Lou Reed & John Cale, “Open House,” from Songs for Drella

Marty Butler told me about this album, Songs for Drella:

The album was the pair’s first collaboration since 1972, and was dedicated to the memory of Andy Warhol, their mentor, who had died unexpectedly in 1987. Drella was a nickname coined by Warhol Superstar Ondine for Warhol, a contraction of Dracula and Cinderella, used by Warhol’s crowd.

Songs for Drella is a homage to Warhol, focusing on his interpersonal relations. The songs fall roughly into three categories: Warhol’s first-person perspective, third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves.

Marty was quoting me the lyrics from “Open House”:

It’s a Czechoslovakian custom my mother passed on to me
the way to make friends Andy is invite them up for tea
Open house
Open House

…

It’s a Czechoslovakian custom my mother passed on to me
give people little presents so they remember me
Open house
open house

I love the idea that Andy’s whole spirit and The Factory and his love of collaboration came from his mother.