Monday 28th October 2013 by Gaby Whitehill | Photos by Press / WENN

'My God is rock and roll': 15 of Lou Reed's best quotes

The Velvet Underground icon was never afraid to speak his mind

"The music is all. People should die for it. People are dying for everything else, so why not the music?"

"My God is rock'n'roll. It's an obscure power that can change your life. The most important part of my religion is to play guitar."

"I�m pretty satisfied if I just get an idea. I had one this morning that I�m sad I didn�t write down. My songs are all simple songs. There�s no big secret."

"This is rock & roll. It's my rock & roll. If you don't like my rock & roll, why don't ya just split? Get a refund, motherfucker." (To a heckler)

"Maybe listening to my music is not the best idea if you live a very constricted life."

"I don't know anyone actually who does care what a critic says."

"One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz."

"It's funny having someone from TV ask that question; it's the lowest medium there is. Look what's on it. Garbage." (When asked by a TV presenter whether there's still authenticity in the music industry)

"These are really terribly rough times, and we really should try to be as nice to each other as possible."

"I don't like being interviewed. Why would anyone want to be interviewed? Anybody in their right mind? Why would you, if the position was reversed, want to sit here and have me ask questions about you?"

"I think that everything happens for a reason, everything happens when it's going to happen."

"I'm in this business for too long to be half-hearted about anything."

"I'm not trying to change anybody's mind about anything. I'm not trying to win anybody over. I'm happy to get up in the morning. I can tie my shoelaces. I haven't got hit by a car. I just love the music and sound and wanted to make it better, so if someone else wanted to hear it, they'd get some bang for the buck."

"It always bothers me to see people writing 'RIP' when a person dies. It just feels so insincere and like a cop-out. To me, 'RIP' is the microwave dinner of posthumous honors."

"I've always believed that there's an amazing number of things you can do through a rock n' roll song and that you can do serious writing in a rock song if you can somehow do it without losing the beat."

Tags: Lou Reed

Lou Reed was a true rock legend - a pioneer who influenced countless artists for generations to come and helped shape and define an era of music.

Initially finding fame with the Andy Warhol-curated The Velvet Underground, Reed went solo and shunned the mainstream after initial accessible hits such as 'Walk On the Wild Side' and, of course, 'Perfect Day'. As well as being an incredibly influential singer and songwriter, Reed was a notoriously prickly interviewee, known to hang up on journalists if he got bored of their questions and even reduce them to tears. However, Reed gave fantastic soundbites when he was so inclined.

With the icon having passed away last night, we've collected together 15 of his most outrageous, inspirational, rude and insightful quotes.