#Will Hermes

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Lou Reed: The King of New York (In Conversation with Will Hermes)

Grab an egg cream and head over to Aquarium Drunkard to read my chat with Will Hermes, author of the new/extraordinary biography, Lou Reed: The King of New York.

Many years ago, when I heard the news that Will was going to write a Lou book, I rejoiced. His Love Goes To Buildings On Fire was one of those instant classics, something I can pick up and flip to any page and find something new and exciting every time. Hermes seemed like the perfect writer to tackle Lou's strange, bewilderingly complex saga — rigorous in his research, empathetic in his overall attitude.

The King of New York didn't disappoint in the least, and it was an honor/pleasure to pick Will's brain about all things Lou. (It was also an honor/pleasure to find my own name in the acknowledgments section of the book — though I'm still not sure what I did to deserve it!)

Will Says: As an artist, [Lou] was a “transformer,” and everybody has their own version of who he was. What they want him to be, what aspect of his character they wanted to take in. I tried to show them all. I don’t know if they all morph into a single, intelligible human being. But maybe that is part of what was endlessly fascinating about him. He was all of these things simultaneously and they didn’t all necessarily add up.

[rustbeltjessie]

April 11: Found on the new books shelf at my local library. I am so excite.

[pelomundodascidades]

Will Hermes, Lou Reed. The King of New York, New York City, USA, 2024 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Hermes

[chez-mimich]

“… Il movimento creato dalla musica di Lou Reed è straordinario, New York è Lou Reed…”

(David Bowie in Will Hermes “Lou Reed Re di New York”- Minimum Fax)

[dorothywonderland]

♬⋆.˚ Well it's a little bit dangerous, my friend˚.⋆♬

[saturnsconstellation]

Men use “I’m just a man” to cheat on their wives. Odysseus uses “I’m just a man” to kill, slay and torture people to get back to HIS wife. They are not the same.

[zendeyas]

Lupita Nyong'o & her cat Yoyo – Glamour

[theghostleeapparition]

Hermes playing peakaboo with baby Telemachus

[smoolio]

Vengeance Saga has me acting up

[mandersie]

Holy moly

[qinnyanimation]

Runs in the family.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

INTERVIEWS ETC 2023

I sometimes talk to people! Going back over the last year, I had some nice conversations with some very cool people. I like doing interviews, but they definitely stress me out a little bit. I suppose it's good to get out of your comfort zone from time to time, though ... So yeah, here are a few of those interviews, in case you missed 'em the first time around.

HEAD VOICE (James Jackson Toth, Ben Chasny, Donovan Quinn)

Donovan Quinn: There’s one aspect of process which is like a user manual. You know, turning on a machine, how you control the bass or whatever. But then there’s a part of process which is more of our terrain, where it’s kind of a story. An artist or a group of artists is interacting with all these elements — each other, gear, inspiration. With each of our pieces in Head Voice, we’re getting little bits of that story.

ILYAS AHMED

With my record, I’ve seen people reference Loren Connors, which is great — I’m a huge fan of Loren Connors. But I’m always comparing it to something like Bill Fay, maybe in an emotional sense. Or like, Neil Young — how do I make “Cortez The Killer” … but not just copy it. One of my favorite Coltrane tunes is “Alabama.” Those eternal favorites you always come back to. How can I make something that feels like that without just doing that, right? I’m not interested in copying it, I’m interested in transmuting it, making it fit into my weird perspective of the world. 

WILL HERMES

As an artist, [Lou] was a “transformer,” and everybody has their own version of who he was. What they want him to be, what aspect of his character they wanted to take in. I tried to show them all. I don’t know if they all morph into a single, intelligible human being. But maybe that is part of what was endlessly fascinating about him. He was all of these things simultaneously and they didn’t all necessarily add up.

M. SAGE

I think it’s radical to have fun. And to be silly. It’s not meant as escapism or denial, but the world is dark and weird. And it keeps getting darker and weirder. It’s radical for an artist to afford an audience joy or pleasure. I mean, I love a lot of that solemn, serious, foreboding electro-acoustic music. There’s incredible stuff, obviously. But I wanted to make something that felt fun. And accessible! That’s radical, too, I think.

HORSE LORDS

Andrew Bernstein: We’re trying to make things that sound interesting to us, first and foremost. But we’re also hoping that the music and the way we operate spurs the listener to think differently. Every act is political, and our decisions might make someone reconsider how they make music or how they go about their lives.

BRENDA SAUTER

“The Obedient Atom” at White Eagle Hall was really special. That was one of the original Willies songs and it never got recorded. It was one of those songs that was always left behind for one reason or another. To finally play it out just felt incredible … and then the fire alarm went off and everyone had to evacuate [laughter]. There’s something about that song! Surreal. The atom wasn’t so obedient that night.

Further reading: Bill Million on the Feelies' live tribute to an Underground legend

GUIDING LIGHT: A TOM VERLAINE APPRECIATION

Alasdair MacLean: I also think of some of Stephan Mallarme’s phrases – “the musician of empty nothingness.” Verlaine seemed to be working in parallel: “Watching the corners turn corners;” “Lightning struck itself.” The language turns in on itself, like the guitar solos. He obviously knew those poets back to front. I imagine lots of other people have tried to do this since, but all of them have made fools of themselves. Verlaine never did.

Further reading: Tom Verlaine - 20 Great Tracks

SPIRAL STAIRS

When we first started talking about rehearsing, I was like, “We’re probably going to be playing the same 20 songs. Let’s just pick another 15 songs that we know we can bust out.” Eventually, we finally came to that point…but then in rehearsals we ended up playing probably like 60 songs [laughs]. I’m like, “Oh my god!” That was just for the two Primavera shows, so it was like “Come on!” It took a while to re-learn all of that stuff. 

[nuria-keller-arts]

More Hermes because this unhinged guy is somehow curing my burnout

[microvibing]

Hermes and Aeolus watching the ody-poseidon showdown

[chez-mimich]

“… Quella sera stessa, quando Reed sali sul palco con diverse ore di ritardo, apparve sconvolto, con il trucco da maschera della morte dipinto sul viso, vestito interamente di pelle nera. Farfugliò i versi delle canzoni e lasciò cadere il microfono. Durante «Walk on the Wild Side» si accovacciò sul palco, strofinandosi il microfono tra le gambe; mentre cantava «Heroin» cadde a terra, come se si fosse sparato una pera in vena. Riuscendo a malapena a tenersi in equilibrio come un funambolo tra dissoluzione recitata a uso del pubblico e realmente vissuta, arrivò alla fine del concerto tra l'entusiasmo degli spettatori. Come sempre, gli artisti votati all'autodistruzione poetica andavano di moda: quella primavera sui giornali francesi comparvero le foto dell'amato quanto vizioso Serge Gainsbourg che fumava Gauloises nel letto dell'ospedale dove era ricoverato per un infarto. La giornalista Lisa Robinson scrisse che ai fan fran cesi di Reed «sarebbe piaciuto vederlo sul palco con un ago attaccato al braccio»…”

(Will Hermes, “Lou Reed Re di New York”-Minimum Fax)