LogFAQs > #955393870

165. Lou Reed Walk on the Wild Side (1972)
from the album Transformer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6fayQBm9w

Key lyrics:
Holly came from Miami, FLA
Hitchhiked her way across the USA
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs, and then he was a she

What a difference a few years make. Walk on the Wild Side feels pointedly taboo, yet Lou Reed found his breakthrough hit by singing about the beautifully strange people he met at Warhols Factory. This contains some of his most provocative lines, from the now mundane mention of transgender people to prostitution and drugs. For those immune to that sort of shock, Lou Reed hits from the other direction with an already archaic use of colored girls during the chorus. Lou Reed appeared on a quest to offend mainstream sensibilities and was rewarded with a fame he never desired.

So, what made Walk on the Wild Side click with mainstream audiences while The Velvet Underground failed to chart? It is largely thanks to the delivery. Where the best Velvet Underground songs matched their niche themes with experimental music, Lou Reed plays this song almost too casually. Nothing quite breaks taboos like a self-assured voice. Lou Reed isnt truly aiming to shock; these are simply the people who surrounded him. Theres nothing particularly extreme about any of these subjects from someone who experiences them daily. They are simply facts of life. Walk on the Wild Side is not a transgressive song, but rather a reassuring invitation to anyone who has ever felt unwelcomed in society.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/