Once you think of it, it takes about half a second to feel the link between the legendary Lou Reed and the dark American master poet Edgar Allan Poe. Think passion. Think noir. Think taboo. And you’ve got the terrain of Lou Reed and Poe in Reed’s new album “The Raven.”

Lou Reed made a giant mark for himself in the rock world first as the leader of groundbreaking group “The Velvet Underground,” and later as a solo performer without bounds, rolling grandly, darkly, gaily into themes of drug use, kinky sex, transvestites, and suicidal depression.

Match that with Edgar Allen Poe’s literary journeys into obsession, paranoia and willful acts of self-destruction and you’ve got a thoroughly modern artistic marriage.

Click the “Listen” link above to hear about the music of wild-side rock n’ roll legend Lou Reed and the canon of literary genius Edgar Allan Poe.

Guests:

Lou Reed, rock legend and godfather of punk music. Latest two albums are called “The Raven” and “NYC Man: The Collection.”