Lou Reed's gives final interview, talks about his relationship with sound [WATCH]

Lou Reed gave his last interview on September 21 just a month before his death on Oct. 27 at the age of 71. On a photo shoot for Parrot, read sat down with director Farida Khelfa and talked about his relationship with sound — the company consulted him to adjust the balance of the Parrot Zik headphone to make them better suited for rock music. "Sound is more than just noise," he said. "Ordered sound is music. My life is music."

Although his physical appearance showed his age, his mind was as sharp as ever. He explained why he became a musician saying, ""You do what you love or you get arrested." Khelfa asked him how he got his first guitar, whether his father gave it to him. Reed fired back, "My father didn't give me sh*t," and listed the ways he earned money to buy his own guitar.

Because the interview was meant to illuminate Reeds expertise with sound, the conversation shifted to how he hears sound. "I know the way I like things to sound," he explained. "I wouldn't want to hear Beethoven without beautiful bass, the cellos, the tuba. It's very important. Hip-hop has thunderous bass. And so does Beethoven. If you don't have the bass, it's like being amputated. It's like you have no legs."

He recalled the challenges of putting bass on vinyl and how "horrifying" CD quality was but applauded the new technology that has enabled a more pure sound and said he has used it to improve his record catalogue.

"I just remastered every album I have to take advantage of the new technology. And it was so beautiful it made me cry," he admitted. "I am very emotionally affected by sound. Sounds are the inexplicable. . .There is a sound you hear in your head, it's your nerves, or your blood running. It's kind of amazing to hear that."

Keeping with the theme of sound and the human relationship to it, Khelfa asked him what his first memory of sound was. He responded poetically, ""The first memory of sound would have to be your mother's heartbeat, for all of us. ...You grow up, from when you're a peanut, listening to rhythm. ...But then there are nature sounds. ...the sound of the wind. The sound of love."

Watch a clip of the interview here (via Rolling Stone) and let us know what you think in the comments section below!

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Lou Reed