Artist

The Velvet Underground

1964-1973·New York City

The Velvet Underground fused Lou Reed's noise-damaged songwriting with John Cale's minimalist drone and Andy Warhol's Factory sensibility, and by the mid-seventies their legacy hung over downtown Manhattan like a dare. The generation that followed wanted to push further into the void the Velvets had opened. What they left behind was a working model: that rock instrumentation—guitars, bass, drums—could be repurposed for something that had nothing to do with conventional songs.

At a glance

Active
1964–1973
From
New York City, USA

In the issues

  • NYC No Wave
    An influence · 1977-1984

    NYC No Wave is a music scene from Lower Manhattan, New York City, 1977–1984. Its principal artists include Suicide, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, Sonic Youth and The Contortions. This issue covers 10 essential albums and 14 dated events.

Family tree

Bands that shared members with The Velvet Underground, and who.

  • The Theatre of Eternal Music1960–
    Angus MacLise, John Cale