Thanks to bgood79 I actually got the Big Star reference.
As for mk calling Lou Reed "woefully over-rated", I think there is some truth in that... but then I remember this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGkRUb_k-Mo
and this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xcwt9mSbYE
and this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkumhBVPGdg
Ignore the old dude that will jump on any stage with the flavor of the moment and cover Sweet Jane with them and then he's not so bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LWtb621DRg
There's something about it I really like, just because it's terrible probably but they just though 'fuck it, we're doing it'.
The three VU songs you picked are probably the ones that reinforce what I dislike about them the most. Just not doing it for me.
I think there's so much 'importance' surrounding that band and Reed, that it obscures the fact there isn't much else.
If the Red Hot Chili Peppers acoustically covered the 12 worst Primus songs for Starbucks, it would still be (slightly) better than this. made me LOL.
However, this The reason Lulu is so terrible is because the people making this music clearly don't care if anyone else enjoys it. Now, here again — if viewed in a vacuum — that sentiment is admirable and important. But we don't live in a vacuum. We live on Earth. And that means we have to accept the real-life consequences of a culture in which recorded music no longer has monetary value, and one of those consequences is Lulu. is fucking ridiculous. Sorry Mr. reviewer-man, maybe you have to listen to the album, but we don't unless we choose to. I prefer an idiosyncratic world of art where experimentation can be distributed.
That said, I think Lou Reed is woefully over-rated.