The Velvet Underground Doc is a Testament to Their Everlasting Influence

Just four albums. Active only from 1965-1970. No hits. Yet, Velvet Underground is one of the most influential bands ever. Their mix of avant-garde and rock opened the minds of David Bowie, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, Brian Eno, New York Dolls, Patti Smith, Joy Division, and many, many more.

Todd Haynes is an ideal director for the Velvet Underground story. His previous films include Velvet Goldmine, a fictional account of the glam rock days of the early 1970s with the three main characters patterned after David Bowie, Iggy Pop, and Lou Reed and I’m Not There which depicts various sides of Bob Dylan, each played by a different actor, including Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Cate Blanchett. So, not surprisingly, The Velvet Underground is artsy, challenging, trippy, and visually overwhelming at times. As it should be for its avant-garde subjects. A straightforward rock biopic would not do the band justice or be true to their unconventional nature. (See it in your local independent theater as I did or streaming on Apple TV+).

The band members are introduced one-by-one by a black and white video portrait (“Screen Tests” by Andy Warhol) on half the screen with the other half devoted to a whirling collage of images, the band, New York City, and artistic visuals. This technique was employed throughout the movie with the screen split into four, eight, or more frames rotating images in quick succession. A lot going on. In a positive nod to convention the movie timeline rolls out chronologically. A non-linear storyline on top of the film’s entrancing and fleeting visuals, might have asked too much of the viewer.

The two living band members, multi-instrumentalist John Cale and drummer Maureen “Moe” Tucker, are our conduit back to the mid-60s. John Cale looks back on the insanity of that time period like it was yesterday. He divulges that the band’s signature “drone” sound was modeled after the hum of a refrigerator. Moe goes off on a hilarious rant about how the band hated the hippies and the flowers in their hair. California dreaming was not them; more like NYC nightmares. Archival footage and interviews with friends, family, fellow artists, and surviving members of the scene paint a complicated picture of Lou Reed. Innovative, driven, provocative, and just plain tortured. A four-piece rock and roll band was never going to hold him.

A highlight of the film is the look behind the scenes at Andy Warhol’s art collective “The Factory.” Velvet Underground was the house band for the music, art, and film multimedia experiment. Warhol invited German model Nico to join the band over Reed’s objection. The exotic blonde brought some beauty to the black-clad somber rockers. Never mind that she couldn’t sing. And Lou Reed would never be known as a fine singer. But together? Their vocals somehow became another defining element of the eccentric sound of their first album. But that was all for Nico. As John Cale says, “Nico was a wanderer. She wandered in…and just wandered out.”

The Velvet Underground combined art and “street.” They were idiosyncratic . They would de-tune their guitars in search of something extravagant. As super fan Jonathan Richman (who saw them live over 60 times) said, “they’d make a sound onstage, never to be heard again. Group sound.” Reed’s deadpan vocals and boundary-busting guitar, Cale’s unique viola and bass, Morrison’s traditional guitar, and Moe’s simple, steady pounding produced music both brutal and elegant. The movie is an all-encompassing music, art, and film experience. Just like the band.

D² Rating ◼◼◼◩☐

Trivia ? – Velvet Underground’s first album contains this cover design by Andy Warhol?

Answer: A yellow banana sticker with “Peel slowly and see” printed on it. Those who did found a pink, peeled banana beneath.