1) Lou Reed, "Don't Talk To Me About Work". While I own 9 of this guy's albums, I still feel like I have only a vague sense of what he's about. Maybe he does too. This uncertainty manifests itself from time to time, and I wonder whether I've been tricked into thinking that I like some of his songs; maybe I'm mistaking banality for realism? But this song is an example of his ability to pull out a resonant line that takes you by total surprise: it's one of those emphatic transmissions of feeling that popular song conducts best. It also doesn't hurt that I sympathise with the subject, as some of you might know.

2) Lou Reed, "Bottoming Out". I sympathise again, but thankfully only in spirit. I mean, good lord! The sequence with his doctor! The threat of murder! And don't get me started about the ending! Yes, there certainly is truth to that cliche of him being dark, but as with any great songwriter, he's capable of doing it subtly. It's hard to be sure, since The Blue Mask has been cemented in my ears for a long time, but I feel this sort of casual, matter-of-fact style must have few precedents in the rock canon. By almost downplaying the subject, it becomes all the more affecting.