The Velvet Underground’s first album sold a piddling 30,000 copies but, as Brian Eno would later recount, “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.” The Velvet Underground created some of the 1960s’ most exciting and experimental rock and roll, and were produced by no less a powerhouse than Andy Warhol. All that and five bucks coulda gotten them a bus ticket out of New York City. They failed to make it big during their brief career as a band, confined to a fringe arthouse scene that worshipped the ground the band walked on but couldn’t propel them to mainstream success. Nevertheless, the Velvet Underground’s legacy would grow into a legend after their breakup, and eventually change rock and roll forever.
So it’s about time they got the documentary treatment. It was helmed by Todd Haynes, who made Carol, Dark Waters and the wonderfully weird Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There. The Velvet Underground will drop on Apple TV Plus in October, featuring tons of new interviews with surviving band members and some never-before-seen unearthed footage of Lou Reed, Nico, Warhol and other late members of the VU extended universe. The movie will coincide with the release of a soundtrack that’ll provide an overview of the Velvet Underground discography and some early demos for superfans.