#Justin Lewis

[mariaangels]

Justin lewis

[yestolerancepro]

Tolerance project Extra Perfect Day' by Lou Reed: the making of rock's most earnest and enduring ballad

Introduction

Hello and welcome to a special blog devoted to a Valentines Day hope your all feeling loved up on this special day.

When we made the Tolerance film one of its key themes was family and relationships and that key theme was shown through the love story between Robert played by David Smith and Julie played by Claire Abbot thank you both for your excellent performances.

So what songs did we use as our romantic themes for the Tolerance film Richard Hellawell the director of our film chose 2 songs to feature in the Tolerance film the first was Perfect day by Lou reed and its the song that this blog will concentrate on.

Perfect Day and the Tolerance film

The Director Richard Hellawell chose the original version of the Lou Reed song Perfect Day originally released in 1972 as part of his classic Transformer album produced by David Bowie and Mark Ronson.

The song is heard twice in the Tolerance film Its first heard in the beginning of the film as Claire Abbot is introduced as Julie A DJ on the radio wishes her a happy birthday, its heard again in the closing credits.

Most of the article you are about to read comes from the Gold music website with extra bits added by me taken from previous blogs where I have written about the song Perfect day most notably Happy Valentines day from the Tolerance Project and Thank you for the Music creating the Tolerance film soundtrack.

Also I would like to thank the writer Justin Lewis as his book Don’t Stop the music helped me out as well

Oh it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you."

Lou Reed's low-key, optimistic, and earnest ballad about spending a casual, but perfect day with his partner is arguably his most enduring.

Given the nature of rock 'n' roll artists at the time, and his previous outlandish experimentalism with The Velvet Underground, 'Perfect Day' was a bit of an anomaly for Reed.

Even though 'Perfect Day' in on the surface a tender portrayal of a lovely day out, the song has been opened up to debate about its real meaning still to this day.

Featuring on his David Bowie-produced 1972 album Transformer, 'Perfect Day' is no doubt the first song that springs to mind when people mention Lou Reed.

But who wrote it? What is its real meaning? Has anyone else covered the song? Here's all you need to know about 'Perfect Day'

Who wrote 'Perfect Day'?

Lou Reed wrote the lyrics to 'Perfect Day', the slow, piano-based balled which details a typically amorous day out with his partner.

Drinking sangria in the park, feeding animals in the zoo, cosying up to a movie at the cinema later that night - they're all sweet moments that sounds like the plot to a romantic movie in itself.

Reed penned the lyrics after spending a lovely day together in New York City's Central Park with his then fiancée (and later wife) Bettye Kronstad.

The songs lyrics flit between seemingly simple, conventional devotion to his partner in "Oh, it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you," to Reed's true feelings about himself in "You made me forget myself. I thought I was someone else, someone good."

Towards the end of 'Perfect Day', Reed sings - in his sombre, pensive tone in which he sings throughout - the lyrics "You're gonna reap just what you sow," which he repeats on several occasions.

This line alludes to St. Paul's letter to the Galatians 6:7 in the New Testament, which reads: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Biographer Victor Bockri wrote that the lyrics to 'Perfect Day', whilst romantic and uncomplicated also hint at Reed's own conflicts with his sexuality, heavy drug use, and impenetrable ego.

Was 'Perfect Day' about Lou Reed’s relationship with drug abuse?

Many people in the years since the song's release believe that 'Perfect Day' is not about his partner, but instead about his own love affair with heroin.

Asked by the NME in 1973 about the song's true meaning, Reed replied: "That's a lovely song. A description of a very straightforward affair."

Once the earnest ballad was included on the soundtrack to 1996 film Trainspotting, these questions arose once again as the song's popularity was rejuvenated.

The song's historic misinterpretation meant that Danny Boyle chose 'Perfect Day' to play whilst the film's central character Renton - played by Ewan MacGregor - overdoses on heroin.

In 2000, Reed again suggested that interpretation was "laughable", stating: "No. You're talking to the writer, the person who wrote it. No that's not true. I don't object to that, particularly...whatever you think is perfect."

"But this guy's vision of a perfect day was the girl, sangria in the park, and then you go home; a perfect day, real simple. I meant just what I said."

How did David Bowie come to produce the record?

David Bowie was a huge fan of The Velvet Underground - their visionary songwriting, their relationship to Andy Warhol, and how they occupied the space between rock music and contemporary art.

Regularly covering 'White Light/White Heat' and 'I'm Waiting for the Man' in concerts, Bowie insisted he the band were a major influence on him and how he became Ziggy Stardust.

After befriending Lou Reed in 1971, after a show at London's Royal Festival Hall, the pair immediately hit it off and reportedly started a sexual relationship.

Tony Zanetta, the producer of Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs Tour' in 1974 introduced him to Reed that year and said: "They, I think, got along pretty well."

"Lou was the really smart-alecky, sarcastic New York guy. But I think he and David were pretty cautious of each other. It was almost like the beginning of a romance. They were kind of sizing each other up."

In awe of Lou Reed and his previous work with The Velvet Underground, Bowie wanted to make him a solo star so took on producing duties.

Bowie's guitarist in The Spiders From Mars, Mick Ronson, co-produced, worked as a session musician on the album Transformer, and wrote the accompanying string arrangements.

Klaus Voorman, the life-long friend of The Beatles and frequent John Lennon session player also played bass on Transformer.

Was 'Perfect Day' a success when it was released?

Perfect Day' was not in fact released as a stand-alone single, instead it was the B-Side to the album's biggest hit at the time, 'Walk On The Wild Side'.

Of course, since its inclusion on cult phenomenon Trainspotting in 1996, it helped rejuvenate Lou Reed's mainstream popularity.

Off the back of its renewed success, 'Perfect Day' was picked to be a benefit single for UK charity Children In Need the following year.

In 1997, an illustrious roster of artists contributed to the re-recording, including Tom Jones, Elton John, Bono, Emmylou Harris, opera singer Lesley Garrett, The Lemonheads' Evan Dando, The Pogues' Shane MacGowan, Dr. John, M People's Heather Smalls, Joan Armatrading, and even both Bowie and Reed who were behind the original.

The charity single went to number one in the UK charts for three weeks, and raised over two million pounds for Children In Need.

Heavily promoted on BBC television for over 2 months the single started life as a promo film to Celebrate of the corporation’s diversify of the many artist featured in the song it will provide a first UK number 1 for not only for Lou reed but also Shane McGown Dr John Emmylou Harris Heather Small Brett Anderson and Laurie Anderson no relation  

Has anyone else covered 'Perfect Day'?

Because of its touching sentiment to a casual, intimate day out with a partner, 'Perfect Day' has been interpreted by a handful of artists since its initial release.

The former First Lady of France, Carla Bruni, has covered 'Perfect Day', along with Kirsty MacColl and Evan Dando together, soul legend Al Green has recently offered his spin, and even Susan Boyle has recorded a rendition.

But it was New Romantic pop rockers Duran Duran whose cover appealed to Lou Reed the most, who even admitted their version was better than his, sort of.

Talking about their cover in a later interview, Reed explained: "They'd been very cooperative with me. They sent me the tape and I thought it was great. I don't dislike pop stuff, I love pop stuff, I just don't particularly do it."

"So when I said it's better than mine, it's better than mine as pop. Mine isn't, I guess what you would call you pop. But I thought they really trying to do a nice thing with it from their point of view."

What about about the album Transformer comes from

The Transformer album cover uses a photo taken by Mick Rock at one of Reed's concerts in London. The shot is washed-out with heavy contrast, the result of a printing error. Rock also printed a clear version of the shot, but Reed liked the washed-out version, so that's what they used for the cover, which became a classic image of Reed.

The Transformer Album also rates highly with the Ultimate classic rock website landing in at Number 2 in their list of the best Lou Reed and Velvet Underground albums behind the Velvet Underground album with Nico from 1967 this is what they say about Transformer

Six months after his solo debut, Reed released his masterpiece. With assistance from new pal David Bowie and critical elevation thanks to the Velvet Underground's growing reputation, Transformer reinvented Reed for the glam age while rarely shifting from his base. "Walk on the Wild Side" was his only charting single, a stroll through Reed's beloved New York City. Like on Lou Reed, a handful of unused Velvet Underground songs are here. But it's the sparkling production and great songs – "Vicious," "Perfect Day," "Satellite of Love" – that light the LP. He'd recoil from its success for the rest of his career, as this became one of only two Top 30 albums Reed logged, but Transformer is a steadfast highlight.

Read More: Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground Albums Ranked Worst to Best | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/lou-reed-velvet-underground-albums-ranked/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

To read a review of the transformer album from the far out magazine click here

Lou Reed - 'Transformer' album review (faroutmagazine.co.uk)

Pictures

Claire Abbot as Julie from the Tolerance film screengrab taken from the video with thanks to Ian Medley

The man himself

Lou Reed with David Bowie

Walk on the Wildside single cover

Children in need single cover

I would love it see what I did there ha ha lol if after reading this blog and you like it to consider giving a donation to the Tolerance project you can do that by clicking on this link thanks

[basketballjersey]

[bad268]

Writing Inktober 2024

Official prompts this year were ass, so this one's gonna be fun (sarcasm). I'm only doing like 3 from the actual prompts, so a lot ended up being song prompts.

01/10 Backpack

Jax Teller X Reader (W.C. 547)

02/10 Chains

Arvid Lindblad X Reader (W.C. 448)

03/10 Perfect

Callum Ilott X Reader (W.C. 446)

04/10 Ledge

Spot Conlon X Reader (W.C. 498)

05/10 Enchanted

Clement Novalak X Journalist! Reader (W.C. 463)

06/10 Passport

Max Fewtrell X Reader (W.C. 465)

07/10 Daisies

Ollie Bearman X Verstappen! Reader (W.C. 496)

08/10 Ride

Pezzy X Biker! Reader (W.C. 473)

09/10 Home

Michael Gray X Reader (W.C. 485)

10/10 Laugh

Harry Lewis X Reader (W.C. 476)

11/10 Rain

Corpse Husband X Reader (W.C. 465)

12/10 Drive

Chris Sturniolo X F1 Driver! Reader (W.C. 472)

13/10 Lesbian

Logan Sargeant X Reader (W.C. 483)

14/10 Here

Sodapop Curtis X Reader (W.C. 464)

15/10 Convince

Noah Sebastian X Reader (W.C. 476)

16/10 Strangers

Colby Brock X Reader (W.C. 486)

17/10 Bracelets

Luke Browning X Reader (W.C. 506)

18/10 Leave

TMR Newt X Reader (W.C. 479)

19/10 Peachy

Simon Minter X Reader (W.C. 454)

20/10 Tackle

Justin Herbert X Reader (W.C. 467)

21/10 Original

Elastic Droid X Reader (W.C. 501)

22/10 Always

Hector Fort X Reader (W.C. 512)

23/10 Picture

Jak Crawford X Dams! Reader (W.C. 553)

24/10 Alone

Marcus Armstrong X Reader (W.C. 554)

25/10 Betrothed

Finn Shelby X Reader (W.C. 466)

26/10 Goal

Fermin Lopez X Reader (W.C. 530)

27/10 Explorer

Big Puffer X Reader (W.C. 455)

28/10 Blindfold

Tadashi Hamada X Fiance! Reader (W.C. 586)

29/10 Pretend

Brad Simpson X Reader (W.C. 591)

30/10 Pumpkin

Paul Aron X Reader (W.C. 493)

31/10 Freak

Franco Colapinto X Reader (W.C. 574)

Bonus: Ending

Lando Norris X Reader (W.C. 509)

Average W.C. 479

Want to read other years’ Inktober stories, check these out:

2021 // 2022 // 2023 

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

[wejustvibing]

lol @ he being cute at photo booth

[fandomchaosposts]

and I found out through the person who found out from Lewis's instagram

[nexttopbadbitch]

Black Women x Cowboy Hats: Pt. 2

[bellinghamism]

the grillz, the lip bite, the clear glowing skin, the outfit, gorgeous Justine Skye, the nose ring, i can’t take my eyes off this video

[swdefcult]

[fendercapaldi]

Lewis Capaldi surprises fans in London who were watching "It Ends With Us" and buys their movie snacks.

[jtrocks]

[basketballjersey]

Justin Lewis

[lawbreaker13]

I Love You Always Forever by Donna Lewis needs to be a part of the Broppy wedding medley, Justin Timberlake you can take my idea I promise I won’t sue, make it happen

[wejustvibing]

love that grillz are his thing now ✨

[hit-song-showdown]

Year-End Poll #64: 2013

[Image description: a collage of photos of the 10 musicians and musical groups featured in this poll. In order from left to right, top to bottom: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Robin Thicke, Imagine Dragons, Baauer, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Justin Timberlake, Pink, Bruno Mars, Florida Georgia Line, Katy Perry. End description]

More information about this blog here

With Billboard now counting YouTube views into their charts, we're seeing new artists reaching higher chart success from the strength of their music videos or internet virality in general, with songs like Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Thrift Shop and Baauer's Harlem Shake.

Speaking of changing technology, we now have to cover the biggest change that's going to define this decade in music. While first released in the States in 2011, Spotify's impact on the charts will start to become even more evident this year. It will still be a while before Billboard begins implementing data from Spotify and similar streaming services into their charts.

We're also starting to see the electropop and club music dwindle in the charts. Some have attributed this to Lorde's Royals, giving it an almost Smells Like Teen Spirit-esque mythos. But there's also the shift towards more folk and indie sounds in music (and commercials gravitating towards this music as well), streaming encouraging more individual listening, and general shifting tastes.

With the remix of Florida Georgia Line's Cruise, we're also seeing the rise in a subgenre known as bro-country. In terms of country crossover success, this subgenre would come to take over ballads and country pop as the main crossover sound. This is not the last time we'll see an example of country-rap fusion on the charts, and it certainly won't be the last time we see controversy over it.

And speaking of controversy, we need to talk about Blurred Lines. Specifically, we need to talk about Pharrell Williams v. Bridgeport Music. The court case concerned the song's similarities to Marvin Gaye's Got to Give It Up and Sexy Ways. Without going too much into it, the case ruled in favor of Marvin Gaye's estate -- a decision that forever altered the course of music copyright law. Since the ruling, we've seen a rise in lawsuits over perceived musical similarities as well as labels scrambling to give songwriting credits out to avoid potential lawsuits (if you ever wondered why Richard and Fred Fairbrass of Right Said Fred received songwriting credits on Taylor Swift's Look What You Made Me Do, that's why). To quote this entry from Harvard Law's Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law:

Aptly named, the “Blurred Lines” case is now blurring the lines of rather well-settled copyright doctrine and is sending shockwaves through the musical community. While it is unclear what the ultimate impact of Williams will be on the music industry, it has, at the very minimum, put artists and publishers on notice as to how they should approach musical composition to avoid legal issues.

These “copyright trolls” would acquire the copy-rights of older music, and then sue artists for infringement with the hopes of forcing a settlement. Many artists would agree to these settlements, as they often are less expensive than the costs of litigating the issue in court. 65 Further, the threat of litigation may incline new musical artists to obtain unnecessary licenses and other permissions that they feel will protect them from these lawsuits. (Quagliariello, 2019)

The arguments behind the initial court case are still being debated, but what can't be debated is the Pandora's Box of litigation that the case inspired.

Good thing this is the only controversy Blurred Lines had ever faced. At least that's what I'm going to pretend for the sake of this poll.