Todd Haynes digs deep into ‘Velvet Underground’
Critically acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes has a decades-long history examining musical icons in a deeply personal way.
“The Velvet Underground,” an in-depth documentary on the ’60s rock band, follows Haynes’ “I’m Not There” about the elusive art of Bob Dylan; “Superstar,” Karen Carpenter’s story told with Barbie dolls; and the David Bowie-inspired fiction of “Velvet Goldmine.”
Asked in a phone interview whether his fascination is with the ’60s or the artists, “All of that,” Haynes, 60, answered. “The reason we spend the time trying to trace the sources of the artists and their musical interests and evolutions is really to try to understand what it is.
“What made the Velvet Underground, as a band, and as a kind of complex of artists creating this unique sound? What was unique about it?
“Because the Velvet Underground took years for the music to become as wellknown as it is today. And so influential.
“But what happens in that process is you lose what was new about it. Especially a band this influential. So one of my challenges was to try to hear the music afresh.”
Haynes uses a split screen — that sometimes splits again and again — to tell his complex story in which Andy Warhol becomes the catalyst to make The Velvet Underground’s most prominent players Lou Reed and John Cale famous by adding Nico, the now-iconic German singer, to the band.
When the group dissolved, Reed went on to a successful solo career. His last years — he died in 2013 — were with downtown artist Laurie Anderson.
Which prompts the question: Was Lou Reed gay?
“Oh yeah, man,” Haynes answered. “My point of view is that they’re all gay! It’s about an attitude as much as it is about actual gay sex.
“But Lou Reed was experimenting with gay sex as well. He talks about it very directly. Just listen to ‘Transformer,’ his first big solo record, which David Bowie produced.
“That’s a pure gay liberationist record, let alone a (piece) of underground transgressive queer culture that the Velvet Underground represent.”
Haynes points out what he never knew about the Velvets: “I just have to shout out to Boston because it’s such a special part of the story.
“I learned how important Boston and the Boston Tea Party venue was to their history. Jonathan Richmond from the Modern Lovers was a teenager in Boston and saw 60 to 70 of their shows, almost more than they were in New York.”