Brent Johnson’s Lost Songs: ‘After Hours’ by The Velvet Underground

brent johnson digs up another lost treasure, this week from The Velvet Underground …

The Velvet Undergound helped invent grunge, punk and all kinds of experimental art-rock. They had songs that featured atonal violins, lyrics about sexual fetishes and lead vocals from model named Nico with a thick German accent.

But my favorite Velvet Underground recording may very well be the one that sounds like a sweet Tin Pan Alley hit.

It’s called ‘After Hours.’

Despite his reputation as a wacked-out urban poet, Velvet leader Lou Reed had a penchant for the sugary sounds of early 20th century pop. And on this song, the famously nasal-voiced frontman handed vocal duties to drummer Maureen Tucker because it was too “innocent and pure” to handle himself. Smart move. Backed by only bass and acoustic guitar, Tucker turns on the charm. The result is an alt-rock confection — vintage, delightful and even vaguely sinister. It’s the kind of song both pop-rock purists and hipsters can love. The kind of song Zooey Deschanel was born to cover.

And the kind of song even audiophiles may not have heard. For all the adoration critics have slathered on the Velvets over the years, few people actually bought their records at first. They were seen as a strange, tuneless bunch of underground New Yorkers managed by oddball Andy Warhol. And ‘After Hours’ was the short and quirky — i.e., easily overlooked — closing track on maybe their least-famous album: 1969’s self-titled release.

But it’s proof that the Velvets could tackle anything. And it might even inspire you to write a song of your own. After all, as Brian Eno once said: “Only five thousand people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every single one of them started a band.”

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/13400050 w=400&h=327]

After Hours – Velvet Underground – Edie Sedgwick from Hikikomori on Vimeo.