How I discovered a dozen new Lou Reed songs

In this Washington Post opinion piece, Judith Peraino, music professor, describes her amazing discovery of unknown Lou Reed songs at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

"On Side 1 I heard a mix of several live performances by Reed," she writes. "Warhol hadn’t recorded them, though. As I was to figure out, Reed had selected and dubbed songs from different soundboard recordings from his 1975 tour to create an ideal set list for Warhol. As an example of a personalized mix tape, this was a stunning find in and of itself.

"But the second side! It held 12 full songs that I had never heard before. I’ve taught courses on rock and punk for more than 20 years at Cornell University, so I know Reed’s catalogue well, from his influential 1960s band the Velvet Underground to his beautiful tribute to Warhol, “Songs for Drella” (1990), and beyond."

Read Peraino's entire op-ed.