"New Age" is the fifth song

Song

In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 from the 1970 The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...

 album Loaded. It is one of the songs that feature Doug Yule

Doug Yule

Douglas Alan Yule is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of The Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973.- Early career :Yule began playing with various bands in Boston in the 1960s...

 on vocals, encouraged by main singer and songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 Lou Reed

Lou Reed

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...

.

The song also appears on 1969: The Velvet Underground Live

1969: The Velvet Underground Live

1969: The Velvet Underground Live is a live album by The Velvet Underground. It was originally released as a double album in September 1974 by Mercury Records. The September 1988 CD re-release was issued as two separate single CD volumes, with one extra track per disc...

, with Reed on vocals, singing an earlier, significantly different draft of the lyrics.

"New Age", in its final draft, is considered a sarcastic homage to actress Shelley Winters

Shelley Winters

Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...

. In its original form, it was about Lou Reed's girlfriend at the time, Shelly Albin.

When the album was released, this song caused controversy. Reed, who had left the band a month before, stated that his original versions of "Sweet Jane

Sweet Jane

"Sweet Jane" is a song by The Velvet Underground, originally appearing on their 1970 album Loaded. The song was written by band's leader Lou Reed, who continued to incorporate the piece into live performances years later as a solo artist....

", "Rock and Roll

Rock & Roll (Lou Reed song)

"Rock & Roll" is a song by The Velvet Underground, originally appearing on their 1970 album Loaded. The song was written by the Velvet's then-leader Lou Reed, who continued to incorporate the song into his own live performances years later as a solo artist.The song recounts the advent of rock &...

", and "New Age" were corrupted. Doug Yule, on the other hand, insists that Reed's mixes were respected.

The 1997 Fully Loaded issue of the Loaded album includes an alternate version of "New Age", subtitled "full-length version". It is nearly 40 seconds longer than the "long version".

The 2001 cover album Strange Little Girls

Strange Little Girls

Strange Little Girls is a concept album released by singer-songwriter Tori Amos in 2001. The album's 12 tracks are covers of songs written and originally performed by men, reinterpreted by Amos from a female's point of view. Amos created female personae for each track and was photographed as...

by Tori Amos

Tori Amos

Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...

features a cover of the song, singing Reed's earlier lyrics.