Stephanie Says

"Stephanie Says"
Song by the Velvet Underground
from the album VU
Released	February 1985
Recorded	February 13–14, 1968 [1]
Studio	A&R, New York [1]
Genre	Baroque pop
Length	2:50
Label	Verve
Songwriter(s)	Lou Reed
Producer(s)	Val Valentin [1]

"Stephanie Says" is a song by American band the Velvet Underground, originally recorded in 1968. Although available on various bootlegs, the song was not released officially until 1985 when a remixed version appeared on the album VU , and subsequently on the 1995 box set Peel Slowly and See . The original 1968 mix of "Stephanie Says" was included on the 2005 Velvet Underground compilation album Gold .

Caroline Says II

"Caroline Says II"
Song by Lou Reed
from the album Berlin
Released	October 5, 1973
Studio	Record Plant (New York City)
Genre	Art rock
Length	4:10
Label	RCA Victor
Songwriter(s)	Lou Reed
Producer(s)	Bob Ezrin

Lou Reed rewrote the lyrics and renamed it "Caroline Says II" for his 1973 solo album Berlin . While vastly different in tone, it retained the refrain "It's so cold in Alaska".

Reception

Spin said the Velvet Underground version was, "Virtually a direct referral to the first album. Both the melody and the function — another bittersweet homage to the negative girls of fashionable Manhattan —steers it awfully close to "All Tomorrow's Parties II"." ^[2]

Cover versions

• Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth covered the song on Fifteen Minutes: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground .
• Keren Ann and Barði Jóhannson, lead singer of Icelandic band Bang Gang covered the song on their album Lady and Bird .
• Serbian rock band Eva Braun covered the song with lyrics in the Serbian language in 1993 for the various artist compilation Radio Utopia. The song was released again as a bonus track on the remastered edition of their second studio album Pop Music.
• Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini covered the song for her 1996 studio album Merman . Her version of the song reached number one on Iceland's Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 chart in January 1997 and ended the year at number 62 on the year-end chart. ^{[3] [4]}

Related media

• In 2001, the song was used in the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums .
• The song is referenced heavily in Amanda Palmer's "Blake Says" on her 2008 solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer .
• The name of the main protagonist Alaska Young in John Green's 2005 novel, Looking for Alaska , was inspired by the line "She’s not afraid to die / The people all call her Alaska". ^[5]

References

1. Richie Unterberger (June 1, 2009). White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day. Jawbone Press. p. 182. ISBN   978-1-906002-22-0.
2. Farren, Mick (May 1985). "Spins". Spin . No. 1. pp. 28–29.
3. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (9.1. '97 –15.1. '97)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 10, 1997. p. 16. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
4. "Árslistinn 1997 – Íslenski Listinn – 100 Vinsælustu Lögin". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). January 2, 1998. p. 25. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
5. "Why did you have Alaska choose the name 'Alaska'... - LFA Questions Answered".