Lou reed

lou reed, death, laurie anderson, velvet underground, letter Lou Reed Photo by isifa/Kuba Morc/Getty Images Kyle McGovern WRITTEN BY Kyle McGovern October 31 2013, 4:15 PM ET Lou Reed's widow Laurie Anderson has penned an obituary for the iconic singer-songwriter. Published in Long Island, New York's East Hampton Star newspaper, the piece offers some insight into the final days of the Velvet Underground co-founder, who succumbed to liver disease on October 27 at the age of 71. "Last week I promised Lou to get him out of the hospital and come home to Springs," Anderson writes. "And we made it!" She continues: "Lou was a tai chi master and spent his last days here being happy and dazzled by the beauty and power and softness of nature. He died on Sunday morning looking at the trees and doing the famous 21 form of tai chi with just his musician hands moving through the air. Lou was a prince and a fighter and I know his songs of the pain and beauty in the world will fill many people with the incredible joy he felt for life." Anderson's letter follows a flood of tributes, praise, and remembrances dedicated to Reed. Since his passing, the late legend's album sales have surged dramatically. Read Anderson's entire obituary for Reed below. And delve deep into Reed's body of work by reading the following SPIN features: Lou Reed, R.I.P.: Hear His Legacy in 15 Tracks Lou Reed: A Critical Discography The SPIN Interview: Lou Reed Lou Reed's New York City: The Velvets' Stomping Grounds, Today Five Great Rap Songs That Sample Lou Reed or the Velvet Underground Toesucker Blues: Robert Christgau's Farewell Salute to Lou Reed Dave Hickey on Lou Reed: 'We Have Lost the Master of the Mundane and the Malicious The Little Giant: Actor/Director John Cameron Mitchell Remembers His Neighbor, Lou Reed The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s To our neighbors: What a beautiful fall! Everything shimmering and golden and all that incredible soft light. Water surrounding us. Lou and I have spent a lot of time here in the past few years, and even though we’re city people this is our spiritual home. Last week I promised Lou to get him out of the hospital and come home to Springs. And we made it! Lou was a tai chi master and spent his last days here being happy and dazzled by the beauty and power and softness of nature. He died on Sunday morning looking at the trees and doing the famous 21 form of tai chi with just his musician hands moving through the air. Lou was a prince and a fighter and I know his songs of the pain and beauty in the world will fill many people with the incredible joy he felt for life. Long live the beauty that comes down and through and onto all of us. — Laurie Anderson his loving wife and eternal friend

The Velvet Underground to Reissue 'White Light/White Heat'

The Velvet Underground to Reissue 'White Light/White Heat' Forty-fifth anniversary set will include previously unreleased material 2 Comment 4 The Velvet Underground Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images By Jon Blistein October 1, 2013 2:45 PM ET The Velvet Underground's masterful second LP, White Light/White Heat, turns 45 this year – and to celebrate, Universal Music will release a three-disc anniversary set on December 3rd. Initially recorded over a few days in New York at the end of the summer of 1967 and released on January 30th, 1968, White Light/White Heat was a stunningly innovative, challenging LP. "No one listened to it," frontman Lou Reed said in a statement. "But there it is, forever – the quintessence of articulate punk. And no one goes near it." Where Does 'White Light/White Heat' Place on Our List of the Greatest Albums of All Time? Reed and John Cale, the Velvet's former bassist/organist/violist, helped curate the White Light/White Heat 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition. Remastered versions of the original record in both mono and stereo will appear on the set, as well as a slew of bonus material, including alternate versions of tracks like "Hey Mr. Rain," new mixes of "Beginning to See the Light" and "Guess I'm Falling in Love," and previously unreleased vocal and instrumental versions of "The Gift." Tracks cut during Cale's last studio session with the Velvet Underground will also appear. In addition, fans will be treated to a never-before-heard live set recorded at the Gymnasium in New York on April 30th, 1967; the setlist from that show includes favorites like "I'm Waiting for the Man," "Sister Ray" and "Run Run Run." Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-velvet-underground-to-reissue-white-light-white-heat-20131001#ixzz2gXratrP5 Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook