( CNN ) -- The first line in most of the early obituaries of Lou Reed described him primarily as lead singer for the Velvet Underground . This is somewhat like starting an obituary for Abraham Lincoln by saying he was president of he United States during the Civil War . Or , more to the point , that Thelonious Monk played piano or that Bob Dylan was a folk singer . In each case , it 's a start . At the same time , it does n't begin telling you what 's important to know . In fact , what I 've been hearing and reading online from friends and others , since word came Sunday of Reed 's death at age 71 , were reactions that vibrated with emotional intensity and startling intimacy . `` He changed my life '' was a recurring theme , as was `` I would n't have been a ______ without him . '' And you could fill in the blank with any or all of the following : poet , artist , musician , singer , writer , performer , iconoclast , New Yorker -- all of which Lou Reed was . And the example he set in those roles empowered generations as decisively and enduringly as such disparate peers as Dylan , John Lennon , Brian Wilson and others who made the '60s ( and a lot that came afterward ) possible . `` He was as gifted , as important and influential , as any artist of the last fifty years , '' wrote Mikal Gilmore , a writer and rock journalist whose own work , including the 2001 memoir `` Shot in the Heart , '' has evoked some of the same darkness , mordancy and pungent wit that filtered through Reed 's songs . `` And he was a great favorite of mine since the day I first heard the Velvet Underground 's debut as I was sitting on the floor of the Psychedelic Shop in Portland , Oregon in the summer of 1967 . '' `` Even though I knew ( Reed ) was sick , I thought he 'd last forever '' was another recurring theme that one read in blogs and social media postings . This seemed aligned with the perception of Reed as a hard-bitten survivor of drug abuse and other wretched excesses who continued to put out trenchant albums , alienate journalists , and inspire independent rockers and others who sought the cutting edge he helped define . Michael Hogan 's Vanity Fair blog -- which celebrated Reed as `` the last of the old New York characters , a true curmudgeon '' -- alluded to the knowingly affectionate jibes many people made over Reed 's liver transplant this past spring . `` Look what he did to the last one , people said , '' wrote Hogan . `` And it 's true that Lou Reed put his body through hell back in the day . He eventually cleaned up his habits but he never softened up . '' The YouTube postings of Reed 's performances also blanketed the social media landscape . `` Walk on the Wild Side '' and `` Sweet Jane , '' arguably his two most widely successful and recognized singles , were the most frequently shared . Some reached back to the 1967 album that started it all , `` The Velvet Underground and Nico , '' by posting such songs as `` I 'm Waiting for the Man , '' `` Venus in Furs '' and `` Heroin '' -- songs that took their listeners to dark , forbidding places many of them were n't ready to go , whether it was the dark corridors of a Harlem brownstone to buy hard drugs or even harder-core rituals of sadomasochistic sex . Over time , the album would become the hallowed cornerstone of such iconoclastic offshoots of the rock-pop universe as new wave , punk and indie rock . It also created a space where a new kind of romantic vision of outlaw street life would seize the imaginations not only of musicians , but of artists , writers and filmmakers . There were even those who insisted on posting , in its entirety , Reed 's 1975 experimental LP , `` Metal Machine Music , '' consisting almost entirely of guitar feedback running at different speeds . It sounds just as confounding and fascinating now as it did to listeners in the mid-'70s . But as with all of Reed 's music , scary and wistful , funny and sad , tender and spiteful , these strange sounds , whatever their reason for existing , will remain a thrown gauntlet to anyone who 's alienated themselves from the status quo to make something of their own that confuses or arouses people to think differently about their surroundings . As Gilmore wrote , `` There always seemed something indomitable about ( Reed ) and his commitment . Today , especially , he still seems indomitable . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gene Seymour .
Reactions to Reed 's death showed emotional intensity and intimacy , writes Gene Seymour . He says many commented that Reed had changed their lives . Seymour : Reed was a pioneer in his romantic vision of outlaw street life . Many knew Reed was ill , but thought he 'd last forever , he writes .