I Am Tired, I Am Weary

Do you know the song I am quoting?

I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years

It is of course the song "Venus In Furs" by the Velvet Underground, which I did not play on the radio this morning, choosing instead the less long & disturbing "Femme Fatale."

On the air I mentioned I have a huge crush on the long-dead Nico, who sang the song, which prompted a caller to ask me if I had to choose to between Nico & Ultra Violet, whom would I choose?  I said Nico, duh.  He seemed okay with that, so I suggested we double-date.

Here's a picture of Nico's "Screen Test" for Andy Warhol which I took in the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh last summer:

That she was beautiful is beyond reproach.  Something about her singing seems to have puzzled as well as mesmerized many listeners.

There's a chance I may be dreaming this, but I recall reading an interview with Leonard Cohen - who had a dalliance with her, the lucky fool - in which he describes in some detail his encounter, & how puzzling it was, until he realized that she basically deaf.  I have scoured the internet for confirmation of this but have found none.  It's not like the kind Mr. Cohen to be pejorative.  But it seems he was incorrect.

In any event: I wake at 4am to go to KNON to do a show at 7am.  The drive is around fifty minutes from there to here (& back again) give or take the regularly scheduled stupid traffic accident.  Today that happened literally right before the exit to KNON.  How thoughtful!  A freak-out about being late for the show right as I neared the station!

& yeah, look, I know "Venus In Furs" isn't about being tired because you've been up way too long.  I get it.  But why should things we quote necessarily have anything to do with context?  Pretty much anyone who quotes a religious text is foregoing context.  For me, Lou Reed is as close to a religious text as I'll ever get - so I'm sure he'd understand.

Or maybe he wouldn't, but who cares?  As anyone who's studied literature will tell you, at some point it has nothing to do with what the author intended.  So many dissertations have flowed from this.  & it's fucking beautiful.