"Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves (or how I slugged it out with Lou Reed and stayed awake)" is an infamous interview with

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

conducted by Lester Bangs and published in '' Creem'' magazine in 1975. It is now regarded as a classic document of

music journalism Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. The title is a play on ''

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men ''Let Us Now Praise Famous Men'' is a book with text by American writer James Agee and photographs by American photographer Walker Evans, first published in 1941 in the United States. The work documents the lives of impoverished tenant farmers ...

,'' the book by

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time Magazine'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. ...

. The full interview was reprinted in the

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

in November 2013, as a tribute to Lou Reed, who died the previous month.

Approach

In this Gonzo-style interview, Lester Bangs attempts to demythologize rock-n-roll and its stars by giving the arrogant behavior of rock superstars a more vulnerable, human context.

Content

An extended introduction describes Bangs' complex feelings about the music of Lou Reed, admiring his songwriting genius, but intrigued by some of the anti-social aspects of Lou's more challenging albums, as well as Lou's sometimes hostile personality. After fortifying himself with research and drugs, Lester Bangs meets Lou Reed in a hotel room, where they trade barbed personal insults, and argue about the current music scene,

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

formulae, and the background music which Lou has selected (

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

). In a provocative gesture, Lester finally challenges Lou to remove his sunglasses: "...Lou's sallow skin almost as whitish yellow as his hair, whole face and frame so transcendently emaciated he had indeed become insectival. His eyes were rusty, two copper coins lying in desert sands under the sun all day with telephone wires humming overhead, but he looked straight at me. Maybe through me..."

Quote

* "A hero is a goddam stupid thing to have in the first place and a general block to anything you might wanta accomplish on your own."''Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves'', interview/essay, Creem Magazine, March 1975, p. 173

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