Laurie and Lou
10 years ago by
The great Lou Reed passed away last week.
Yesterday, Rolling Stone published a very touching letter that Laurie Anderson wrote about their relationship.
She says such simple and touching things…
“Lou and I played music together, became best friends and then soul mates, traveled, listened to and criticized each other’s work, studied things together (butterfly hunting, meditation, kayaking). We made up ridiculous jokes; stopped smoking 20 times; fought; learned to hold our breath underwater; went to Africa; sang opera in elevators; made friends with unlikely people; followed each other on tour when we could; got a sweet piano-playing dog; shared a house that was separate from our own places; protected and loved each other.”
– Laurie Anderson
You can read it all here…
Photo by Annie Leibovitz, 1995.
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Lori has written some wonderful things about Lou this past week. Last time I saw them was here in LA, she was performing and he was sitting next to us in the audience. It was beautiful.
beautiful and moving! everybody would like such an eulogy, right?
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Thank you for sharing. That piece made me cry. Life and love should be celebrated here and now.
Thank you for this. I love Lou so much and how lucky was he to have Laurie and her grace and her inspired vision to accompany him as lived and moved on?
In tears as I finished reading the final paragraph, as it’s so beautifully composed. Filled with so much love and light!
Probably, the single best thing I’ve ever read about a marriage. This and Patty Smith’s book Just Kids brought me to tears.
Yes, what a beautiful tribute to her life partner. I feel so fortunate to also have met mine. Like Laurie and Lou we have been together since that first date 32 years ago. Our wedding anniversary is this month, and I, too, wrote a tribute to my beloved: http://judithaross.com/2013/10/30/a-most-important-relationship/
C’est une perte immense, il est irremplaçable, source d’inspiration, de rébellion, d’indépendance d’esprit, de richesse de l’âme, de richesse d’idées.
Puisque je n’avais que des tonnes de cassettes audio, inécoutables de nos jours, j’ai commandé il y a quelques jours deux coffrets de CD, parce que je suis sûre qu’un jour, mon fils rencontrera Lou Reed et le Velvet. Il ne pourra pas le voir comme je l’ai vu il y a vingt cinq ans, mais il pourra l’entendre et pleurer sur Songs for Drella ou Magic and Loss, et être remué par Transformer.
J’avais vu une interview de Lou et Laurie chez Charlie Rose, il y a quelques années, il semblait y avoir beaucoup d’amour et de tendresse.
Lorsqu’on me parle de chanteurs rebelles et “choquants” actuels, et que comme exemple, on me donne par exemple Robin Thicke, ça me fait pitié ou ricaner…Thicke ne fera jamais rien bouger, ce n’est qu’une poupée gonflable mâle. Lou, même mort, continuera à pousser le train.
Lorsque tu as écris un papier sur L.A. (que j’aime assez finalement) il y a quelques jours, j’ai failli écrire, “oui mais à New-York, il y avait Lou Reed”.
it was so touching, and beautiful and at the same time sad.
GOSH,,, made me to cry
Great picture.
Very touching letter! I love Lou Reed’s music. His spirit lives on in it.
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Il a partagé mes moments de folie et mes tristesses…….
Sa musique restera à jamais.
J’ai eu une période de ma vie où je n’écoutais que Lou Reed ! Je l’ai vu en concert il y a quelques années mais je n’ai pas retrouvé ce Lou Reed là, que j’aimais (ce type pouvait aussi être assez insupportable). C’est un peu la même chose avec Dylan….Je préfère ne garder d’eux que la période faste !
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Virginie, Jacques Brel aussi avait mauvais caractère, Mano Solo répondait aussi “ta gueule”, comme Lou Reed, si quelqu’un lui demandait avec trop d’insistance une chanson qu’il n’avait pas prévu dans son plan de concert. Et parmi les vivants à fort caractère, Damien Saez serait paraît-il insortable in real life.
Il ne faut pas se voiler la face, les gens qui comptent et qui laissent leur empreinte sont le plus souvent des gens qui vont jusqu’au bout, y compris jusqu’au bout de la patience des autres parfois!
Mais on s’en fout, ce n’est pas ce qui est important, on n’est pas marié avec, on vit simplement très fort leurs textes, leur musique. Ce qui est important c’est qu’ils aient changé notre vie, qu’ils y aient apporté de la profondeur, de l’énergie, et aussi (sortez les violons) de l’amour.
Tiens d’ailleurs je réalise que ces 4 artistes, mes préférés, sont les seuls à m’émouvoir au point de me faire pleurer, c’est un signe…avec une petit lot de consolation à Springsteen pour The River quand même :)
I feel that my previous comment was self-serving. Wish I could delete it. It is just that I so relate to people who are able to form and maintain that lifelong connection. Laurie’s tribute to Lou really captures that kind of relationship with all the joys and challenges it entails.
Lou & Laurie were not just the coolest couple in music, they were the classiest!
Sometimes, I do want to believe in soulmates.
Bel et touchant hommage effectivement !
La parenthèse Enchantée.fr
Merci Garance pour le lien………….
I remember seeing Lou around New York, he had a way about him that everyone felt, cool. Sometimes cantankerous but always interesting and interested. Laurie and Lou’s life together seems like a life well lived. Anyone who watched them together new it was a private world inwhiched they lived. They were the cake and we were the frosting- not really necessary because the cake was that good!
I did not know Laurie and Lou were a couple but how could they not? A perfect couple. An inspirational couple, for sure.
Eros that became pure love. What life is all about.
CDR
I worked with Lou once in Toronto, he was very insecure, a total asshole, but lovable… that’s all I want to say … “Am I a legend, am I really a legend?” he asked. I said “yes.” I had been warned never to look him in the eye. Finally he said “This new iphone. It sucks”. It was the year when iphones first came out. “I don’t like the way you can sort contacts.” I showed him some tricks with the iphone. Our eyes met. “You are a legend, Lou” I said. He did not smile. He just nodded.