La musica di Lou Reed batteva i quartieri dei diseredati, degli sconfitti e poi dei malati e degli ambigui, ma sfido a trovare qualcuno che nella musica sia andato così vicino a quei temi facendoti avvertire, attraverso la musica, la presenza delle situazioni. In una discografia da consigliare per intero, Lou ha avuto dei picchi che si sono succeduti a distanza di tempo, partendo da quel capolavoro di originalità di “Velvet Underground & Nico“, passando dal seminale “Metal Music Machine” e “Rock and Roll Animal” (che ancora oggi si dimostra uno dei live set migliori di tutta la storia del rock) e che ha il suo pieno compimento nelle splendide elucubrazioni poetiche di “Magic and Loss“, “New York” (un vero betsellers di tutti i tempi) e termina con le virtù di “Ectasy“; si perchè gli ultimi anni la vena musicale di Reed si era chiaramente ammainata.
Quest’uomo è stato capace di rimanere nella memoria storica di ognuno di noi, di infiltrarsi nei nostri pensieri attraverso l’oscurità e la ricerca di redenzione: personalmente nei miei l’incipit di “Venus in Furs“, dove Lou in un orgia metafisica immersa in macabri profumi orientali accenna
“….Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
Clubs and bells, your servant, don’t forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart…..”
è di una bellezza sconvolgente, così come credo sia difficile resistere al crescendo cinico dei du-du-du di “Walk on the wild side” e su questa strada ancora tanti esempi.
Whiplash girlchild in the dark
Clubs and bells, your servant, don’t forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart…..”
è di una bellezza sconvolgente, così come credo sia difficile resistere al crescendo cinico dei du-du-du di “Walk on the wild side” e su questa strada ancora tanti esempi.
Lou ha ieri affrontato la sua grande battaglia per trovare una giustificazione alla morte, evento che lo ha torturato per tutta la vita (ma non ci torturiamo anche noi?) e che lo avrebbe sconfitto già da tempo se non avesse avuto dalla sua parte quella capacità di razionalizzazione delle cose, dolore e cinismo, voglia di incontrare in quello stato una via filosofica e confidenziale da attuare per il superamento. In questo senso nemmeno Patti Smith è stata capace di offrire il ragguaglio di Lou Reed quando è stata dinanzi al tema della scomparsa. Le parole di Magic and Loss scuotono le coscienze e le nostre blande emozioni per un agghiaciante trattato su come affrontare il passaggio e posso solo augurargli, come glielo augurava Sylvia Morales sul mondo terreno, che lo scenario dell’aldilà sia quello del beginning of a great adventure.
When you pass through the fire, you pass through humble
you pass through a maze of self doubt
When you pass through humble, the lights can blind you
some people never figure that out
You pass through arrogance, you pass through hurt
you pass through an ever present past
And it’s best not to wait for luck to save you
pass through the fire to the light
Pass through the fire to the light
pass through the fire to the light
It’s best not to wait for luck to save you
pass through the fire to the light
As you pass through the fire, your right hand waving
there are things you have to throw out
That caustic dread inside your head
will never help you out
You have to be very strong, ‘cause you’ll start from zero
over and over again
And as the smoke clears there’s an all consuming fire
lying straight ahead
Lying straight ahead
lying straight ahead
As the smoke clears there’s an all consuming fire
lying straight ahead
They say no one person can do it all
but you want to in your head
But you can’t be Shakespeare and you can’t be Joyce
so what is left instead
You’re stuck with yourself and a rage that can hurt you
you have to start at the beginning again
And just this moment this wonderful fire
started up again
When you pass through humble, when you pass through sickly
when you pass through I’m better than you all
When you pass through anger and self deprecation
and have the strength to acknowledge it all
When the past makes you laugh and you can savor the magic
that let you survive your own war
You find that that fire is passion
and there’s a door up ahead not a wall
As you pass through fire as you pass through fire
trying to remember its name
When you pass through fire licking at your lips
you cannot remain the same
And if the building’s burning move towards that door
but don’t put the flames out
There’s a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out
Some loss to even things out
some loss to even things out
There’s a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out
you pass through a maze of self doubt
When you pass through humble, the lights can blind you
some people never figure that out
You pass through arrogance, you pass through hurt
you pass through an ever present past
And it’s best not to wait for luck to save you
pass through the fire to the light
Pass through the fire to the light
pass through the fire to the light
It’s best not to wait for luck to save you
pass through the fire to the light
As you pass through the fire, your right hand waving
there are things you have to throw out
That caustic dread inside your head
will never help you out
You have to be very strong, ‘cause you’ll start from zero
over and over again
And as the smoke clears there’s an all consuming fire
lying straight ahead
Lying straight ahead
lying straight ahead
As the smoke clears there’s an all consuming fire
lying straight ahead
They say no one person can do it all
but you want to in your head
But you can’t be Shakespeare and you can’t be Joyce
so what is left instead
You’re stuck with yourself and a rage that can hurt you
you have to start at the beginning again
And just this moment this wonderful fire
started up again
When you pass through humble, when you pass through sickly
when you pass through I’m better than you all
When you pass through anger and self deprecation
and have the strength to acknowledge it all
When the past makes you laugh and you can savor the magic
that let you survive your own war
You find that that fire is passion
and there’s a door up ahead not a wall
As you pass through fire as you pass through fire
trying to remember its name
When you pass through fire licking at your lips
you cannot remain the same
And if the building’s burning move towards that door
but don’t put the flames out
There’s a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out
Some loss to even things out
some loss to even things out
There’s a bit of magic in everything
and then some loss to even things out
