Greathead, get your facts straight

We feel that it is our duty to point out that the premise of Ms. Greathead’s column published in last Friday’s Argus (“Notes from a Broad: WWBD,” Feb. 20th) is greatly flawed. We wholeheartedly agree that American co-eds in European nightclubs hold important positions as cultural ambassadors, so before you look down on other people for knowing less about music than you do, it is important to get your facts straight. Nico was not Swedish, and she did not originally sing with the Velvet Underground. According to the Nico biography on RollingStone.com, Nico was born in Cologne, Germany. At various times in her life she lived in Berlin, New York, Paris and Ibiza, but never Sweden. She first gained notoriety as a model and actress, and subsequently recorded her first single, produced by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, in 1964. Her friendship with Andy Warhol led to a very brief collaboration with the Velvet Underground starting in 1966, nearly two years after the band originally formed. We support musical elitism in all its forms, but we expect more from the author of “You Are What You Wear.” Germany and Sweden might not seem that different to you, but imagine if some European told you “the Strokes” were from Canada!