Are Lou Reed and John Cale feuding? That's what the
L.A. Times reported yesterday (Sun., Dec. 17). Lou Reed wouldn't let the
Velvet Underground's music be used in either of the two upcoming films about
Andy Warhol. About one of the films, I Shot Andy Warhol (which details
Valerie Solanas' 1968 attack), Reed's publicist told the Times' Steve
Hochman: "Lou said that he didn't want anything to do with something that
glorifies a despicable person." John Cale, on the other hand, composed the
instrumental score for that film and the other, Basquiat (about a young
artist for whom Warhol served as mentor). "[Reed's] decision was made in haste
without actually seeing a copy of the script," Cale told Hochman. "In no way
does the movie glorify her. I don't know why that presumption was part of his
equation." The Times also reports that the "rift" between Reed and Cale
will make it unlikely that the surviving Velvets (Sterling Morrison died
earlier this year) will perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction
ceremony in New York on Jan. 17. "I don't think 'performing' is an option,"
Cale said.