"I write a song called 'Heroin', you would have thought that I murdered the Pope or something" - Lou Reed on March 20, 1987, as told to Joe Smith Lou Reed. Lou Reed. Here we bring you a rarely heard interview Lou recored in 1987. It's vintage Lou. Salty and sweet. Earnest and cocky. Grouchy and kind of endearing. Reed (and his legendary band The Velvet Underground) were those musicians who never got the extensive accolades or awards--nor the riches many of their contemporaries found. Yet he never seemed to waver in his search for the perfect sound and his quest "to elevate the rock and roll song and take it where it hadn't been taken before." Here we present some interview outtakes that give a taste for this iconic American musician. Lou Reed died of liver disease on October 27, 2013. He was 71. In this animated film Lou Reed talks about chasing off nosy college kids on his porch with his shotgun, how he dreamed about writing the great American novel while at Syracuse University, "how savage the reaction against" the Velvet Underground was, the intention of taking books and putting them into songs, writing rock and roll you could grow old with, not thinking The Doors or the Beatles were up to the level of his band, and how he hoped to elevate the rock and roll song to where it hadn't been before. RIP, Lou. LOU REED QUOTES "What we had was ambition and a goal ... to elevate the rock and roll song and take it where it hadn't been taken before." "I have faith in my own vision, and didn't want them to tamper with it." "Don't thin my voice out and make it like that high shit. This is the way I sound." " I've gone out with my shotgun. This is hunting country out there. You better run." "I wanted to write the great American novel but I also loved rock and roll." "I got a little puzzled at how savage the reaction against us was." Hear the full, unedited interview, learn more about Lou Reed including a pic of his college band, and see some sweet Lou Reed GIFs @ http://blankonblank.org/interviews/lou-reed-guns-ammo-the-velvet-underground/ Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday (it's free): null Executive Producer: David Gerlach Animator: Patrick Smith Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska Watch our previous episodes: BB King on The Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tIphqWYu_s Elliott Smith on Freaks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAP3sYaaBv4 Robin Williams on Masks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PHGmIAv4Dc Wayne Coyne on Living with Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJXU7f0hI30 Maya Angelou on Con Men https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VybIJEA41yk Bette Davis on The Sexes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNnTUyrxzWY Michael Jackson on Godliness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCa3Po7M_8 Jimi Hendrix on The Experience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK2lfs_uiwk Meryl Streep on Beauty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG_T5dwnJuM Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osn8rjkPyYM David Bowie on Stardust https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFIDXXDsxAo Gene Wilder on The Truth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PUW2POEjX4 John Lennon on Love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmvmnYEy9NY Johnny Cash on The Gospel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALGi0tcFCcw Heath Ledger on Role Playing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDRUzbAa6lI Tupac on Life and Death https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x2FqX2YZws Kurt Cobain on Identity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1Z2BkZaOQc Janis Joplin on Rejection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdF4b1_LQnQ Barry White on Making Love https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmJIlqjYGkw Maurice Sendak on Being a Kid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvtgqJTVVhE Carol Burnett on Finding Home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aixlc1DJZiE Grace Kelly on JFK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5EOuppHoTM Farrah Fawcett on Stiletto Power https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eskff0RUQ8 Beastie Boys on Being Stupid null. David Foster Wallace on Ambition null. Wilt Chamberlain on Tall Tales null. Larry King on Getting Seduced null. Jim Morrison on Why Fat is Beautiful null. Music THE VELVET UNDERGROUND "Venus in Furs" "Heroin" "Rock and Roll" LOU REED "Perfect Day" Photos P. TUFTS PHIL KING via FLICKR