Lou Reed, RIP

One of rock's greatest lyricists has died.

Lou Reed has died at age 71. My colleague Matt Welch is writing a longer appreciation of his work; in the meantime I'll just say that at his best he was one of the greatest songwriters of the last half-century, a man with an almost unrivaled talent for wrenching something beautiful out of ugliness. Rest in peace.

And finally, something seasonal: