A friend forwarded me an email saying that Lou Reed has died at age 57 from a drug overdose in New York. Later on, he's not sure if this is a hoax and asked me to hang on. I don't have a single Lou Reed or Velvet Underground album as yet, just a book of Lou Reed lyrics which is more poems than songs. Are you there Lou?

[Added note: 9th May 2001]
Lou Reed turned out to have OD'd at age 59, but is still alive. He had to issue a statement to refute his own death news on the internet. :)