Muristek
The filmed 1990 reunion of Lou Reed and John Cale performing their spiky album testament to Warhol was thought lost
Long thought lost, this beautifully minimalist film made in 1990 records the first on stage reunion of former bandmates Lou Reed and John Cale, co-founders of the immortal 1960s band the Velvet Underground, as they perform, without an audience, their Songs for Drella album at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Mostly the songs channel the voice of Andy Warhol, the Velvets’ former manager and producer (although the band dispute how much input he really had), who had died three years earlier. Indeed, Cale and Reed first conceived of this project at Warhol’s memorial service, where they ran into each after a long estrangement.
Out of that encounter came a remarkable, acclaimed album and, tangentially, this film, previously only available on VHS and LaserDisc. The negative was thought lost but it turns out it was only mislaid; director-cinematographer Ed Lachman found the 16mm negative in the proverbial attic while working with Todd Haynes on the latter’s documentary about the Velvet Underground, which came out last year.
Continue reading...