In their original incarnation, the Velvet Underground recorded plenty of songs obsessing over death, so it shouldn't come as that much of a surprise to find that the members who've survived into their fifties should be so taken with the topic these days. |

Following on the heels of Lou Reed's eulogies to assorted pals on Magic and Loss, as well as the collaborative tribute to Andy Warhol on Songs for Drella, former-Velvet John Cale has just weighed in with a ballet written in memory of Sixties scenester/one-time bandmate Nico.

Nico, better known to her friends and family as Christa Paffgen, was the paradigm of Warholian decadence: Teutonic, icy and drug-addled. She sang with the Velvet Underground for just one album before going on to a commercially abysmal, critically acclaimed solo career that extended to the time of her sudden death in 1988.

Cale captures all the elements of her life in the simply titled Nico, which deals with her mindless bimbo phase ("Modeling"), her copious groupie exploits ("Jim") as well as her musical talents ("Night Club Theme"). The actual ballet was staged by the Ballet Rotterdam -- which New York audiences (or those with satellite dish dexterity) will be able to view when it airs on WNYC-TV on October 20.

If your interest is piqued, Nico is also the subject of a just-released career retrospective issued by Mercury Chronicles.

DAVID SPRAGUE(September 23, 1998)