Lulu


I know what we should do, we should listen to Lulu. I've never actually heard what is apparently an audio atrocity the whole world desperately wishes was a Mandela-Effect fever dream. Perfect time considering we listened to Bob Dylan & The Band's The Basement Tapes this morning. That's what this album actually is, right? 

This is also Lou Reed's last album. I've previously mentioned that Lou Reed legitimately didn't care what anyone actually thought of his artistic endeavors, and this adaptation of Frank Wedekind's Lulu plays (Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box) is clearly not meant to be enjoyable. It's supposed to be shockingly grotesque. 

Not surprisingly, i'm 4 tracks in and this is fucking amazing. It's terrible, and that's the point. Both Lou Reed and Metallica are spot on in their own comments on the project. Reed said Metal Machine Music killed off his fanbase (released the same year as The Basement Tapes, dontcha know), Metallica pointed out the hissy fit everyone had at their acoustic guitars and dark balladry on Ride the Lightning, this sounds like 5 people exorcising demons in the garage while succumbing to CO2 poisoning, and it is glorious. 

Like Lou Reed always did, they recorded this live all staring at each other, and apparently at one point Lou Reed tried to start an actual fist fight with Lars Ulrich. Laurie Anderson said David Bowie told her this was Lou's best work, and it's quite possible. It's also possibly Metallica's most free from formula music. A lot of people try to hear this like it's a freeform jam, and thus find it underwhelming. I definitely don't hear it that way at all. 

I hear this album much more like More or Obscured By Clouds, the carefully constructed soundtrack that's supposed to be naturally playing under this one-man show as it unfolds. There's a lot of Metallica in it, but there's also clearly audible Tool, broader Industrial Noise, and a willingness to do what the music wants rather than what anyone might want or expect to hear. What i'm saying is there is some amazing riffage and ensemble work that only Metallica could dream up, but would almost certainly never make it onto a Metallica album. Thrash or not, at the end of the day a Metallica album has to have Pop Songs on it, and this is definitely not commercial entertainment; no, not even for a horror movie. Not quite as sickening as an actual snuff film, but more than disturbing enough to feel like it warrants a cautionary preamble. 

I can totally understand Metallica fans hating it, because "Metallica fans" are objectively terrible, but i totally don't understand the near universal sentiment that Lou Reed shouldn't have been allowed to do basically anything post Velvet Underground. 

Right on cue the blizzard has picked back up again, even worse than the previous few rounds, and i gotta tell you, this is a surprisingly enjoyable soundtrack to the snowmageddon happening outside. Hope you're all safe and warm, and if you're looking for an atrocious sounding cacophony to thoroughly enjoy, give Lulu a try. I like it, i think if you're in the right frame of mind you might too. Normally i'd share the official playlist, but interrupting commercials (like brown shoes) just won't make it for this one. Cheers. 

https://youtu.be/UGGif2odABI

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