Among the formal breakthroughs accomplished by the Velvet Underground was something called the drone strum. As perfected by Lou Reed, this strum didn’t syncopate to emphasize the backbeat the way rock rhythm guitar usually did—in fact, it barely syncopated at all, tending more toward chopped, evenly accented eighth notes dropped squarely on the beat. And it was this nervous chink-chink-chink-chink-chink-chink-chink-chink that gave the anxious edge to the likes of ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’ and ‘White Light/White Heat.’
J.D.C., opening the Feelies entry in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide.
