Sweet Jane

I was winding down Benedict Canon in L.A. just before the New Year when I heard the best folksy jam on the radio, one that I had never heard before -- and I turned up the dial.

The sun was sneaking through canopied trees as I grabbed my BlackBerry so I could Shazam it.

It was "Sweet Jane" by the Velvet Underground, with Lou Reed.

I just loved it then, even more now. I'm not quite sure why -- I mean, it's a simple, mellow yellow song, but Lou's voice is so cool and imperfect, and his delivery has heart. I also like how the song sounds natural, not over-produced, as if childhood pals were hammering out a song over beers on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It also very much reminds me of a slower, more spacey version of one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs: Beast of Burden.

Do you think they resemble each other, too?

* The Velvet Underground with Edie Sedgwick and Andy Warhol, who was their manager