Loaded: The Life (and Afterlife) of the Velvet Underground (Non-mint)

Dylan Jones

Hardcover | 16.6 x 3.8 x 23.6 cm | 400 pp

White Rabbit | 2023 | 9781538756560

Rebellion always starts somewhere, and in the music world of the transgressive teen whether it be the 1960s of the 2020s, The Velvet Underground represent ground zero. Crystallising the idea of the bohemian, urban, narcissistic art school gang, around a psychedelic rock and roll band - a stylistic idea that evolved in the rarefied environs of Andy Warhol's Factory - The Velvets were the first major American rock group with a mixed gender line-up; they never smiled in photographs, wore sunglasses indoors, and in the process invented the archetype. They were avant-garde nihilists, writing about drug abuse, prostitution, paranoia, and sado-masochistic sex at a time when the rest of the world was singing about peace and love.

Dylan Jones' definitive oral history of The Velvet Underground draws on contributions from remaining members, contemporaneous musicians, critics, film-makers, and the generation of artists who emerged in their wake, to celebrate not only their impact but their legacy, which burns brighter than ever into the 21st century.

'A monumental origin story about the band of misfits, discontents, and visionaries that
launched punk, grunge, new wave, glam, indie, experimental, at, and maybe even
spoken-word rock. Dylan Jones weaves together a propulsive yet intimate narrative driven by a cast of insiders who trace the Velvets' rise and fall and rise again to legendary status.' Bob Spitz, New York Times 

'Dylan Jones has put the WOW back into oral histories. This collection of anecdotes about the Velvet Underground is particularly revealing of the band members and their milieu. He got all the right people to tell their tales.' Chris Frantz, Talking Heads

'You might understandably think you already know this story, but in Loaded, the masterful Dylan Jones assembles a raucous symphony of voices to convince you that you don't. Smart, funny, and insightful, this spellbinding oral history guides you through the evolving meanings of the music and the lives of the Velvet Underground from the sixties to the present day. I found it riveting from start to finish.' Anthony DeCurtis, author of 'Lou Reed'

'A Velvet goldmine of a book. Honoured to be in it.' Bobby Gillespie, Primal Scream

PLEASE NOTE: This book is a NON-MINT item. All copies are new but with minor cosmetic imperfections to the dust jackets.