Inspired by the book of the same name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch , the song includes sexual themes of sadomasochism and bondage. Guitarist Sterling Morrison played bass guitar on the song, but according to Cale, who was the band's usual bassist, Morrison never cared for playing the instrument.
Morrison cited "Venus in Furs" as his favorite Velvet Underground song, as he believed it was where the band achieved the sound that they had sought. An alternate take of the song was first recorded at Scepter Studios , New York City before being re-recorded in Hollywood. This take of the song is performed at a faster tempo, and the lyrics vary slightly from the TTG recording. In a six-CD boxed set was issued, celebrating the album's 45th anniversary.
It includes the original version of the album, known as the "Norman Dolph acetate" dating from April 26 , and a version recorded on January 3, during rehearsals at Warhol's Factory. In , Paste ranked the song number nine on their list of the 20 greatest Velvet Underground songs, [ 7 ] and in , The Guardian placed the song at number three on their list of the 30 greatest Velvet Underground songs. In , the Velvet Underground appeared in Piero Heliczer 's underground film, Venus in Furs , which was named for the song.
This brief appearance turned out to be the only network television exposure for either Heliczer or the band. The song is featured in Gus Van Sant 's film Last Days , a fictionalized account of the last days of a musician, loosely based on Kurt Cobain.
It appeared on the soundtrack of the second episode during a flashback to Andy Warhol 's Factory , alongside " Run Run Run ". The song is featured in season 2, episode 2 of the series POSE as the character Elektra enters the Hellfire Club for a dominatrix session.
