The Total Noob's Guide to The Velvet Underground

You know how the best math teachers aren't natural math geniuses, but those who once struggled with math themselves?  Same with the Velvet Underground.  I present myself here as a total noob at The Velvet Underground, one who can maybe help fellow noobs access this seminal yet terminally strange act. 

Perhaps you're curious cause all the Lou Reed obits from last October kept referencing his first band like it was some sort of big deal; maybe you keep seeing The Velvet Undergrou...