How political was Reed in the first place? I believe Havel liked the Velvet Underground and Frank Zappa among others, so probably Reed was just hanging with a famous admirer. And then Havel introduced Reed to Albright. (Why was the '89 revolution in Czechoslovakia called the Velvet Revolution?)
The only thing I know about Reed is that he's a complete asshole. Still, the Velvet Underground has been a huge influence. Off the top of my head, a couple of great covers of their songs include Jane's Addiction's cover of Rock and Roll and the Cowboy Junkies cover of Sweet Jane. Also, Stereolab - one of my favorite bands - list them as a main influence.
I was dumping in my pants and drooling all over myself when Reed was young and interesting. How political was he or the Underground? I know he hung out with Andy Warhol, who was apolitical, correct? He didn't write any songs with titles like Bonzo Goes to Bitburg, no?
Peter