Lou Reed/Metallica Collabo Anticipation Thread

I agree with Lars. Lou Reed is definitely a solo version of Metallica.

Q.Did you ever think this was a crazy, oil-and-water combination, or did you feel that it was going to work?

A.LOU REED: Never thought that. Always thought it was going to work.

I sent the guys examples of the idea: “here’s this thing I want to do.” I did a version of it for Bob Wilson at the Berliner Ensemble Theater. There’s this idea I’ve had almost forever of something I wanted to do, but it required a certain ability I didn’t have at the time for singing, and a certain kind of sophisticated rock muscle in back of it that wouldn’t truncate it. So I sent it to Lars and James and said, “What do you think? Could we take a crack at this? Because in my head it works and I know we can do this.” And they came right back saying, “Absolutely,” and that was that. I never doubted for a second. No one would go to the trouble of failing.

LARS ULRICH: There was no question. This goes back two years to the awesome experience we had at Madison Square Garden. Lou turned around and in his goodbyes he said, “let’s make a record together, let’s do this again.” There was no question; this has been lingering since that night.

Q.That was the origin: “Let’s do a record?”

A.ULRICH: Yeah. We had to finish our Death Magnetic endeavor around the globe a couple times, but this goes back to those awesome three days we had in New York in ‘09 at Madison Square Garden.

REED: We knew then. No missing it. Takes one to know one, that kind of rock. You need people who love rock. So studio musicians – that’s gone – and 99 percent of the players these days don’t really like rock. They like pop, but not rock. Not what I call rock. Not what they do.

Q.You were looking for something, that rock muscle?

A.REED: I was looking for them, and I found them at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of all places. Who would have thought?

Q.But you were writing these songs for a theater production, a totally non-rock band kind of situation.

A.REED: I had sent a couple of rock people over there [to Berlin] to try to move them along, but that wasn’t going to happen. We were doing it with electronics, having electronics move them that way. There’s no way over in Berlin they’re going to have a drummer like him or a guitarist like him. That’s not going to happen. They’re going to have the generic God knows what. That’s not going to happen. Not real rock ’n’ roll people with real muscle. There they are. This is what I call a great thing. There are people who actually can do that. And everybody else – don’t want to name names – I would say for 99.9 percent, it’s not rock.

Q.You’re in the .1 percent guys, congratulations!

A.JAMES HETFIELD: One-percenters, that’s it.

ULRICH: I’ll take that any day.

REED: You can hear it. It’s the way their studio is set up for God’s sake. Those are rock ‘n’ roll people who set the studio up, not an engineer like with everybody in their separate room and it’s digital, separate, clean and all that. This was, including the vocals, all of us in a circle looking at each other. When you do a show – I can’t stand being blinded by a stupid light show when I want to see the people. When did it turn into “you have to have a light show”? What happened? Where did I go wrong? I mean I started out with Warhol doing light shows, but that was different. It was movies and it was in the spirit of the music. Now it’s pyrotechnics and clever lights and computerized… who cares?

Q.The last time I saw Metallica, you guys had some pyrotechnics and light.

A.HETFIELD: Well, we care. We like it. It’s another dimension. It adds a little extra danger.

REED: Well the thing is, you’re playing places where you can’t really see you. It’s like a video broadcast.

HETFIELD: We’re playing a venue that’s big, that can be a little bigger.

REED: When you’re playing a place like that, what are you going to do? There are four ants on stage, like, what’s that? You can’t see any sweat, can’t see any muscle, can’t see anything. So they put it on a video monitor, but what happens then? You might as well watch it on TV as far as I’m concerned. I’d rather be in a small club and watch a guy beat his guitar to death.

Q.Do you have plans to play a live concert together?

A.REED: Only for an audience of 11. I want a really tight experience.

HETFIELD: And that’s including the band.

This one's good:

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_8580/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=PQwsFcsy

"So far, reviews have been mixed. But Reed insists that he doesn't care what the critics say. I wouldn't care what a critic said about anything, including a hamburger joint. There is no species of people I have less respect for.'"

Sad attitude, since the only people who listened to Lou Reed albums the last 20 years ARE music critics.

if i approached everything in my life with the same zest, good humor, and enthusiasm i've approached the lou reed/metallica album, i'd be a lot happier person

I can't wait to hear it myself. Waiting for the official release. It's worth it for how much it's upsetting people alone.

http://i.imgur.com/NbZoR.jpg

NME gave this 7/10!

"So far, reviews have been mixed. But Reed insists that he doesn't care what the critics say. I wouldn't care what a critic said about anything, including a hamburger joint. There is no species of people I have less respect for.'"

Sad attitude, since the only people who listened to Lou Reed albums the last 20 years ARE music critics.

― thirdalternative, Thursday, October 27, 2011 7:23 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Didn't he call Robert Christgau an "anal retentive toe fucker" on one of his live albums from the '70s? He's had that attitude for years!

Yeah, he's spent his whole career complaining about critics in journalists

SMALL TOWN GIRL

Has anyone linked to this yet? http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/arts/music/lou-reed-and-metallica-team-up-on-lulu.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

“Success is like being embalmed,” Iggy Pop wrote in an e-mail. “It’s a wonderful preservative, but sometimes you want to take a walk to the corner. ‘Bitches Brew’ worked out pretty damn well for Miles Davis, and to me this feels like a parallel. Of course, I’m the guy who always liked ‘Metal Machine Music.’ ”

lolololol

During down times they shared musical touchstones like diplomats exchanging cultural gifts. The Metallica camp gave Mr. Reed and Mr. Willner their first tastes of Angel Witch, a member of the so-called new wave of British heavy metal of the late 1970s and early ’80s.

Mr. Hetfield, in turn, was introduced to the sounds of Antony Hegarty, the androgynous, quavering singer of Antony and the Johnsons. “He got it right away,” Mr. Willner said. “He said: ‘This is beautiful. I’ve got to get this stuff.’ ”

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/10/30/arts/30REED/30REED-articleLarge.jpg

Need to photoshop Antony in there.

l-r, Tom, Leslie, Ron, Andy and Ann

“Have I ever done anything to sell records?” Mr. Reed responded when asked if he was overstating his excitement for promotional purposes. “I’m not the guy you go to to sell records. I wouldn’t know where to start.”

http://i53.tinypic.com/313tbv5.jpg

Lol at Antony

rob trujillo definitely doing a good job of taking Kirk's place as "lukewarm water"

Anticipating this record has definitely been great - and I'm still looking forward to what the CD/LP will sound like on a proper stereo (not "like a radio shack CD player" lol).

Thread has been more about the reception than the songs, and the irony in the reception bothers and amuses me at the same time. I do think it's a shame if the record isn't properly reviewed due to the hilarious circumstances surrounding the recording/release. These guys are constantly emphasizing that they take Lulu very seriously (and I don't think it's fair if James being a table undermines that).

Kind of "scared" that p4k might 0.0 this, since I'm not as indifferent to reviews as Lou Reed.

yesterday i had the best thing, my metal friend who had literally been like crazy mad about this thing and just talking endless shit about lou reed and metallica, etc etc

...he actually finally listened to it and was like "oh nevermind this is kinda cool" lol

Does anyone know why some metal fans get so angry when their gods disappoint them or do something out of their usual sphere?

They might just recognize crap when they hear it.

Mr. Hetfield, in turn, was introduced to the sounds of Antony Hegarty, the androgynous, quavering singer of Antony and the Johnsons. “He got it right away,” Mr. Willner said. “He said: ‘This is beautiful. I’ve got to get this stuff.’ ”

Hahahaha!

This is the same James Hetfield who said of Load's album artwork: "Lars and Kirk were very into abstract art, pretending they were gay. I think they knew it bugged me. It was a statement around all that. I love art, but not for the sake of shocking others. I think the cover of Load was just a piss-take around all that. I just went along with the make-up and all of this crazy, stupid shit that they felt they needed to do." !?!?

woops i misread that originally and thought antony was saying "this is beautiful" about lulu.

Man, I had forgotten about that whole phase.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3WIHtOmkBg

HEY, WAIT. I GOT A NEW COMPLAINT
FOREVER IN COMES LIFE THAT I MUST FEEL

Bop shoobie dop wap!

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/5228150717_0b8e188634.jpg

Coming from the hack that stanned for chinese democracy

― the 500 gats of bartholomew thuggins (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 26 October 2011 17:51 (3 days ago)

smh @ u

Junior Dad reminds me of those drawn out early Red House Painters' songs

Which is awesome

went to halloween party as the table.
nobody caught the ref but a good time was had by all.

gonna pick up my copy tomorrow morning!

pitchfor will give it a 1.2

― jon /via/ chi 2.0, Monday, August 29, 2011 7:26 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i'll burn that fuckin website to the ground

― little dog (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, August 29, 2011 7:27 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark

time to fetch that gasoline

Pitchfork: 1.0

"Junior Dad" is a song that seemingly does the impossible: it momentarily redeems the idea of a Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration as a plausible, potentially fruitful concept. But its late appearance also serves as a potent reminder of just how terribly that concept is executed on everything that precedes it.

Pitchfork is so not the table.

Happy Lulu day North America!

Today's the day!

Let's live it up!

Let's get some LULU!

Let's spend it up!

Go out and smash it!

Like [Lou Reed voice] "Oh my God!"

Pitchfork is so not the table.

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs237.snc3/22462_539056853624_4302681_31738746_2439099_n.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOQUiVcOc2k

crazy news, NASA is reporting a new planetary system
http://www.nasa.gov/images/content/509677main_image_1841_946-710.jpg

So basically the Pitchfork score is saying that it's better than St. Anger but not as good as Ian Astbury rambling on about witches on top of Boris.

happy LULU day everyone! got my copy!

pumping blood rules

mistress dread is as hard as metallica has rocked in like 20 years

"pumping blood" does rule. shifts through like three awesome riffs and then there's all that weird stuff in between.

also yeah "mistress dread" is kind of an awesome example of how "thrash" can also equal "drone"

I have to confess I've only heard this on my Bose earbuds.

Really want to hear it on a non-RadioShack stereo.

November 1, 2011: the day music ended.

the day music became itself

Dropped by a mall store today and they had a whole pile of these front-racked. Have a sneaking suspicion however, from the chitchat of the employees,that they've sold more copies of the 40th anniversary reissue of Jethro Tull's Aqualung.

damn, what's on the reish, did not even know about that. what a day for music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr7iWaJraAA