John Cale Releases - “If You Were Still Around” (Official Video) On The One-Year Anniversary Of Lou Reed’s Death

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Lou Reed’s death, and Reed’s former Velvet Underground bandmate John Cale has released a new video for an old song in Reed’s honor. Cale recorded a more upbeat version of his formerly somber “If You Were Still Around,” originally included on 1982′s Music For A New Society. It’s matched with visuals by director Abigail Portner, the sister of Animal Collective’s Dave Portner AKA Avey Tare. Along with the video, Cale shared a statement that touches obliquely yet poetically on his friendship with Reed:

A Moth and a Candle met. They decided to become friends. Everyone enjoyed watching their discourse – especially the risk takers. Then one day a big rain came. The Moth couldn’t fly and the Candle puttered out. Everyone laughed in bitter awe and blamed the rain. Most however knew the deeper truth — the Candle remains lit and the Moth will stay close.

The video appears to visually reference VU and Andy Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia roadshows, with Cale performing against video projections under dim lighting.