Unearthing the Velvets

Under the guise of a book review, n+1 editor Mark Greif turns in a thoroughly illuminating analysis of the Velvet Underground for the London Review of Books, drawing comparisons of (among other things) Reed and Cale, the VU and the Grateful Dead, and the influence of LaMonte Young and Marian Zazeela vs. that of Warhol. The whole thing is a great piece of music writing.