Lou's songs open the door on a world of despair, addiction and deviancy which many would rather not enter, but which, however unpalatable, clearly expose areas of the human psyche which most of us recognise as part of us, but unconsciously suppress in order to function in everyday life.
Through his songs Lou displays qualities which all great artists possess, whether they are poets, painters, writers or whatever - they are able somehow to act as a kind of conduit for the communal unconscious..... i.e. they have the ability to absorb moods or feelings, possibly between two people, within a nation, or even wider, and express them in a manner we all understand and know to be true, whether we've been able to acknowledge them or not.
When asked once about one of his songs Lou explained "....I find out what a song is about when I do it out loud in front of an audience...... and over the years I realise that "Satellite Of Love" is really about jealousy. That's what I think it's about.... but I could be wrong. Just because I wrote it doesn't mean I know what it's about ". This clearly illustrates a process of absorbtion and distillation which seems to be taking place almost beyond the artist's control or knowledge.

As one of the true ancestors of punk, and a formative influence on David Bowie and the Glam Rock movement, Lou's part in rock history is already written. But he's much more than that - he's seen deep into the human soul and laid it out before us. Today he's more like a guru, and I for one would willingly sit at his feet.