he was super bitchy no doubt, especially in the early part of his solo career, definitely mellowed out a lot once you get past the late 70s
it was partly schtick/partly real. like Iggy, Bowie, etc.
Morrison wasn't bitchy like that. he'd be a moody/lethargic/dreamy figure and/or completely zonk out on downers and booze. achingly handsome.
I think perhaps he was ahead of his time in a way
imagine him fronting Pavement, where artiste pretensions can be covered under layers of endless irony
or something like the Jesus Lizard, tap into the elemental primeval force he hints at sometimes
he's simultaneously an archaic figure, a Romantic. kind of a first as tragedy, then as farce version of Lord Byron.
anyway the difference with Lou Reed is that he made great art. Heroin. Street Hassle.
life's full of sad songs.