STEPHANIE SAYS
“Stephanie Says” is a song by The Velvet Underground, originally recorded in 1968. Although available on various bootlegs, the song was not officially released until 1985, when a remixed version appeared on the album VU, and subsequently on the 1995 box set Peel Slowly and See. The original 1968 mix of “Stephanie Says” was included on the 2005 Velvet Underground compilation album, Gold. The song was loosely inspired by the group’s manager at the time, Steven Sesnick (“Stephanie” being the female form of “Steven”). Lou Reed rewrote the lyrics and renamed it “Caroline Says (II)” for his 1973 solo album Berlin. While vastly different in tone, it retained the refrain, “It’s so cold in Alaska”. (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)
