the kids

lou reed's berlin is an audio representation of a nightmare. the listening experience is brutal. it is desolate, it is desirable, it is completely devoid of human comfort. lou goes out of his way to beat you over the head with misery. the kids screaming at the end of "the kids" is intolerable. the little boy screaming "mommy!" makes your eyes glaze over and stare ahead and eventually lie behind your eyelids for security. it makes your heart beat slower and your breathing grows longer.

it's 4a.m. and lou is singing "and this is the room where she took the razor and cut her wrists that strange and fateful night, and I said, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, what a feeling, and I said, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, what a feeling."

i'm almost thankful i broke that cd that night.