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The Velvet Underground
Swingers and swappers, strippers and streetwalkers, sadists, masochists, and sexual mavericks of every persuasion; are all documented in this legendary expose of the diseased underbelly of '60s American society.
The book that lent its name to the seminal New York rock 'n' roll group, whose songs were to mirror its themes of depravity and social malaise. Welcome to the sexual twilight zone.
The book that lent its name to the seminal New York rock 'n' roll group, whose songs were to mirror its themes of depravity and social malaise. Welcome to the sexual twilight zone.
- GenresNonfictionMusicSexuality
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
About the author
Michael Leigh
26 books5 followersBachelor's Degree from University of Melbourne.
Ph.D from University of Cornell.
Taught at Universities of Sydney ad Melbourne for 35 years, plus at Cornell University, USA, Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Syiah Kuala in Indonesia and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
President of Asian Studies Association, Australia (2007)
Ph.D from University of Cornell.
Taught at Universities of Sydney ad Melbourne for 35 years, plus at Cornell University, USA, Universitas Indonesia and Universitas Syiah Kuala in Indonesia and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).
President of Asian Studies Association, Australia (2007)
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 19, 2017
This book is not 'good' by any definition, but as a cultural artifact it's equal parts disturbing and gut-bustingly hilarious. Leigh is a misogynist, a homophobe, and a blind pearl-clutching traditionalist of the worst order. He openly admits that he "[lays] no claim to being an expert on the subject of sexology" and insists that his purpose is "not to draw conclusions," but then comes out with such wonderful one-liners as "these sexual anarchists conspire against us all, against our society and good and well-being." What's truly ironic though is that instead of convincing the reader that America is full of sexual perverts, Leigh only succeeds in convincing the reader that he himself is a bit of a pervert: all he does throughout the book is catalog other people's sexcapades, not without a certain degree of voyeuristic glee (it's worth noting that he feels a need to pass judgement on the physical attractiveness of every female 'subject' he encounters in the process). And despite all his moralizing, his own moral code is patently appalling. In a late chapter detailing the 'indecent' (to use the author's favorite word) sexual indulgences of collegiate beach-going spring-breakers, he favorably quotes a police officer as saying, "It's an ironic commentary on morals that we've yet to log our first rape complaint." So, in Leigh's world, he'd rather have college girls getting raped left, right, and center than engaging in consensual sex. How's that for morality? But the best (and by best I mean worst) part of this whole 'study' is the complete lack of legitimate supporting evidence or research methodology, which leaves you wondering whether, perhaps, Leigh just made the whole thing up.
August 5, 2016
Not a good book. I suspect that the only reason this book remains in print is because of its connection to the band, The Velvet Underground. According to the band, they didn't pick this book's title because they liked the book or for its subject matter -- that was coincidence. They liked the sound of it and its potential association to underground movies. What's funny then is that the only reason anyone still goes to this book is because of a band that addressed similar issues sometimes, but not because they agreed with Leigh. So his book remains a cult item because of the culture he despised.
Leigh's argument is a poor one, and seems like a poor one even for its time. His examples are sensational, chosen for shock as much as anything. The Cold War lurks around the edges and the fear of your dangerous next door neighbors who "look just like you" yet are secret sex fiends smells a bit like Leigh swapped out the Communists for the LGBTQ community. Yet there is something to pointing out that whoever we think revels in depravity is not always some identifiably gross, seedy community Out There. That this developing sex culture is happening in middle-class America is very interesting, but Leigh fails to engage with that properly -- he's asking the wrong questions, because those would be more complicated and less exciting. It is interesting how many of the people focused on in this group classify themselves as modern and open-minded, which often translates to people looking for an excuse not to really care about much and just live a life without boundaries. Is this the case with every swinger in the world? No, and Leigh fails to give a more diverse example of what he's talking about. He's reductive, sensational, often using titillating descriptions that he then condemns (confusing his whole argument), and moralizing yet claims the problem is more with the illegality of what the people are doing than with the morality, though he then tries to combine those two things and his whole argument becomes laughably bad. Basically, he has no stable thesis from which to build his argument and the whole thing becomes rather juvenile.
The usefulness of this book is now primarily as a historical artifact, providing a window into a time and place, from Leigh's specific perspective. It's relatively short and not hard to read, unless bad writing causes you physical, intellectual pain. As a journalist, Leigh does a pretty shallow job of things, doing little to fully represent his subject, or responsibly handle and critique it.
Leigh's argument is a poor one, and seems like a poor one even for its time. His examples are sensational, chosen for shock as much as anything. The Cold War lurks around the edges and the fear of your dangerous next door neighbors who "look just like you" yet are secret sex fiends smells a bit like Leigh swapped out the Communists for the LGBTQ community. Yet there is something to pointing out that whoever we think revels in depravity is not always some identifiably gross, seedy community Out There. That this developing sex culture is happening in middle-class America is very interesting, but Leigh fails to engage with that properly -- he's asking the wrong questions, because those would be more complicated and less exciting. It is interesting how many of the people focused on in this group classify themselves as modern and open-minded, which often translates to people looking for an excuse not to really care about much and just live a life without boundaries. Is this the case with every swinger in the world? No, and Leigh fails to give a more diverse example of what he's talking about. He's reductive, sensational, often using titillating descriptions that he then condemns (confusing his whole argument), and moralizing yet claims the problem is more with the illegality of what the people are doing than with the morality, though he then tries to combine those two things and his whole argument becomes laughably bad. Basically, he has no stable thesis from which to build his argument and the whole thing becomes rather juvenile.
The usefulness of this book is now primarily as a historical artifact, providing a window into a time and place, from Leigh's specific perspective. It's relatively short and not hard to read, unless bad writing causes you physical, intellectual pain. As a journalist, Leigh does a pretty shallow job of things, doing little to fully represent his subject, or responsibly handle and critique it.
July 22, 2022
This is really a PG-13 exploration of B&D and other nonmainstream sexual antics in the US in the 1960s. In 1993 (more or less), I became interested to read it due to the connection to the band named after the book. (Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison's friend, filmmaker Tony Conrad, found a copy lying in the street. Morrison has reported the group liked the name, considering it evocative of "underground cinema," and fitting, due to Reed's already having written "Venus in Furs", inspired by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's book of the same name, dealing with sado-masochism.)
So, I went to my local library to seek this obscure title via the interlibrary loan service. I remember it cost a quarter and you had to fill out a form. Now, mind you, I actually knew nothing about this book which, again, is very tame and no Fifty Shades of Grey. But this was the early '90s and there was no internet as think of it, let alone Amazon.com.
Well, the first clerk was so offended she wouldn't even discuss the matter with me. The next employee, trying to be tactful, told me about how it was unusual to get requests for an "academic" title like this. Academic? I still don't get that adjective being pressed into service as a euphemism here.
So, I went to my local library to seek this obscure title via the interlibrary loan service. I remember it cost a quarter and you had to fill out a form. Now, mind you, I actually knew nothing about this book which, again, is very tame and no Fifty Shades of Grey. But this was the early '90s and there was no internet as think of it, let alone Amazon.com.
Well, the first clerk was so offended she wouldn't even discuss the matter with me. The next employee, trying to be tactful, told me about how it was unusual to get requests for an "academic" title like this. Academic? I still don't get that adjective being pressed into service as a euphemism here.
March 11, 2015
not even Groupies United would make this Book of the Month.
February 23, 2016
I hated the author. Some information is interesting but I wouldn't recommend reading it.
April 28, 2020
Hmmmm listening to the band would give you a more colorful unbiased description of the persuasion and time period. The book starts off as what seemingly appears factual report style writing... (very dry and it doesn’t get better) However interestingly enough half way through you start to pick up on the authors agendas and basis of ethics and morals... It reminds me of a college term paper... I’d grade it a c.
February 22, 2018
Interesting as a snapshot of early 60's conservative moral outlooks. By today's standards pretty backwards thinking. Especially the views on homosexuality.
December 3, 2021
A silly book.
Having given a certain 60s NYC rock group its name, this book has been on my shelf, unread, for nearly 20 years. Mr. Leigh assures us his "report" is to inform, not to arouse, the gentle reader of the world of kink. Yet it is neither informative nor titilating. It is a reminder that efforts to regulate by law, the sexual lives of Americans, is a useless though persistent exercise.
Having given a certain 60s NYC rock group its name, this book has been on my shelf, unread, for nearly 20 years. Mr. Leigh assures us his "report" is to inform, not to arouse, the gentle reader of the world of kink. Yet it is neither informative nor titilating. It is a reminder that efforts to regulate by law, the sexual lives of Americans, is a useless though persistent exercise.
March 1, 2015
I'll begin by saying that this author is a pathological pearl-clutcher when he's at his best and a conflicted bigot when he's at his worst, despite his efforts to report objectively on the "underground" sexual culture(s) he researched. He is probably a product of his times, and his times were characterized by a lot of cultural changes and fearful, often hateful reactions to those changes, I guess. That said, the people he writes about sort of "get away" from him in a way that I can only compare to John Milton's Satan, and that was what made this book a delight to read. Aside from a few isolated cases of bestiality (not ok), all of the behaviors the book documents occur between consenting, competent adults. Their rich, fascinating stories shine through his dry and often judgemental prose. The "deviates" are quoted and described throughout the book, and one can't help but feel empathy and admiration for most of them as they do their best to balance responsibility to others and personal freedom, to navigate in a rapidly changing society where their desires push the limits of social acceptibility, and in some cases just to love and be loved. I know the people that Leigh describes aren't perfect, that sexism and exploitation are/were likely present in the subcultures he writes about, but I think that being honest and brave enough to go against the grain while still making an effort to respect the people around you is laudable. I have a lot more to say about the interesting history and occasional unintentional hilarity in The Velvet Underground, but I'll leave it at this instead: a good read, would recommend.
March 11, 2008
Tittilation thinly disquised as scientific-study/exposé. The intro is particularly hilarious. This, of course, is the bk that the band of the same name took their name from. Full of sexual variety - mostly chosen for its sensationalism. If you want delicate descriptions of sensitive lovingness this probably ain't for you. If you want spouse-swapping & other more hard-core activities, this is the place.
July 9, 2008
Interesting read. Being a fan of the Velvet Underground, and being that this is the book that inspired the name of the band, I naturally thought I should read it.
December 26, 2009
Great
February 6, 2015
The writing sucks, but it is historically interesting.
March 16, 2016
Not for everyone, but definitely a unique perspective on the beginnings of the sexual revolution/ culture whose effects are still felt today.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews