Will Lou Reed Join the Crowd and Sue the Chelsea?

I called someone living at the hotel yesterday and was put on hold.  In the past, when they put you on hold you would get this nice pleasant voice telling you all about the glorious history of the Chelsea Hotel, “one of the most famous hotels in the world,” and its past residents and their contributions to the arts.  Yesterday it was a bad recording of The Velvet Underground.  Well, at least they have something to do with the Chelsea, as Nico lived here.  But I’m sure once Lou Reed hears about this he’ll sue the hotel for using his music without permission, and then we’ll just get some canned, generic muzak crap like they have at the Pod Hotel.  What’s wrong with telling people about the hotel.  We’ve got an impressive history, and people who are calling might want to know about it.  Hell, it might even make them want to stay here.  I can see that BD is hell bent on erasing all traces of the Chelsea’s individuality and turning it into a sterile, corporate chain hotel, but that doesn’t even make good business sense. -- Ed Hamilton