The year is nearly done, but Pop Screen lingers on with an episode about Todd Haynes’s documentary The Velvet Underground. Covering the turbulent career of one of the most confrontational yet influential bands of the 1960s, it’s a film that’s got everything from deep discussions of minimalist composition to amusing anecdotes about how their black-clad smack-addled racket played with California’s hippie scene. (Spoiler alert: badly!)
This week, Graham is joined by Left Lion’s Oliver Parker to discuss Haynes’s unusual swerve into documentary, the legacy of Lou Reed, the, uh, distinctive singing voices of Reed and Nico, and the film’s portrayal of New York and Andy Warhol’s Factory. They also agonise about what the best Velvet Underground album is – don’t lie, you’ve struggled with the answer yourself – and get a sly diss at Drake in somehow. We’re still not sure how that got in there, but it was worth it.
If you want to give us The Gift – eh? eh? – of support, you can donate to our Patreon, where you’ll get a monthly bonus episode of this podcast. The next one is out in a fortnight, and it’s a spoiler-packed, Janelle Monae-worshipping chat about Glass Onion. Patreons also get Rob’s articles on overlooked Asian films, Graham’s Doctor Who reviews, and more. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more information.
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