Velvet and alternative rock

Rock has produced enough images to produce rich comic strips. The proof with The Velvet Underground seen by Koren Shadmi and the investigation carried out by Arnaud le Gouëfflec and Nicolas Moog in the traces of punk and French alternative rock of the 80s.

Do the names Lou Reed, John Cale, Maureen Tucker, Sterling Morrison and Nico mean anything to you? In the mid-1960s, these young people embodied a dark and anguished alternative to the Californian rock that hippies loved.

Made in New York City

Their group is named The Velvet Underground ; their base camp is New York; and they gravitate in the sphere of the pope of Pop art, Andy Warhol.

The Velvet Underground, in the excitement of the Warhol Factory dissects the myth by focusing on the relationship between the two enemy brothers of Velvet : Lou Reed and John Cale. Two difficult childhoods: electroshocks for Lou, a teenager on Long Island; severe depression for John, in a dysfunctional family in Wales. Lou’s texts tell the story of life on the margins, at ground level, among junkies and prostitutes. On the violin, John infuses rock with the contemporary experiments of the moment.

Sex, drugs, troubles and fame. The author of this comic, Koren Shadmi, a New Yorker from Brooklyn, notes that the mission of Velvet was to exasperate, disturb and confuse his audience. As time passes, yesterday’s avant-garde has become classic.

The Velvet Underground, in the excitement of the Warhol Factory published by Boîte à Bulles.

Made in France

Their names were Black berry bush, OTH, The dilapidated mouse, the Thugs, The Butcher Boys, Parabellum And THE Wampas…among others. In Live Free or Diethe screenwriter Arnaud Le Gouëfflec and his friend Nicolas Moog, the drawing, remake the film of an era – that before the Internet – when musical rebellion was spread on cassettes and by word of mouth.

They find the heroes of the microphone a little tidy in the cars, travel across France to glean memories, revisit in black and white the images – posters, costumes, haircuts and tattoos – which impregnated the retina, while the decibels twisted the brains. Brief, Live Free or Die, it’s the map of France of nasty riff and furious howler. It’s seriously poking!

Live Free or Diepublished by Glénat.