Sometimes the news cycle is like a piece of garbage, floating in the wind, ready to smack you in the face and ruin your day, and other times, the trailer for Todd Haynes' The Velvet Underground is released, and serotonin starts to rush through our veins once again.
In a new documentary directed by Haynes, the origin story of the iconic The Velvet Underground is explored through the lens of 1960/70's New York City, and the melting pot of art, music, drugs and culture the young band stumbled into, finding their voice and endlessly recognisable, incisive proto-punk sound at parties and on the pavement of the place to be. Emerging as a band of hypnotic misfits, with John Cale's viola that didn't belong in a punk rock band and Lou Reed's way with lyrics - they found their way into Andy Warhol's infamous Factory, where he served as their pseudo-manager for a time.
"Andy came along and we felt protected, just like all the other people that were at the Factory, they felt protected. They were misfits, very creative misfits, and they had somewhere to work. And there was a lot of work going on there." Cale once said about the relationship.
For the documentary, surviving band members Moe Tucker and John Cale are interviewed by Haynes, who reminisce on Lou Reed and his unique sound. “That weirdness shouldn’t have existed in this space,” one of them remarks. “His music sounded like nothing else.”
This is, surprisingly, the bands first real documentary that charters the details of their career. According to a press release, the documentary will include “never-before-seen performances and a rich collection of recordings, Warhol films, and other experimental art that creates an immersive experience into what founding member John Cale describes as the band’s creative ethos: ‘how to be elegant and how to be brutal.'”
Haynes, who has directed The Velvet Underground, is known for his acclaimed fiction films like the ever hot Carol, I’m Not There, and Velvet Goldmine. Watch the trailer for The Velvet Underground, which will premiere in theatres and Apple TV+ on October 15, below.
Image: IMDb
