RIP Lou Reed, Rock Legend, Meditative Poet

We were very sad to hear of rock legend Lou Reed’s passing, Rolling Stone reported earlier today. He was 71. Surely we all have different memories and stories involving Lou Reed’s music, some of the better known greats being “Perfect Day,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” and “Sunday Morning,” “Sweet Jane,” and “I’m Waiting for the Man” with The Velvet Underground. He was known for forging the way for gritty, yet poetic, avant-garde New York City rock music, and much later on in life for adopting Tai Chi into his lifestyle as well as meditation and “clean living.”

Besides his many great contributions to the rock genre both with The Velvet Underground and as a solo artist over the course of his almost fifty year career, Reed was also fond of slowing things down for reflection and ended up putting out his own collection of meditational music called Hudson River Wind Meditations, his the twentieth (and final) solo album in 2007. His lyrics, often poetic and profound, were left absent from this album, though the sounds of the wind tell the story.

“I just think it’s very, very useful for centering yourself,” Reed said in an interview about his album,”for experiencing these different kinds of disciplines, be it meditation, body work, tai chi, yoga, whatever. Or I like to just have it going all the time because it makes the outside sounds into a more musical environment.”

“The idea is to make things better, to make things more beautiful, have more access, be able to ground yourself, be able to experience something in a more agreeable environment.”

Thank you, Mr. Reed, for making this place a more agreeable environment.

Read another interview with Lou Reed from a 2007 interview with LA Yoga Magazine where he talks more about the album and meditation.

Here’s Bowie, Iggy and Reed back in the day.

Listen to the full Hudson River Wind Meditations album below.

top image cred Spin.com