I’M WAITING FOR THE MAN
“I’m Waiting for the Man” is a song by the American rock band the Velvet Underground, written by Lou Reed. It was first released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. It is one of the band’s more popular songs, and one of their many compositions featuring drugs as subject matter. After leaving the band in 1970, Lou Reed continued to incorporate it into his solo live performances. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #159 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. (More from Wikipedia)
The proto-punk side of the Velvet Underground is well known, but their music was experimental throughout and also ran the gamut from garage rock (“I’m Waiting for the Man”) to ballads (“Stephanie Says”) to old-fashioned pop-rock (“There She Goes Again”, which was covered by R.E.M. – I learned about the song from the version of “There She Goes Again” recorded by the Crawdaddys).
(December 2013)
