Venus in Furs (The Velvet Underground Song)
| Venus in Furs | |
|---|---|
| The Velvet Underground | |
| publication | March 1967 |
| length | 5:12 |
| Genre (s) | Art rock , protopunk , noise rock |
| Author (s) | Lou Reed |
| Publisher (s) | Verve Records |
| album | The Velvet Underground & Nico |
Venus in Furs is a song by the experimental US rock band The Velvet Underground , which appeared on their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967 . The first track was 5:12 minutes long and was written by frontman Lou Reed and produced by Andy Warhol .
Inspired by the novel of the same name, Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch , the song contains numerous allusions to sexual topics, which mainly deal with the intense depiction of pleasure gained through whipping and submission ( BDSM ).
Music and conception
In addition to "Heroin" and "I'm Waiting for the Man", Venus in Furs was one of the songs that was recorded in May 1966 at TTG Studios in Hollywood ( Los Angeles ) and published on the MGM sub-label Verve . The song had previous versions from the two years before.
Venus in Furs is one of the most experimental pieces in the band's history. Lou Reed presents his peculiarity here once again to vote all the strings of his guitar the same, which he called Drone generated by means of which he, the E-Viola by John Cale accompanied . Reed had already developed this method, named after a song by Reed, Ostrich guitar (trivial tuning) , of creating a soundscape by means of an unchanged fundamental tone (albeit in different octaves), before he met John Cale. For his part, John Cale uses his viola in an emphatically dissonant manner , which creates artistic effects of cacophony . The background percussion is provided by Maureen Tucker , who beats the big drum next to the tambourine at a slow pace .
In his essay Venus in Furs by the Velvet Underground , Erich Kuersten wrote:
"There is no intro or buildup to the song; the track starts as if you opened a door to a decadent Marrakesh S & M / opium den, a blast of air-conditioned Middle Eastern menace with a plodding beat that's the missing link between "Bolero" and Led Zeppelin's version of "When the Levee Breaks" . "
“There is no intro , no structure of the song; the play begins, as if the door to a decadent sado-masochistic / opium den in Marrakech had opened, a blast of air conditioning cooled , the Middle Eastern threat with a pounding beat that the missing link is between the Bolero and Led Zeppelin's version of When the Levee Breaks . "
Staffing
- Lou Reed - guitar, drone , lead vocals
- John Cale - electric viola
- Sterling Morrison - electric bass
- Maureen Tucker - drums, percussion
Early versions
Ludlow Street Loft, 1965
Venus in Furs , like several other titles (such as heroin ), was recorded by Lou Reed together with John Cale and Sterling Morrison in their shared loft at 56 Ludlow Street in July 1965. The original version had little in common with the later record title and is more reminiscent of a guitar-accompanied, very calm folk piece. This version is featured on the compilation album Peel Slowly and See , sung by John Cale . The Rolling Stone wrote:
"Strong, Olde English-style folk lament"
Scepter Studios, 1966
Another version was created in April 1966 on the Scepter label in New York . This version is played at a faster pace and the text passages differ slightly from the final version.
45th Anniversary Edition
For the 45th anniversary of the album, several remastered new editions of the album were released as a 6-CD box in October 2012. This is followed by a version of Venus in Furs that focuses more on the electric viola Cales. As additional material, the CD also contains a version of the song from January 1966, recorded during rehearsals in Andy Warhol's factory .
Venus at Furs in film, television, and advertising
- In 2012, the American rock musician and director Rob Zombie played the song in the film The Lords of Salem .
- In 2005 the song appeared in the soundtrack of the film Last Days by Gus Van Sant .
- In 1991 the song appeared in the soundtrack of the film The Doors (party scene by Andy Warhol ) by Oliver Stone .
- RZA uses excerpts from the song in its song Fatal .
- The song is used in the British television series Being Human , Season 2, Episode 5.
- The Italian-American writer Piero Heliczer made his film Venus in Furs for the naming of the piece, appeared with The Velvet Underground 1965th
- In 1993 the song was used for the British promotion of Dunlop tires , made by Tony Kaye in collaboration with the advertising network Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO .
- In 1998, the backing band for the main character Maxwell Demon in the movie Velvet Goldmine was named after the song.
Cover versions
Cover versions of the song exist by Paul Gardiner, Niagara, The Melvins , Paul Roland , The Ukrainians , Christian Death , The Smashing Pumpkins , Rosetta Stone, Miłość , Psychopomps, Bettie Serveert, The Creatures , Dave Navarro , Hugh Cornwell , Berry Sakharof, Monster Magnet , DeVotchKa , Chuck Dukowski, Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio , Beck , Broken Records, Sendelica and Krieg .
Individual evidence
- ^ The Velvet Underground & Nico
- ↑ Lyrics Venus in Furs (English)
- ↑ Erich Kuersten “Venus in Furs” by the Velvet Underground
- ↑ at 'Venus in Furs' Archive (The Velvet Underground 1965/66) ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Ludlow Street Loft Demos
- ↑ David Fricke, Alternate Take
- ^ Rob Zombie's 'Lords of Salem': Fright goes beyond the fashions
- ↑ "Venus in Furs" in Last Days (2005)
- ^ Richie Unterberger, White Light / White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day by Day , Jawbone Press, 2009 ISBN 978-1-906002-22-0 .
- ^ Dunlop - Tested for the unexpected (1993)
