Will Hermes
@WilliamHermes
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Writer @rollingstone @NPR @pitchfork @uncutmagazine @nytimes @nyutischschool Lou Reed: King of New York 👑 Love Goes To Buildings On Fire🔥
New Yawk, etc.
Joined September 2009
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Deep respect to the 1973 forebears of hip-hop on its 50th birthday week—and to all the NYC innovators who reinvented music that year. I’m glad people still find meaning in & take inspiration from these stories.
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I spent time in Ireland last month reporting a piece I’ve wanted to write since 2018, when I saw the mighty
@LankumDublin
deliver ancient songs through Orange amp stacks in the Rough Trade Williamsburg backroom (RIP). 219 weeks later, here it is. Proud of this one.
What’s driving a fresh wave of Irish music? Tradition.
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Final issue of the
@villagevoice
, hot off the presses - 176 pages, like the days before Craigslist. My last F train ride with it...sad.
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...and
@BlondieOfficial
doing “Old Town Road” last night in Queens NY, ‘cause that’s how they do.
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I probably speak for other writers / artists / communicators whose work depends on an audience when I say: it means SO DAMN MUCH when someone reaches out to tell you your work had a positive impact on them. Seriously: it validates + inspires the whole damn enterprise. Thx ❤️🙏
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I've been working on a book about Lou Reed & the NYC arts world he moved in, and it's been a bountiful year for it, as scholars & superfans (& those of us in between) plumb the archives. I surveyed the best findings in
@RollingStone
:
#LouReed
#YearInMusic
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August 1980: Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry, Viv Albertine, Siouxsie Sioux, Poly Styrene, Pauline Black (photo © Michael Putland - bravo maestro)
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The music/culture writing of
@NifMuhammad
has long been essential reading for me. His beautiful essay about my book Lou Reed: The King of New York is in
@bookforum
, whose rebirth was very welcome news in 2023. Gratitude y’all 🙏
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um, the
@nytimes
just posted an excerpt from my new book, Lou Reed: The King of New York. Enjoy ❤️
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I spoke with the Beach Boys archivists about this surprise copyright-protection data dump of 1968 studio sessions. Some staggeringly beautiful, surprisingly trippy stuff.
@RollingStone
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@nprmusic
Queen, A Night at The Opera Tour, Beacon Theater NYC Feb 1976. I was 15, and somewhat confused by the moustache/hot pants combination. Yet definitely intrigued. Don’t recall using any drugs, dry ice notwithstanding.
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Rock stars in their parents living rooms circa Life magazine 1971. How have I never seen this b4?
http://t.co/EAErd2Gj5i
…
#Zappa
#Elton
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Hi. It was a joy speaking w/
@tywilc
, my fellow Lou Reed/VU scholar, about my new book. We went deep: unreleased recordings, further readings, Barbara Rubin, Rachel Humphreys, Bob Quine, the importance of empathy, and more.
Lou Reed: The King of New York (In Conversation With Will Hermes)
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Been in this game 25 years this month. Respect to
@citypages
, who gave me my first journalism gig as an antsy MFA student, and respect to all the journalists, writers, editors working to illuminating these dark times.
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Lou Reed: The King of New York was published last week, and I realized (on this rainy New York day) that I didn't mention the audiobook, which I narrate (for 20+ hours). Download here, or wherever you do your audiobooking🙏🏽❤️
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This is weak. Please support your local bookstore.
We had a lot of "showrooming" today: people taking pictures of books and buying them from
#Amazon
in the store and even bragging about it. This is not ok, people.
Find it here.
Buy it here.
Keep us here.
That is all.
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I was raised, as reader and writer, in New York Public Libraries, so this has been a full-circle experience. And calls to slash the NYPL budget/eliminate Sunday hours? Straight up evil.
.
@WilliamHermes
new book, Lou Reed: The King of New York, came out earlier this year, and he researched it partly at the Library for the Performing Arts. We spoke to Hermes about his new book and his research process.
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The Pulse in Orlando, Le Bataclan in Paris, Harvest Fest in Las Vegas. I've devoted my life to writing about music because, in its highest manifestation, it's about joy, love and community. I just don't know how we cure hate.
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Fitting that the final print issue of the
@villagevoice
would have
@LouReed
on the cover. End of an era, indeed.
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I'm loving the Lana record, and this review made me think about it in new ways that deepened the experience of hearing it. That's what music writing is supposed to do. Thanks
@annkpowers
.
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My 90-yr-old Roman Catholic mom today over Sunday dinner: "If we're lucky he'll have a stroke...God forgive me!"
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Sturgill fucking Simpson tearing it up with an orchestra. Welcome the new Man in Black.
#GRAMMYs
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Good news day: first Alabama, then
@rockhall
inducts both Nina Simone and, FINALLY, Sister Rosetta Tharpe. I wrote this short recap of her amazing life.
@RollingStone
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Enjoyed talking about trees + poetry w/Joan Shelley under the sycamores behind the 42nd Street library, in the shadow of Gertrude Stein's statue.
@RollingStone
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Beastie Boys mural on 1st St off 1st Ave NYC, finished (I think)
#RIPMCA
http://t.co/21cMtXQU
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This is going to be GORGEOUS. And I can't think of anyone better to direct than Todd Haynes.
#VelvetUnderground
#LouReed
#AndyWarhol
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In memory of Lou Reed, who I’ve been thinking about a lot + who died 5 yrs ago today. To those asking about my book, thanks for the interest—it’s coming along nicely. I trust it'll do justice to a touchstone artist, also a complex human (as are we all).
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T-Bone Burnett drops internet science 🔥 at
@sxsw
; no words minced: "It is clear that what was begun as a mission to connect + unite mankind has mutated into a pernicious distortion machine that has disconnected mankind and put us at each other’s throats"
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Full translations of Pussy Riot's closing statements. The eloquence and courage is breathtaking.
http://t.co/hCfLBxAF
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Laurie Anderson just announced Lou Reed’s “complete archives” are being acquired by the
@nypl_lpa
at Lincoln Center.
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Yes, I will be writing a biography of Lou Reed. No, I've no idea how long it will take. Long enough to make it great.
http://t.co/iWoEsurG8m
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Instruction sheet for
#GratefulDead
security re: how to deal with folks on LSD. Kinda on point. I❤️IPR!
#FareTheeWell
http://t.co/61GfwmG5Q3
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I've been working on a book about Reed for a few years now + am thrilled Anthology and Laurie Anderson have begun publishing Reed's early writing. It shows him in a new light, as I hope to do. I wrote long on the new volume here
@RollingStone
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Love & respect to my colleagues at
@RollingStone
@NPR
+ elsewhere making this mediasphere less toxic in 2019, in near-alphabetical particular
@jonbern
@saribotton
@noahgcr
@jonpdolan
@PatrickDoyleRS
@davidlfear
@freemanjm
@HexPositive
@hiattb
@christianhoard
@JosephHudak3
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Dug "Sacred Valley," serious theater re: love, sexual fluidity + psychedelics, at
@Powerhouse_THTR
. Great actors all, esp
@MichaelChernus
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& playwright
@JoshRadnor
knows whereof he speaks(or has great sources). Terence Mckenna Carlos Castaneda namechecks+ a great dilated sunrise
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I sang praise on NPR's
@MorningEdition
to
@CATPOWER
's reimagining of the most famous bootleg in Western pop history — Dylan's 1966 UK electric band debut, aka "The Royal Albert Hall Concert." Chan Marshall: our Frank Sinatra. RIP Robbie Robertson.
#Judas
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600+ hours of Lou Reed recordings will be accessible at Library, likely in a year's time, for anyone to stroll in and hear.
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@CRTV
@conservmillen
@Ocasio2018
So hey
@Twitter
, how do you justify facilitating this kind of propaganda? You allow it to be presented as legit news + you validate the outlet with your little blue check? WTF?
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I am actually standing before Gram Parsons' famous weed'n'pills Nudie suit at
@countrymusichof
. Should I kneel?
http://t.co/cIfCj5NxME
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I rarely read a paragraph of mine I don't want to tweak, re-phrase, fiddle with. And my editors are the best; it's just my pathology. I'm probably still revising this tweet in my mind as you're reading it. If Twitter had an edit feature, I'd never get anything done.
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Pop music finally starts getting its due as literature. Faulkner, Steinbeck, Morrison, Munro, Márquez...Dylan.
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Delighted the
@believermag
archives are now online at their site. Dig in - it's quite a feast. I did this Q&A with Ani back in 2004. via
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RIP Tony Conrad, a major figure in NYC music & the Velvet Underground story. This Grubbs convo is a good primer.
From the frieze archive: the late, great Tony Conrad in conversation with David Grubbs in 2009
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Prine played Levon Helm’s old barn studio in Woodstock Weds; I wrote about it, his new LP & his fairly under-appreciated labors as one of America’s greatest songwriters. (Good as Dylan? Bet Dylan would say so.)
@RollingStone
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50 yrs ago today: The Velvet Underground's debut w/Mo Tucker at Summit High School in New Jersey.
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The Daily Show research dept needs
@ditzkoff
: A History of Sitcom Jokes re: Jeff Mangum / Neutral Milk Hotel:
http://nyti.ms/jV45sq
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Yessireebob:
@robsheff
at full throttle. "Note: Mo Thugs Family's "Ghetto Cowboy” topped the rap singles chart for eight weeks, just a couple of months before Lil Nas X was born."
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Hey Chicago. This Tuesday. Hope to see some of y’all ❤️
312unes are bringing a great night to Gman with
@WilliamHermes
author of the wonderful biography ‘Lou Reed: The King of New York.’ Free event Tuesday, October 24th… copies will be available for sale by
@BookvillExiles
📚
RSVP today!
🗓️:
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On a lighter note, here's a picture of Kate Bush in a lovely wool sweater.
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Yr my fave hook-up 4ever, Internet. But strong coffee & a front page like this in the AM will always be one of my greatest pleasures.
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Adele mighty, "Hello" undeniable, but Bey made the better LP, no question: ambition, conception, multimedia execution. 25 was hits+filler.
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you must protest
it is your diamond duty
ah but in such an ugly time the true protest is beauty
--Phil Ochs, 1967
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I like this song a lot — perfect for a mixtape alongside “Wichita Lineman,” “Everybody’s Talkin,’” and “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues,” ie: zen melancholia for the '60s hangover recast for our new era of squandered promise. I wrote a little about it.
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I hung w/ Jason Isbell in Troy NY for the annual
@NYTmag
mixtape issue, jump-cut here w/ SZA, Tracey Thorn, Julien Baker, DJ Taye, IU, Young Fathers, King Krule, Charli XCX, Lil Pump, some tasty digital art direction & a humbling bunch of A-list writers
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Long live Scratch the Upsetter. I wrote about his latest, a reunion with the
@onusound
posse that's worthy of his legacy.
@RollingStone
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Sam Cooke, via Dylan: "voices ought not to be measured by how pretty...they matter only if they convince you they are telling the truth."
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BREAKING: Just saw their tour warmup show in Kingston NY + can confirm: Vampire Weekend are now a jam band. And I am totally fine with that.
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500+ school walkouts slated for Election Day = inspiring. So hey, employers who profess to respect democracy: how's about giving every one of your employees a half-day off from work to exercise their right to vote?
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Never thought I'd witness J. Mascis shredding through a 15 min. "Morning Dew" circa early-'70s Grateful Dead. And yet, in hindsight: perfectly inevitable.
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Greg Tate, in full swing. Why music crit still matters, social media bleats + corporate algorithms notwithstanding
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I’m honored & humbled that Lou Reed: The King of New York was chosen by the
@washingtonpost
as one of the best books of 2023, a list that includes Lucinda Williams’ (
@HappyWoman9
) powerful memoir and so many other great works. Thank you 🙏
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Spent a day with Ken Burns + cohorts at his film-making commune-of-sorts in New Hampshire. It was fun, edifying (as a history geek), even gave me renewed hope for the American experiment (seriously). His 16+ hour country doc is a massive achievement.
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Mistuh
@jonpdolan
on new flashbacks from
@TheRealYLT
@_GuidedByVoices
+
@superchunk
. The children will wander, but some visions of beauty are eternal.
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Kudos to drone scholar
@MarkRichardson
for finally putting this record in proper perspective, both historical + modern.
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Eric Bachmann can really write a song (see "Sleep All Summer," his slaying duet with ex-bandmate
@NekoCase
on her latest album, for a start). His new LP is streaming here; it's mighty tasty.
We launch a fab First Listen today! Don’t miss Chuck’s review + our first listen playlist!
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Maybe the most powerfully illuminating thing I've read about gun control in America, by
@seantroversy
. Thanks, man.
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Spoke about Neneh Cherry's deep new record on All Things Considered this evening:
@misscherrylala
@npratc
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Book's a great read + she's one helluva woman
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Carillon bells at St. Thomas Church 53rd & 5th playing Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land"
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This year's writers mixtape in
@NYTmag
:
@jesshopp
@jennydeluxe
@jawnita
@lizzydgoodman
@Charles_A_Aaron
@Wesley_Morris
+ me get w/
@sza
@JasonIsbell
@DJTAYE
@FarrukoOfficial
@lilpump
& lots more, plus
@dessadarling
on (no Twitter-havin') Francis Scott Key.
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Stream: Margo Price's debut LP. Very good on 1st listen; on 2nd, best country LP of year thus far
@nprmusic
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2019's been surreal at every turn; now it flips my Grammy hate-watch tradition + actually gives awards to (some of) the year's best records. I'm very confused. But I'll take it.
@RollingStone
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The Velvet Underground receive a "Lifetime Achievement" award. And yet, no multi-artist medley! Sad!
#Grammys
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Out in paperback TODAY: my book "Love Goes To Buildings On Fire: 5 Years in New York City That Changed Music Forever"
http://t.co/3ZGEJovw
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Frank Ocean didn't drop an LP this weekend, so I made a year's worth of pesto w/uncured organic garlic.
#NatureFeels
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I wrote about last night's Velvet Underground tribute, which was a blast. Cale ain't going gently into any good night -- bless his fiercely loud, drone-loving soul.
@RollingStone
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Bravo Ryan
@JahHills
Walsh, whose great book is also about Fort Hill guru Mel Lyman and The Velvet Underground, who were in fact as much a Boston band as a NYC one (maybe more).
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Mom, 90, on phone a moment ago: "That noise is some asshole speaking at the Republican Convention. Disgusting. Some actor. What a jerk."
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