Happy 80th Birthday Moe Tucker
Moe Tucker is one of my favourite drummers. Happy 80th Moe!
Happy Birthday Moe Tucker.
The Velvet Underground’s reluctant, important drummer is 80. She played on three of the band’s four studio albums. She was replaced for some of the live work and the final studio album, but on those first three albums she played in a variety of intriguing ways, including solo snare drum, ‘orchestral’-style bass drum, with brushes, with mallets, a snare drum on the floor, a bass drum on the floor; she took the influence of Nigerian drummer, Babatunde Olatunji, her own naive/brilliant ideas, and provided the Spinal Tap “Luke Warm Water” between the fire of Lou Reed and the ice of John Cale.
I’ve celebrated her work before:
But I certainly want to celebrate it, every chance I get. I’ve recently been on a big VU kick for the first time in years. And playing solo snare with the Dirty Spoons has confirmed how much influence I’ve taken from the likes of Victor DeLorenzo (Violent Femmes), and Moe Tucker. (Victor himself, a huge Moe fan).
So I want to share some favourite songs that showcase Moe’s inimitable style.
From her solo career. As well as from the Velvets.
Some from the Velvets that she remade during her solo career.
And some cameos where she joined old bandmates, post-VU:
The impressive, fan-made, unauthorised Cam Forrester “doco” on YouTube remains the best single piece on Moe Tucker. And a must-watch.
And he’s done a bunch of work on the Velvets, showing how all the tracks were recorded, and telling stories about the band. He’s even made different mixes of the tracks to highlight the different instrumentalists.
Moe had groove, and swagger and sway. Moe was straight. And bent beyond belief at the same time. Just amazing to hear. And her simplicity, her stripped back ideas still shine. More now for me, than ever before.
The best of her solo material sits with me now. I first discovered it in the late 90s, and felt like I was the only one that knew.
Obviously, I was late to the party, but early enough to start a party of my own.
So here’s to Maureen “Moe” Tucker. Aged 80. Long may she linger on…
Do you have a favourite Moe Tucker track?