Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis.

The stories about the Velvet Underground are insane.

They sang candidly about heroin, speed, and S&M.

And those subjects would be controversial even now,

but at the time in the 1960s, they were completely taboo,

unheard of in pop music. No one sang about drugs and sex like that, but no one was the Velvet Underground. Their members included drug dealers and

junkies, and their perverted stage show offended liberal hippies. Their first manager, Andy Warhol, nearly died during an assassination

attempt that left him physically and mentally shattered for the rest of his life. Their songwriter,

Lou Reed, was hell-bent on transcending the art scene to achieve major commercial success,

no matter who stood in his way.

Despite of him, because of all of these things, the Velvet Underground made great music.

Some of the most cutting-edge music, music that predicted punk rock, music that launched a thousand bands.

Unlike that clip I played for you at the top of the show,

that wasn't great music.

That was a preset loop from my Melotron

called Union Square Dance MK1.

I played you that loop

because I can't afford the rights to Mrs. Robinson

by Simon and Garfunkel.

And why would I play you that specific slice of gucooka cheese could I afford it?

Because that was the number one song in America on June 3, 1968.

And that was the day that the Velvet Underground's former manager, Andy Warhol,

...