On Oct. 27, 2013, Lou Reed died of kidney failure at age 71. Reed was and will continue to be one of the most influential figures in American culture. He began his career with The Velvet Underground in the late 1960s. It is during his time with the Velvets that his work considered most influential was produced.

 The Velvet Underground is widely credited with introducing Avant-Garde as a part of American rock music. Between collaborations with legendary artist Andy Warhol, odd instrumentation and guitar tuning, as well as a general sound alien to culture up to this point, The Velvets established themselves as the first art rock band.

Though Lou Reed did not find commercial success with The Velvet Underground, the band produced some of the most influential tunes in rock history. Bands from The Strokes to Belle and Sebastian, Iggy Pop, even David Bowie cite them as a major influence.

Lou Reed’s music was considered shocking by many, with its themes of urban decay, drug abuse and sexuality. Lou himself identified as bisexual. When his parents learned of this, he was administered pseudoscientific shock therapy to “cure” him. His music would go on to reflect the alienation of these events.

Lou Reed was a known heroin addict, and he made this abundantly plain in his music. One of the best songs he wrote with The Velvet Underground is called simply, “Heroin.” In this song he tries to capture the mania he associates with this drug. While some see this as offensive, others see how it portrays the slave-like dependency he formed with heroin, in a poignant combination of guitars and horns.

Though Reed is gone, his spirit will live through this music forever.