SXSW: Lou Reed Down on MP3s, Zoo Animals

As you probably know, the Advanced embrace technology. So that's why this article from Reuters surprised me:

Lou Reed is lashing out at new modes of audio technology, saying that "people have got to demand a higher standard" than current MP3 music files. The edgy rocker delivered the keynote speech at the South By Southwest Music Festival + Conference, which is underway in Austin, Texas.

...

In typically glib and dry-witted form throughout the wide-ranging 55-minute conversation, the bespectacled Reed bemoaned the current state of audio and other digital technologies, noting that "it's like the technology is taking us backwards. It's making it easier to make things worse.

"Here's our song reduced to a pin drop -- what, what, what?!" Reed explained. "It's like if no one knows any better or doesn't care, it's gonna stay on a really, really low level and people who like good sound are gonna be thought of as some kind of strange zoo animal."

He goes on to talk about hope for a better technology, so I guess he's just Advanced beyond MP3s and is ready for the next thing. One last bit:

During the session, Reed said he plans to stage the "Berlin" shows in Europe this summer but not in the United States. The "Berlin" concert concept "wasn't an audition to do more of these things" with any of his other albums, though he said 1992's "Magic and Loss" and 1978's "Street Hassle" would be good candidates if he did want to try it again.

Please, please do "Street Hassle"! And one last thing from his talk, this from the Dallas News:

"I have a B.A. in dope. I have a Ph.D. in soul."

Exactly.