Stereogum — It’s been a lifetime since Gwen Stefani was chanting “B-A-N-A-N-A-S,” even longer still since the Velvet Underground and Nico drew on Warhol’s interpretation of the tropical fruit as a muse. But this year it felt as though there was a resurge... more info

Stereogum — Over the course of his long career, the former Velvet Underground member John Cale has recorded a few different versions of his song “Close Watch”; different versions of it have appeared on his 1975 album Helen Of Troy and his 1982 album Music Fo... more info

L.A. Times - Entertainment — Velvet Underground, "Loaded: Re-loaded 45th Anniversary Edition" (Rhino/Warner Music). The fourth album by the Velvet Underground is the most polarizing of the lot and far removed from the classic grit of "Venus in Furs," the mesmerizing freakout "Si... more info

Aquarium Drunkard — It’s a big couple of weeks for Velvet Underground fanatics, with Rhino’s six-disc Re-Loaded box set and the four-disc Complete Matrix Tapes both hitting shelves, immersing listeners in the band’s latter days. What we’ve got here today doesn�... more info

Brooklyn Vegan — St. Marks Place in New York City has spawned countless artistic and political movements. Here Frank O'Hara caroused, Emma Goldman plotted, and the Velvet Underground wailed. But every generation of miscreant denizens believes that their era, and no o... more info

Stereogum — We’ve been graced with a few Courtney Barnett covers over the years — including recent ones of the Boys Next Door and Archie Roach and less recent ones from the Breeders and Velvet Underground — and this week’s episode of Austin City Limits (... more info

Stereogum — Around the time of 2010 career pinnacle Halcyon Digest, it became clear that Deerhunter were the greatest indie rock band of their generation. By “indie rock” I mean the fertile niche of guitar-driven noise-pop pioneered by the Velvet Underground... more info

LargeHeartedBoy — The BBC and Vol. 1 Brooklyn previewed October's new books. The Guardian reviewed two new biographies of Lou Reed: Notes from the Velvet Underground by Howard Sounes and Dirty Blvd. by Aidan Levy. Porochista Khakpour talked books with Literary Hub.... more info

Stereogum — Even if Father John Misty’s music didn’t peg Josh Tillman as a canny observer of modern culture, his ongoing online meta-commentary on the music industry would do the trick. Tillman, who previously took the piss out of pre-release streaming by �... more info

Aquarium Drunkard — With the official release of (most of) the Matrix Tapes last year, there is very little unheard Velvet Underground live material left in the vaults. But there is a still-unreleased tape that should be heard, capturing the band during its last stand w... more info