Years ago I was working in a place in Manhattan that was demonstrating a virtual-reality helmet. Lou Reed came in to try it and sat in the chair and had the Darth Vader-ish object placed over his head by the woman supervising the demo. He waited a beat and said, “Now what happens? Does someone pull my cock?” Rest in peace, Lou Reed.

Here’s my favorite Reed performance on tape, a 1974 version of “Sweet Jane” from Paris. Jane had a pretty exciting life for a clerk.