Lou Reed Likes Holy Fuck, Now I Do Too

If Lou Reed said he liked eating old squashed bananas with cod liver oil, I’d accept it as his eccentricity, though if anyone else said that I’d think they were one anchor short of a ship. If he decided to release a home recorded EP of himself mashing out discordant notes on a Casio, I’d probably try to see the beauty in it. And if Lou Reed said he liked the band Holy Fuck, I’d jump over to their MySpace page and try to see what’s so great about them. As it turns out, that is what he said, that is exactly how I reacted, and I find it very interesting.

According to NME Sunday, the 66-year-old Velvet Underground rocker and keynote speaker at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas was overheard saying to friends that Holy Fuck was the best band he had heard all week. After reading this, I was suddenly drawn to their page out of an inexplicable desire to hear what had caught his ear, and yeah, they’re not bad. At some hipster house party on some late night, I could see myself getting all robo-disco to their beepy, boopy, instrumental noise-pop. It’s not because I have no opinions; it’s actually quite the contrary. It’s just that when someone as trusted and revered as the shiny-booted Venus puts himself in a band’s corner, especially a band as undefined as Holy Fuck, it is somehow immediately clear that there is something good about them.

This is a tricky thing to explain, because it’s not just Reed’s name that’s carrying weight; it’s his credibility. If Gene Simmons were to be overheard in a bar saying he thought Gwen Stefani’s solo work was far edgier than No Doubt’s earlier material, that would instantly become the anti-opinion of everyone in the room. This isn’t to say Gene Simmons isn’t a notable rock figure, it’s just to say his credibility has been shattered since he donned Miami Vice shades and started spouting canned wit on VH1 top-ten countdowns.

But somehow, Valhala chose to smile on one of the most badly named bands of the 21st century, giving them a head-nod from a musician whose opinions are highly valued and highly publicized, and now everyone who hears them will think they’re the funk. What a lucky break for them.

Or the other possibility is this: Reed was so disgusted with this year’s selection of SXSW bands that he picked the most hectic, oddball band there and announced that it was the best band at the festival, as an insult to every other band. And if that is the case, dammit, I hate Holy Fuck, too.