Not really on the listening list, but I thought this might be worth sharing. Yesterday I listened to the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat (from the Peel Slowly and See box set) and think I had a epiphany. The disc collects various outtakes recorded for the record. Listening to the instrumental tracks written around the same time like "Booker T," an extended groove perfect for go-go dancing, it struck me that the VU's second album is less an art rock "statement" than the work of an unrepentant dance band with an, let's say, unusual sense of humor. Yes, the epic nighttown vision of "Sister Ray" may indeed allude to the transgressive fiction of John Rechy and Hubert Selby: but I mostly hear a twisted novelty record: a risk-taking record to be sure, but a novelty record nonetheless.
So, according to the Faulk hypothesis, "The Gift" is the album's key song, not "Sister Ray." Dude sends himself through the mail in a large box to Girlfriend; Girlfriend, who is actually bored with Dude, hacks him to death when she tries to open up the package. Hapless Dude dies. Yuk Yuk. That's about it. And the VU know it. When you get tired of hearing John Cale recite the sad story (could that happen, given Cale's awesome Welsh accent?), just turn off one speaker and dance to the instrumental track in the other. That's the main thing.
(It makes sense that "Hey Mr. Rain," also from the WL/WH sessions, didn't make the final cut for the record; a genuine art rock statement thanks to Cale's stunning viola playing, it would have stood out like a sore thumb on WL/WH.)
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