Illustration from a programme of Le Theatre Libre, printed in Les Menus & Programmes Illustres, 1898
I'm not sure how to pinpoint the Velvet Underground's influence in the music of My Bloody Valentine, particularly in the case of their Loveless album, which is famous for sounding different from everything recorded previously or since. But there is some evidence in My Bloody Valentine's first full-length, 1988's Isn't Anything, that there really IS a straight line you can draw from the Velvet Underground to My Bloody Valentine, and this line goes directly through the Jesus & Mary Chain. My favorite song from the album, "Several Girls Galore", has been called a "cubist take" on the Jesus & Mary Chain by Uncut's David Stubbs. And I can see that, but I also think I can see past that to the Velvet Underground influence underneath that. There's some "Venus In Furs" feeling in the drone of "Several Girls Galore", and Belinda Butcher's blank chanteuse approach to the vocal brings Nico to mind.
"Several Girls Galore" by My Bloody Valentine
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