground: Bibliography’, AllMusic, Web.
7. Idem.
8. Idem.
9. Idem.
10. Idem.
11. Idem.
12. Michael Silverberg, ‘The Art of the Velvet Underground’, Rovi Corporation, Web.
13. Idem.
14. Richie Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground’.
15. Victor Bockris and Gerard Malanga, Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story, Omnibus Press, London, 1983, p.203.
16. Richie Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground: Bibliography’.
17. Idem.
18. Andy Schwartz, and Scott Schinder, Icons of Rock: The Velvet Underground, vol.2, Greenwood Press, London, 2008, p.310.
19. Richie Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground’.
20. Andy, Schwartz, and Scott Schinder, Icons of Rock, p.310.
21. Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground’, op. cit.
22. Lynn S. Chancer, Sadomasochism in Everyday Life: The Dynamics of Power and Powerlessness, Rutgers University Press, United States, 1992, p.1.
23. Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground’.
24. Idem.
25. Idem.
26. Idem.
27. Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground’.
28. Idem.
29. Schwartz, and Schinder, Icons of Rock, p.307.
30. Idem, p.316.
31. Ibid.
32. Nicholas Cook, Music: A very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, New York, 1998, p.9.
33. Ibid, p.17.
34. Unterberger, ‘The Velvet Underground’.
35. Idem.
36. Alan P. Merriam, The Anthropology of Music, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, Illinois, 1964, p.137.
37. Stephen Contrell, Professional Music-Making in London: Ethnography and Experience, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, 2004, p.29).
38. Ibid, p.33.
39. Idem.
40. Eric Beall, Making Music, Make Money: An Insider’s Guide to Becoming Your Own Music Publisher, Berklee Press, Boston, 2004, p.xii.
41. Benjamin Brinner, Knowing Music, Making Music: Javanese Gamelan and the Theory of Musical Competence and Interaction, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995, p.1.