FOT Forum
FOT Community => General Discussion => Topic started by: Kormod on June 16, 2011, 08:48:54 AM
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Well, this is certainly a doozy. I hope this album turns out to be a proper follow-up to their groundbreaking Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame performance.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/exclusive-metallica-and-lou-reed-join-forces-on-new-album-20110615 (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/blogs/alternate-take/exclusive-metallica-and-lou-reed-join-forces-on-new-album-20110615)
It was an improbable match: Lou Reed's cutting-monotone voice and explicit stories of desire and despair, lashed to Metallica's apocalyptic charge. It is now a perfect fit. In a recent rapid series of sessions at Metallica's studio north of San Francisco, the New York king of avant-rock and the world's bestselling thrash-metal band have recorded a new studio album together that is unlike any either artist has made before. The record, not yet titled, features 10 songs composed by Reed with significant arrangement contributions by the band that suggest a raging union of his 1973 noir classic, Berlin, and Metallica's '86 crusher, Master of Puppets.
"A marriage made in heaven," Reed says in his first interview about the project, in the studio lounge during a break. "I knew it from the first day we played together: 'Oh, man, this is perfection, right in front of me.' "
Metallica's Hammett Preps for Big Four 'Thrash Reunion'
"I don't think we've ever felt this free," Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich says, sitting next to Reed on a couch. "There's nothing that's totally outside of the boundary for us, nothing that feels like 'Oh, what happens if we go there?' The strength of us" – he gestures at Reed – "is it feels like we cannot land on a wrong place."
"They're bringing Metallica, with all that power," Reed confirms. "And because they're pretty sophisticated, wherever I go, they're still with me."
Reed and Metallica first played together in October 2009, at the 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts in New York. Ulrich, singer-guitarist James Hetfield, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo backed Reed on two of his classic songs. "We knew from then," Reed says, "that we were made for each other." He and the band first planned to cut an album of his older material, "fallen jewels that no one remembered," as Reed puts it. That changed a week before Reed showed up at Metallica's studio. He called the band, proposing a record of songs he'd written for Lulu, a theatrical production of stories by the German author Frank Wedekind, directed by Robert Wilson and currently running in Berlin.
Photos: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax Rock Big 4 Festival
"Lars and I listened to the stuff," Hetfield says of Reed's demos, "and it was like, 'Wow, this is very different.' It was scary at first, because the music was so open. But then I thought, 'This could go anywhere.' " Metallica started writing parts built from vocal rhythms and electronic patterns on the demos.
The result is at once unpredictable and viciously tight. "Pumping Blood" opens with a drone that breaks into a crunching march, goes into speed-metal gear and breaks into free-fall sections – all over seven minutes, cut live in one take. Another track, "Mistress Dread," features Reed singing across a relentless staccato riff played at manic velocity. "It doesn't feel like we're his backup band," Hammett claims. "It feels like we're a different band, in a situation we've never been in before." And, Trujillo notes, "it's making us a better band."
Metallica: Three Decades of Metal Mayhem
Ulrich says the album is "90 percent" finished. But there are no release plans yet. Reed does not have a record deal, and Metallica are no longer on Warner Bros. "We are free to go wherever," Ulrich says. "I'm obviously psyched for people to hear this, in whatever way we feel is right."
Hetfield has one condition. "I told Lou I want to be there when people hear it," he says, grinning. "I want to see their faces."
Just to remind you, this is what Metallica and Lou Reed thought people couldn't get enough of:
Metallica Sweet Jane (w/ Lou Reed) live at MSG Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2009 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVik0lyIM0o#ws)
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Sorry, I'm dumb. This should be on the "Links" board. Can some kind moderator (or "Some Kind of Moderator") move it there?
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REALLY pumped that Robert Trujillo is still part of Metallica.
I really wish there was a follow up to Some Kind of Monster (One of the best documentaries ever made, IMHO, as Bob Rock's sweaters influenced my fashion sensibilities for years to come. One complaint: Why wasn't it called Sad But True?) about this album. The conversations about art that Lou and Lars and Lars' dad must have had!
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As much I this has the potential to be a huge dumb mess, you gotta remember that there was a time when Metallica kinda ruled.
Remember, this is 1983:
Metallica - Seek and Destroy - Lyrics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUAdgt5Glk0#)
Even though I was into punk/ hardcore/ indie when the first four Metallica albums were released, there was no denying that they kicked serious ass. I still consider Master of Puppets one of the top hard rock/ metal albums ever.
I mean, what if, WHAT IF they somehow tapped the energy of their early work and filtered it through Lou Reed's sonic weirdness?
It could actually be good!
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As much I this has the potential to be a huge dumb mess, you gotta remember that there was a time when Metallica kinda ruled.
Remember, this is 1983:
Metallica - Seek and Destroy - Lyrics (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUAdgt5Glk0#)
Even though I was into punk/ hardcore/ indie when the first four Metallica albums were released, there was no denying that they kicked serious ass. I still consider Master of Puppets one of the top hard rock/ metal albums ever.
I mean, what if, WHAT IF they somehow tapped the energy of their early work and filtered it through Lou Reed's sonic weirdness?
It could actually be good!
I am also a big fan of early Metallica (Master of Puppets is one of my favs as well) and I am also a Lou Reed fan. But there is a 1% chance that this is going to work. Reminds me of the old Simpsons episode with "Nuts 'n Gum...Together At Last!"
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The Rock 'N' Roll Animal looks more confused than anything else.
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Metallica have been a pathetic joke for much longer than they were ever good, but I still consider them a favorite band because their first 3 LPs are so great.
But, yeah, what Jon said.
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Metallica have been a pathetic joke for much longer than they were ever good, but I still consider them a favorite band because their first 3 LPs are
Their fourth LP is also exquisitely crafted children's music! I consider Death Magnetic to be a pretty decent effort, especially compared to the Load-ReLoad-St. Anger trio. In addition to replacing Hetfield's lead vocals with Mr. Reed's, they should replace Lars with Jon Wurster, the drummer from Psychotic Norman and a fine purveyor of jazz fillage. Or maybe Jens Hannemann? "Skippy" Handelman? Evan "Funk" Davies?
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Metallica have been a pathetic joke for much longer than they were ever good, but I still consider them a favorite band because their first 3 LPs are
Their fourth LP is also exquisitely crafted children's music! I consider Death Magnetic to be a pretty decent effort, especially compared to the Load-ReLoad-St. Anger trio. In addition to replacing Hetfield's lead vocals with Mr. Reed, they should replace Lars with Jon Wurster, the drummer from Psychotic Norman and a fine purveyor of jazz fillage. Or maybe Jens Hannemann? "Skippy" Handelman? Evan "Funk" Davies?
Pick Withers.
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Han Bennink
Han Bennink @ Kongsberg festival 2006 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAhDi1q1Lyg&feature=related#)
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Han Bennink
Han Bennink @ Kongsberg festival 2006 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAhDi1q1Lyg&feature=related#)
I saw Han Bennink in Montreal once, and it was one of the greatest things ever. He played everything. As in, his drumkit, the stage, the seats...at one point he picked up a handful of change and threw in onto his snare drum.
So replacing Lars with him would definitely be a step in the awesome direction.
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Not to be upstaged, I read today John Cale is teaming up with Accept on a similar collaboration.
Accept - Fast as a Shark (official Video) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKml8LwF_0M#)
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Han Bennink
Han Bennink @ Kongsberg festival 2006 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAhDi1q1Lyg&feature=related#)
I saw Han Bennink in Montreal once, and it was one of the greatest things ever. He played everything. As in, his drumkit, the stage, the seats...at one point he picked up a handful of change and threw in onto his snare drum.
So replacing Lars with him would definitely be a step in the awesome direction.
Do you have anything with someone blowing on a snare drum? That's what gets me off.
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Han Bennink
Han Bennink @ Kongsberg festival 2006 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAhDi1q1Lyg&feature=related#)
I saw Han Bennink in Montreal once, and it was one of the greatest things ever. He played everything. As in, his drumkit, the stage, the seats...at one point he picked up a handful of change and threw in onto his snare drum.
So replacing Lars with him would definitely be a step in the awesome direction.
Do you have anything with someone blowing on a snare drum? That's what gets me off.
My stories don't get that weird. Ask Fredricks.
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Metallica have been a pathetic joke for much longer than they were ever good, but I still consider them a favorite band because their first 3 LPs are
Their fourth LP is also exquisitely crafted children's music! I consider Death Magnetic to be a pretty decent effort, especially compared to the Load-ReLoad-St. Anger trio. In addition to replacing Hetfield's lead vocals with Mr. Reed's, they should replace Lars with Jon Wurster, the drummer from Psychotic Norman and a fine purveyor of jazz fillage. Or maybe Jens Hannemann? "Skippy" Handelman? Evan "Funk" Davies?
Sheila E and the Ghost of Andy Kaufman
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I'd be much more excited about this collaboration if they had chosen to remake "Take No Prisoners."
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I saw Lou during the 'Ecstacy' tour and him and his band were really great. The guitars were really cranked up and almost bordered on being metal-ish. I'm cautiously optimistic at best after seeing that Hall of Fame clip, though. Lou just sounds bored out of his mind, while Kirk tries to make up for it with more solos.
I'm still a big Lou fan, though. Even if it's a travesty we'll always still have 'New York'.
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Lou just sounds bored out of his mind
I love "Sweet Jane," you love "Sweet Jane," EVERYBODY loves "Sweet Jane." But dead Jesus on a stick, can you even fucking imagine what it must be like to sing any song as many times as he's sung "Sweet Jane"???
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Lou just sounds bored out of his mind
I love "Sweet Jane," you love "Sweet Jane," EVERYBODY loves "Sweet Jane." But dead Jesus on a stick, can you even fucking imagine what it must be like to sing any song as many times as he's sung "Sweet Jane"???
Oh for sure, I imagine it getting old. That must be why the Royal Teens didn't last long after 'Short Shorts'.
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Sweet Jesus' Son, that clip killed all curiosity I had about this project. The horror!
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Sweet Jesus' Son, that clip killed all curiosity I had about this project. The horror!
I'm still curious, personally, but yeah, I know what you mean.
I'm on iTunes right now clicking and I accidentally clicked on track 4 from 'Metal Machine Music'. For a second I thought it was my ceiling fan breaking and making weird noises before collapsing.
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It's funny, I have an appreciation for much of Lou Reed's later stuff. New York, yes, of course, but also Set the Twilight Reeling and Magic and Loss.
I want *that* to be "Adult Contemporary." It's not too musically adventurous or loud, and it explores concepts that it would seem to me are more in line with what people in their late 40s to mid 60s think about. I don't know why actual Adult Contemporary has to be so milquetoast.
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Yeah, I love Lou's 90's output up until 'Ecstacy'. I never really got into 'The Raven' or whatever came afterwards. 'Set the Twilight Reeling' has some really great songs. 'NYC Man' is really great.
'Ecstacy' has some awesome stuff too. A lot of dark stuff. It feels a little like a middle-aged/post rehab 'Berlin'.
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Lou just sounds bored out of his mind
I love "Sweet Jane," you love "Sweet Jane," EVERYBODY loves "Sweet Jane." But dead Jesus on a stick, can you even fucking imagine what it must be like to sing any song as many times as he's sung "Sweet Jane"???
I wish the whole song sounded like the first 15 seconds - the waterfall guitars. The rest of the song - eh.
Eater did the best version.
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I enjoyed this ... Lou Reed shows his tender side in this BBC interview (from the Adam and Joe podcast)
(http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/9095/theshoeslaurenlaverneca.jpg)
Lou & Lauren (http://www.divshare.com/download/15130357-7b3)
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You never know, they could do something interesting... but given that Metallica is one of the biggest ($$$£££€€€) live bands out there, I'm a little suspicious.
However I won't judge until I see some fudge.
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(http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/60/60713/Metallica-and-Lou-Reed_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg)
http://www.avclub.com/articles/lou-reedmetallica-album-due-nov-1,60713/ (http://www.avclub.com/articles/lou-reedmetallica-album-due-nov-1,60713/)
That collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica is creeping ever so closely to seeing the light of day—it now has a title, Lulu, and release date, Nov. 1. The unlikely tandem has even taken to calling itself "Loutallica," taking away the job of coming up with ridiculous monikers for this project from the rest of us. Some more details on Lulu: It's a concept album inspired by the plays Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box by Frank Wedekind, which concern "a young abused dancer's life and relationships." Reed originally conceived it as theatrical production, but decided to recruit Metallica after playing with them at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame shows in New York in 2009. Songs from the record include "Junior Dad," "Pumping Blood," and "Mistress Dread." We don't have streaming audio yet, but believe us, we'll share as soon as we get it, whether you want it or not. [Via Spin]
I can't fucking wait to hear "Junior Dad."
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He wants some of that Metallica dough. He'd have probably been better off doing this 20 years ago.
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(http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/60/60713/Metallica-and-Lou-Reed_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg)
Where's Doug Yule?
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(http://media.avclub.com/images/articles/article/60/60713/Metallica-and-Lou-Reed_jpg_627x325_crop_upscale_q85.jpg)
Where's Doug Yule?
Who needs Doug Yule when you have Robert Trujillo?
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A concept album? Of course it is.
November 1st? I didn't realize it was happening so quick. That means I can be disappointed by it sooner.
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There's a preview:
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=163436 (http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=163436)
3 of the songs exceed the 10 minute mark. And there's a nearly-20-minute song called 'Junior Dad'. Awesome.
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I hope "Loutallica" performs Metallica songs during their live shows. I think Lou's vocals could add a lot to "the Four Horsemen."
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They should have Maureen Tucker come out on stage to play with them on "Don't Tread On Me."
(At the 25-second mark)
Ex Velvet Underground member Moe Tucker is a conservative (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v30CZ_g2aqQ#)
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Say it ain't so, Moe.
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Even without the visuals I think I might have recognized her voice.
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It's like, you lose track of someone for 41 years or so and this is what happens.
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You can stream the finished product here:
http://www.loureedmetallica.com/lulu.php (http://www.loureedmetallica.com/lulu.php)
Prepare yourself.
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Metallica wants Lou gravitas, and Lou wants Metallica money.
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Ex Velvet Underground member Moe Tucker is a conservative (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v30CZ_g2aqQ#)
Say it ain't so, Moe.
Even without the visuals I think I might have recognized her voice.
It's like, you lose track of someone for 41 years or so and this is what happens.
I'm sticking with you. Coz I'm made out of glue.
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You can stream the finished product here:
http://www.loureedmetallica.com/lulu.php (http://www.loureedmetallica.com/lulu.php)
Prepare yourself.
I prepared myself yet I was still unprepared.
What a weird, noisy mess. Also more then a few lyrics about bodily functions and private parts. Nice.
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Wait til you hear what Social Distortion has in mind with Joey McIntyre.
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"Metallica Cancels Two Concerts, Indian Fans Trash Stage" , the latest from Huffington Post.
This caused a riot in India, and three of the band managers were arrested for over-selling the venue.
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Wait til you hear what Social Distortion has in mind with Joey McIntyre.
Or NirvAnka....
www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsS811o21-k (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsS811o21-k#ws)
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Okay guys, I got the album and it's disappointing because it is not cringe-inducingly bad.
The only time I cringe is when James Hetfield sings. (He ruins the otherwise passable dirge Cheat on Me)
I'm forever a Lou Reed lover, and this just sounds like another just below par Lou Reed album.
Metallica were never big on personality, and make a decent backing band.
The new William Shatner album STILL confuses me, however. And I'm not sure it confuses me in a way I like, like Has Been or Transformed Man.
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How far below par?
I don't really have a metal-liking bone in my body, but I can't quite give up on Lou. Apart from that dumb Edgar Allan Poe thing which I haven't heard and don't want to, I actually kind of like his recent crappy albums more than most people, I think.
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I phrased it differently on twitter yesterday, but the song I heard was straight up Wesley Willis - it was just Lou Reed talking over an instrumental Metallica track.
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I phrased it differently on twitter yesterday, but the song I heard was straight up Wesley Willis - it was just Lou Reed talking over an instrumental Metallica track.
I'm now thinking that this collaboration would have worked much better if it was Lou Reed and Metallica doing Wesley Willis covers exclusively.
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I like the album. While I can certainly understand people not liking it, especially if you have no interest in Metallica, the notion that this is some complete heap of trash (e.g., Pitchfork's 1.0/10, among many other extreme pans) is absurd. It's a one-off experiment, and within that context, it's an intriguing effort. If one is predisposed to loathe the album, it certainly provides an easy target for ridicule.
Stuff like this from Klosterman: "If the Red Hot Chili Peppers acoustically covered the 12 worst Primus songs for Starbucks, it would still be (slightly) better than this."
What a clown. Hilarious stuff, Charles! You nailed it again!
Within some metal circles, the same people who find this repellent are giving fairly high marks to the new Megadeth album, which is mostly a respectable, workmanlike effort, but considerably less interesting than the Loutallica oddity. As for Lou Reed's yell-singing, it's not like David Mustaine is unleashing his luscious liquid gold pipes.
As for the Wesley Willis connection, I'm pretty sure I heard Lou bark, "Timex! Takes a licking and keeps on ticking" and something about drinking milkshakes with Liz Phair during "Pumping Blood."
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I'm kind of relieved that it's not on Spotify yet.
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I'm kind of relieved that it's not on Spotify yet.
It's on grooveshark. Listening at work. Just heard the first lyric of the first song. Hoo boy.
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I like the album. While I can certainly understand people not liking it, especially if you have no interest in Metallica, the notion that this is some complete heap of trash (e.g., Pitchfork's 1.0/10, among many other extreme pans) is absurd. It's a one-off experiment, and within that context, it's an intriguing effort. If one is predisposed to loathe the album, it certainly provides an easy target for ridicule.
Stuff like this from Klosterman: "If the Red Hot Chili Peppers acoustically covered the 12 worst Primus songs for Starbucks, it would still be (slightly) better than this."
What a clown. Hilarious stuff, Charles! You nailed it again!
Within some metal circles, the same people who find this repellent are giving fairly high marks to the new Megadeth album, which is mostly a respectable, workmanlike effort, but considerably less interesting than the Loutallica oddity. As for Lou Reed's yell-singing, it's not like David Mustaine is unleashing his luscious liquid gold pipes.
As for the Wesley Willis connection, I'm pretty sure I heard Lou bark, "Timex! Takes a licking and keeps on ticking" and something about drinking milkshakes with Liz Phair during "Pumping Blood."
I believe that people have gone overboard in their criticism of this album. Chuck Klosterman's review, in particular, was ridiculous. The album is not great by any stretch, but it's not terrible either. Yes, the lyrics are turgid and repellent. But the music itself really isn't all that bad. It's sort of what I expected a Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration to sound like. And even if you consider this experiment a failure, I believe that you at least have to give them credit for attempting to do something different. Right?
To me, this album was/is a lot more interesting than whatever generic indie schlock Pitchfork is hyping this week.
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I played it once through while doing something else. The music Metallica makes isn't even slightly to my taste. The songs were a mess. The lyrics made me want to puke and Lou's voice is horrible. I kinda liked it.
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it was just Lou Reed talking over an instrumental
That sums up "Dirty Boulevard."
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Not to mention "The Gift." (I know, that was John Cale, you get the point.)
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Maybe I should clarify that it sounded like he was recorded talking over a different instrumental track, and then this was bolted onto the other one.
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How far below par?
Just below par. Better than the Raven. Lou Reed has done worse. And so has Metallica. Probably best thing Metallica has done since the black album. Not a huge fan of metallica--but I like the early stuff.
Anyhow, I don't get the critic-dogpile. But, that's critics, I guess. IT WAS SOMETHING NOT MEANT TO BE. I think critics would have feared of being made fun if they had written anything positive about it. I'm sure there are some contrarian voices saying "It's not that bad."
Or, moreover, Metallica has been the antithesis of cool since Nirvana. The Billy Joel of metal after Sad But True. And not even Lou's gravitas can help them. I don't know where that leaves us.
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Personally, I believe that this is the second best thing that Lou Reed has ever done, "Take No Prisoners" being the best.
I'm sorry, but Lou Reed's solo ventures have never done anything for me. I honestly can't think of any Reed album that I've found enjoyable from beginning to end.
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Transformer and Berlin inclusive? He's done a lot of crap...but still. Give him a point for Satellite of Love, even if it is Bowie doing the ziggywork.
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I love the phrase "The Billy Joel of Metal". It sums Metallica up so perfectly.
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Count me in the "never got into solo Lou Reed" group. In fact, the older I get, the less I even care about VU. I find myself increasingly drawn to their poppier, less screechy/avant stuff (i.e. Loaded, Live 1969, and about half of the s/t LP) as the years pass, but even then I wouldn't really be upset if I never heard one of their albums again.
In truth, Metallica's music means a lot more to me than Lou Reed's (this in spite of the fact that they've been pretty worthless for the last 20 or so years), but that probably has to do more with the fact that I grew up listening to their music and never really heard the Velvets until well into my teens and the Reed solo stuff much later.
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Count me in the "never got into solo Lou Reed" group. In fact, the older I get, the less I even care about VU. I find myself increasingly drawn to their poppier, less screechy/avant stuff (i.e. Loaded, Live 1969, and about half of the s/t LP) as the years pass, but even then I wouldn't really be upset if I never heard one of their albums again.
In truth, Metallica's music means a lot more to me than Lou Reed's (this in spite of the fact that they've been pretty worthless for the last 20 or so years), but that probably has to do more with the fact that I grew up listening to their music and never really heard the Velvets until well into my teens and the Reed solo stuff much later.
Same here.
I can't tell you the last time that I've actually had the desire to put on a VU album. For me, they were a good, sometimes great band. But on the whole, I find them to be a bit overrated. The music coming out of the garage, freakbeat and psych-folk scenes during that age resonates with me a lot more than those old VU records.
(prepares to don flame suit)
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No point in flaming, but for me they really were genuinely, without exaggerating or forcing it to establish any kind of hep or avant credentials or anything, the greatest rock & roll band of all time. (Rolling Stones a close second.)
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Lou Reed albums I love/like a lot: Berlin, Rock & Roll Animal, Lou Reed Live, Coney Island Baby, Street Hassle, Blue Mask, Legendary Hearts. Live in Italy. Almost making the cut, somewhat surprisingly to me: Ecstasy. Unfortunately, the song on it that he seems to like the most--he played it on Elvis Costello's TV show and encored with it at the performance of Berlin at St. Ann's--is called "Rock Minuet" and it's revolting. Not just lyrically--I even find the idea of a "rock minuet" revolting.
Lou Reed albums I'm glad to own: Transformer, Different Times (a 70s comp), Take No Prisoners, Songs for Drella, Magic & Loss, Set the Twilight Reeling. I never really got into New York for some reason.
I know you were all clamouring for this information, so--there you go!
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"I can do ab crunches quite efficiently to it." -- Glenn Kenny
http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2011/11/lou-reed-and-metallica-lulu.html (http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2011/11/lou-reed-and-metallica-lulu.html)
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Judge if you will, but I think 'New York' was a great album. I don't listen to it on a regular basis, but I pulled it not long ago and thought it held up. It's very tied in to New York and the world in the 80s as far as lyrics go, but it's not 80s as far as the sound goes, which helps.
As far as the Velvets go, I still like them a lot, but like some others here I am more interested in checking out some other music than in listening to their records now. I have some favorite albums I will listen to a couple times a year (Double Nickels on the Dime, Funhouse, etc), but I'm not really one to wear anything out.
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Judge if you will, but I think 'New York' was a great album. I don't listen to it on a regular basis, but I pulled it not long ago and thought it held up. It's very tied in to New York and the world in the 80s as far as lyrics go, but it's not 80s as far as the sound goes, which helps.
New York is a very solid record. Saw that tour. The show was pretty great. Half Japanese with Maureen Tucker opened.
Has anyone mentioned The Blue Mask?
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Me.
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Me.
Good show!
Haven't listened lately but I remember Waves Of Fear as wonderfully harrowing, both musically and lyrically.
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New York is a very solid record. Saw that tour. The show was pretty great. Half Japanese with Maureen Tucker opened.
Did Moe end the show with a dramatic reading from Atlas Shrugged?
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New York is a very solid record. Saw that tour. The show was pretty great. Half Japanese with Maureen Tucker opened.
Did Moe end the show with a dramatic reading from Atlas Shrugged?
Nah, this was in the 80s.
She was dressed as Maggie Thatcher.
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Everybody saw this, I assume?
http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account (http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account)
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"Iced Honey" on Later ... with Jools Holland (http://youtu.be/toP57rDQtPE).
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So they put it on in the record store I was shopping in yesterday and I said it sounds like the poor man's Grinderman.
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"You should see Trujillo (prounced 'Tru-hee-ho") gettin' down on this thing" - Joff from Newbridge Heights from the 11/08 show.
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Everybody saw this, I assume?
http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account (http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account)
This is amazing.
My Lou breakdown:
VU- altogether pretty great output from beginning to end (I don't count the reunion live album). I haven't revisited in awhile.
Lou solo-
Albums I love:
The Blue Mask- Robert Quinne's (sp) guitar work and Fernando Sanders' bass are fantastic. The songs are great. 'Waves of Fear' in particular is pretty chilling.
New York- I love the stripped down feel of it. This probably my go to Lou album.
Berlin- Ezrin's production is amazing. And the songs just rip your guts out.
Ecstacy- It's like Berlin crossed with New York. A lot of relationship-falling-apart songs. As someone else pointed out, though, he needs to stop playing 'Rock Minuet'. But most of the album is great. Even 'Like a Possum' is good for the first few minutes. I think his whole output from 'New York' to this one is pretty great actually. Set the Twiling Reeling, Magic and Loss
Animal Seranade- I like the "no drummer" format. And the version of 'Tell it to Your Heart' here is pretty beautiful.
Songs for Drella- I like the concept. The songs are great too. You can tell even by the cover that Lou and John just totally hate each other.
Like:
Transformer- The one with the hits. Weirdly this one I never got as into.
New Sensations- Total guilty pleasure all the way. Love those fake 80's drums. Actually this probably belongs on the love list.
Confused by/couldn't get into:
The Raven- I tried getting into the double album. It's pretty daunting. Haven't listened in awhile, though. I do remember lyrics like "This is the story of Edgar Allan Poe. Not just your regular joe."
Take No Prisoners- I've tried listening to this many times over the years. I don't think I've ever finished it.
Metal Machine Music- years ago I bought a copy of this on vinyl (I was young and did things like this). In corresponding with the seller he told me that "track two is easily the best". So take that as you will.
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Metal Machine Music- years ago I bought a copy of this on vinyl (I was young and did things like this). In corresponding with the seller he told me that "track two is easily the best". So take that as you will.
HAHA! That's great. The emphasis track on Metal Machine Music was track two. That thing just wasn't marketed properly. I love how Lou Reed describes it via Lester Bangs: something like music times a thousand Beethovens, both in quality and quantity.
Howie Klein said that Lulu is a masterpiece. I can't seem to find the link to where he said that. Maybe he gave it a second listen.
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Lester Bangs also quoted Lou telling Flo & Eddie (re: MMM) "Well, anyone who gets to the end of Side 4 is dumber than I am."
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Everybody saw this, I assume?
http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account (http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account)
This is amazing.
I just realized that the version I posted a link to is abridged. Here is the longer, much funnier version:
http://read.mtvhive.com/2011/11/07/lou-reed-terrorizes-a-starbucks-tweet-illustration/ (http://read.mtvhive.com/2011/11/07/lou-reed-terrorizes-a-starbucks-tweet-illustration/)
Does anyone know who the guy in the last panel, entering as Lou is leaving, is supposed to be (if anyone)?
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"He's yelling at someone (Doug Yule?)"
Genius.
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Everybody saw this, I assume?
http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account (http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2011/11/08/lou-reed-at-starbucks-an-illustrated-account)
This is amazing.
I just realized that the version I posted a link to is abridged. Here is the longer, much funnier version:
http://read.mtvhive.com/2011/11/07/lou-reed-terrorizes-a-starbucks-tweet-illustration/ (http://read.mtvhive.com/2011/11/07/lou-reed-terrorizes-a-starbucks-tweet-illustration/)
Does anyone know who the guy in the last panel, entering as Lou is leaving, is supposed to be (if anyone)?
Bob Dylan?
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REALLY pumped that Robert Trujillo is still part of Metallica.
I really wish there was a follow up to Some Kind of Monster (One of the best documentaries ever made, IMHO, as Bob Rock's sweaters influenced my fashion sensibilities for years to come. One complaint: Why wasn't it called Sad But True?) about this album. The conversations about art that Lou and Lars and Lars' dad must have had!
Didn't you find it odd that so many Metallica fans found the band members' varyingly opulent lifestyles angering? It was like they though Metallica were like The Monkees, all living together in some semi-crappy apartment...
But you're right about "Some Kind of Monster". I loved the interactions between Ulrich and the "life coach"...
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Bob Dylan?
Yeah, you are probably right. It would have been funny if it had been some other notoriously ill-behaved grump, like...uh, who? Not Dylan nowadays, though maybe in the Don't Look Back era.
The only musicians I've ever heard described as being able to out-asshole even Lou Reed are Buddy Rich and John Lurie.
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Bob Dylan?
Yeah, you are probably right. It would have been funny if it had been some other notoriously ill-behaved grump, like...uh, who? Not Dylan nowadays, though maybe in the Don't Look Back era.
The only musicians I've ever heard described as being able to out-asshole even Lou Reed are Buddy Rich and John Lurie.
Add Van Morrison to that list.
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Bingo! And probably even within the caricatural powers of that artist. That woulda been a howl.
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The Loutallica version of White Light/White Heat on Jools Holland is pretty bad. It seems like Lou Reed doesn't want to play that song. Either that or he can't remember how it goes.
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I understand Dolly Parton is going to record an album with Anthrax.
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I understand Dolly Parton is going to record an album with Anthrax.
I'm co-producing it with Mark Dodson.
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I understand Dolly Parton is going to record an album with Anthrax.
Dolly Parton+Anthrax=Panthrax?
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I wished they actually called the project "Loutallica".
I remember reading "Transformer" by Victor Bockris years ago. It was absolutely heartbreaking to find out that my musical hero was such a dick. Although I think the writer kind of had it in for him.
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I understand Dolly Parton is going to record an album with Anthrax.
Yeah, but it's not going to be as good as the Amebix/Ringo Starr album coming out next spring.
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http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/sound-check/Content?oid=10566172 (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/sound-check/Content?oid=10566172)
Q: What is GWAR's opinion of the latest Metallica/Lou Reed collaboration?
A: Well, I'm glad that Lou has got some junk money. There's really nothing you can do for Metallica to resurrect them. I don't know why they feel this need to go out there and embarrass themselves by doing stupid fucking projects. It was bad enough when they did a movie about their therapists. But to resurrect an elderly junkie has about as much to do with Metallica as Liberace does. I hate it. A lot. But Metallica will always be a classic, amazing band. They destroy it live. They can keep making movies about therapists and doing duets with Marianne Faithfull or Lou Reed, or whoever they want to bring back from the dead—they still shred live. And they'll always be one of my favorite bands.
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I understand Dolly Parton is going to record an album with Anthrax.
I'm co-producing it with Mark Dodson.
I understand they'll be going a step further than Loutallica by actually mashing existing songs together. I can't wait for "I'm the Man (In the Coat of Many Colors)."
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I wished they actually called the project "Loutallica".
I remember reading "Transformer" by Victor Bockris years ago. It was absolutely heartbreaking to find out that my musical hero was such a dick. Although I think the writer kind of had it in for him.
Really? I think Lou Reed is just an asshole.
I've never read the Bockris book, but I have read the Lester Bangs/Lou Reed interviews and they told me all I needed to know about the guy. He's belligerent and condescending, and completely unrepentant about it.
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Oh, he is a complete asshole. And don't bother wondering whether he nicened up when he got older or got sober. At least in the Bangs interviews he had the excuse of being null and void on junk, speed, and booze, and you can't say Bangs wasn't provoking him. (Bockris is kind of a scene-making worm himself though--researches sloppily and writes trashy books that seem to accept any gossipy tidbit no matter how dubiously sourced.)
Weirdly enough though, given Lou's legendary assholery, I once sat in Jimmy's Bar near Times Square listening to two dudes talking next to me. One said he was a recording engineer, working with Lou Reed on what later turned out to be Ecstasy. This guy said Lou was a really nice guy, fun to work for. That one day, Lou came in to the studio and announced that he didn't feel like working, he felt like going to Coney Island. So the band and the whole recording crew spent the day eating Nathan's and sitting in the sun at Coney Island, all on the clock! What a guy!
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I may be misremembering, but I seem to recall someone who used to post on this board mentioning that he was once Lou Reed's personal assistant.
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It's hypocritical but no matter how many stories I read about Mark E Smith's assholery, it only makes me like him more somehow, in situations where I would never give someone like Lou Reed the benefit of the doubt.
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I have a simple method for this kind of thing: If I dislike the artist, I always believe the worst. If I like the artist, I believe the worst but try to make it out to be cool somehow.
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I think I subscribe to that. But I also add a dash of, "if he/she is British and from some dreary town, I will make exceptions"
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I may be misremembering, but I seem to recall someone who used to post on this board mentioning that he was once Lou Reed's personal assistant.
Once FOT Steve Lambert told me about a friend of his that interviewed to be Lou's assistant, and according to his friend there were all kinds of crazy stipulations, like "must have a thick skin" and "must accept calls at all hours." Take that with however many grains of salt, obviously. Unless you're thinking of someone else.
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It's hypocritical but no matter how many stories I read about Mark E Smith's assholery, it only makes me like him more somehow, in situations where I would never give someone like Lou Reed the benefit of the doubt.
Me too.
The difference between Mark E. Smith and Lou Reed, IMO, is that the former doesn't seem to take to himself too seriously. Lou Reed, however, definitely takes himself way too seriously.
At least that's what I think.
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I knew somebody who knew one of Lou's personal assistants during the 90's. According to him a typical morning call would go like this:
(phone rings) (assistant answers) "Hello?"
(angry, snarling voice on other end of line) "Bagels." (click)
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I'd love an angry Lou Reed food orders soundboard.
I also find Mark E. Smith more forgivable because he never had a top 40 radio hit. But to be honest I'd avoid both of them at all costs.
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"It's not a good idea, what they did." -- Howard Kremer
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(http://usedwigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/nolike_049-440x444.jpg)
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I'd probably never actually want to meet Lou but if I did meet him I think there's a part of me that would be disappointed if he WASN'T kind of a dick.
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(http://usedwigs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/nolike_049-440x444.jpg)
\m/
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(http://metallicablogmagnetic.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Loutallica-Metallica-Lou-Reed.jpeg)
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you know, I hear the acetate version of "I'm waiting for the man" and just pretend that is a new thing
I am a bit scared to hear lulu, I love the velvet underground/lou reed. I think I will skip it
"I'll be your mirror" is my favorite song, I don't want to hear lou reed and metallica, thanks :P
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I'd probably never actually want to meet Lou but if I did meet him I think there's a part of me that would be disappointed if he WASN'T kind of a dick.
Sometimes he's probably tired and feels like being a normal guy; do you think he feels pressure to be prickly? Do you think he goes into the washroom, stares at himself, silently screams "YOU CAN DO THIS!! YOU'RE LOU REED!!" and then goes out and stiffs the wait staff?
I do. I bet it's tough to be cretinous 24/7.
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I think that for a Lou Reed, just stiffing the wait staff is him on a good day.
Segue to another infamous rock asshole, for context: I know a guy, a brilliant double-bassist, who was touring Europe with his band (a Sun Ra tribute combo, as it happens) at the same time as the Lounge Lizards. Although they weren't touring together, they kept crossing paths and playing on the same bills at various locales. At one stop--I forget where, just think of it as some kunsthalle in someplace like Vienna--this guy's band arrives in the green room to find a scene of total negativity and discord--food flung all over the walls and floor, everyone uptight and miserable, a few female members of the catering staff broken down and weeping while friends try to comfort them.
Upon my friend's inquiry, the explanation came in one word "Lurie." Apparently he and the band had just come through, and the lead saxophonist was upset that the chicken was roasted rather than grilled, as he had requested.
So given that Lou Reed is probably at least in John Lurie's league as an asshole, my guess is that when he comes through a place, the wait staff count themselves lucky to have been merely stiffed. (I still like the Lounge Lizards, though.)
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I know a guy, a brilliant double-bassist, who was touring Europe with his band a Sun Ra tribute combo
What's the name of the group, Nudie?
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Myth Science. They're not in business any more, but they had one album out on the Knitting Factory label, titled Love in Outer Space. If it sounds like the kind of thing you'd like, I think you'd like it. They ain't the Arkestra, but each of the five members, especially Ruben the bassist and Anthony Coleman the keyboardist, is beyond fantastic.
Anyway: Lou Reed, what an asshole hah? Laurie Anderson is apparently a saint.
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Thanks, I have some of their stuff on a Knitting Factory comp.
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Possibly has been posted here, from the wonderful 'Dangerous Minds' blog
http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/lou_reed_and_metallicas_lulu_truth_in_advertising (http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/lou_reed_and_metallicas_lulu_truth_in_advertising)
(http://www.dangerousminds.net/images/uploads/LULU1sdfsdfsdgf.jpg)
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Ha, I wonder how well that's selling. It's seems more like a joint effort to alienate both their fanbases than for one to get cash and the other to get cred.
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According to some web site (link (http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=165858)) it only sold about 13,000 copies the first week of its release.
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Upcoming events:
Wednesday, December 14th, 6pm - 7pm: Ken & Andy @ UCB Theatre 12/14 w/ Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega and Tao Lin
Seven Second Delay returns to the stage of NYC's UCB Theatre on Wednesday, December 14th from 6-7 pm for the last live broadcast of 2012. Joining Ken and Andy will be author and Rock and Roll legend Lou Reed, writer Tao Lin, and musical guest Suzanne Vega! The UCB Theatre is at 307 West 26th St in NYC, near 8th Avenue. Admission is $5.
FOR REAL? ? ? ? I'll believe it when I hear it, I guess. Does Andy even know what the Velvet Underground is? Or Metallica?
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Yeah, December 14th can't come fast enough.
In other news, this interview is fantastic:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8941594/Lou-Reed-and-Metallica-interview.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/8941594/Lou-Reed-and-Metallica-interview.html)
Metallica celebrate 30 years together, for most of which they have been the pre-eminent heavy metal band on the planet. In Paris, for a TV appearance promoting a controversial collaboration with Lou Reed, word comes through that a fan wants to meet them. But not just any fan – it is teen sensation Justin Bieber.
The only trouble is, he’s been visiting Disneyland and his car has broken down. Metallica singer and guitarist James Hetfield snorts with incredulity. “Justin Bieber can drive?”
There is much guffawing in the Metallica camp but drummer Lars Ulrich is genuinely disappointed. “Can you imagine that picture? Metallica, Lou Reed and Justin Bieber! We could have put it out that this is our next project. The fans would go f---ing crazy! People already accuse us of betraying metal by working with Lou. Wait till they hear what we can do with Bieber!”
It is fair to say that the Lou Reed/Metallica collaboration has divided fans and critics alike. Lulu is a 95-minute double album of droning, grinding, free-form improvised metal, with Reed intoning explicitly gruesome if psychologically acute lyrics written around the provocative themes of Frank Wedekind’s early 20th-century plays, Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box.
Rock magazine Uncut hailed it as “extraordinary, passionate and just plain brilliant” while music website Quietus probably caught the flavour of most reviews by dismissing it as “a candidate for one of the worst albums ever made”. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Andrew Perry conceded that Lulu was “gruelling” work, yet was impressed with “the sheer sense of unrestrained folly” on “a record that wilfully defies all in the name of artistic purity”.
“Who cares?” snaps Reed when I mention the critics. “I never wrote for them then, I don’t write for them now. I have no interest in what they have to say about anything. I’m interested in whether I like it. I write for me.”
Reed is a notoriously difficult interviewee, with a reputation for being uncommunicative, insulting, evasive, dour, bad-tempered and sometimes just monosyllabic and boring. Journalists approach with trepidation, sharing war stories about times he has walked out or refused to speak at all. Still, we return for more punishment. The man is a genius, after all, founder of the hugely influential Velvet Underground, a collaborator with Andy Warhol and among the most innovative lyricists and artistically adventurous musicians of the rock era. So what if he’s also obnoxious and weirdly insecure?
“You know a lot of time these guys that interview us, they think they’re more literate than I am. That would be a real bad mistake,” he snarls, having misinterpreted a question to locate offence where none was intended. “Don’t kid yourself about me, you know what I’m saying? I’m not a good guy to f---- with.”
“No, Neil’s cool,” interjects Ulrich, calming the situation. Perennially upbeat, energetic, friendly, loquacious and enthusiastic, Ulrich is the diametric opposite of Reed. Metallica view Reed with amused affection, overlooking his contrariness and taking pride that such an iconic writer should want to collaborate with them.
“I think we’re the band he has always heard in his head but never been able to play with,” Ulrich says. “He’s a fascinating human being, he’s brilliant musically, intellectually, but I think he feels misunderstood. Most people have a tendency to start a conversation in a neutral position and then see where it goes. He starts in a negative position, then you’ve got to go to neutral and then to positive. When he feels comfortable and trusts people, he opens up, and incredible things can happen.”
It is not hard to detect the vulnerability underpinning Reed’s surliness. “Are you gonna savage this when you leave the room?” he asks, out of the blue. “I think we did a sensual thing. Music is magical, it can make you feel good, it can make you feel bad, and then you put some serious words to it, not just 'I got released from rehab this week, yay.’ Let’s say you go a little bit past there. In my conceit, I thought what if Tennessee Williams had got a crack at this? Can’t it be A Streetcar Named Desire that’s a rock record? Why isn’t anyone doing it? Instead of writing the trash that is out there. I wanted to do something on that level, always. I came close on Berlin. Pretty close. But this one, for me, from beginning to end, this is it.”
So what is it, exactly? “I don’t like the word rock opera, but I’m trying to write on that level that’s reserved for plays still, or novels,” says Reed. “I was trying to escape the simplistic form, and find a different kind of melodic form, but still rock. I didn’t want to traipse off into the land of jazz. All this stuff is about emotion, I mean, why else do it?” Reed starts quoting Shakespeare, “Out, out, brief candle”, dramatically reciting Lady Macbeth’s monologue. “Hey, if I could get there, climb that particular ladder. You have to pass through blood to get there, wherever it is.”
There is, to be fair, a lot of blood in these particular tracks. It had its origins in 10 monologues written for avant-garde director Robert Wilson’s Lulu, staged in Berlin earlier this year. It is the story (filmed as Pandora’s Box in 1929, starring Louise Brooks) of an alluring femme fatale who cuts a sexual swath through society before meeting her nemesis in Jack the Ripper.
Musically, the original setting was a kind of vague electronic ambience. “In my mind, it was missing something, I didn’t know what.” Reed had the idea of giving the lyrics to Metallica, whom he had previously performed with in 2009 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I thought that they could put a long, sinewy muscle in it.”
For Metallica, this has been a revelatory project, where they have been free to experiment outside the confines of their genre. “There was a kind of spontaneous and impulsive energy,” says Ulrich.
Indeed, the key to the band’s longevity seems to come from their attempts to find new directions for their heavy guitar sound, as hilariously portrayed in the 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster, in which they employed a therapist to unblock their creativity.
Ulrich says: “Turning your back on structure, you are opening up a world of possibilities. For Metallica, to have the luxury of that kind of impulsiveness with somebody who speaks our own language was the reward in itself.”
Although Metallica will headline the Download festival in the UK in June (as part of their European Summer Vacation tour), there are no plans to tour Lulu. “We haven’t actually figured out a way to present this live,” admits Ulrich.
“Holy s---, you perform it at your own risk,” says Reed. “The first thing is, can you get through it emotionally? You have to go for broke, the jugular. That can really get to you.”
As much as Reed asserts disdain for criticism, I suspect he has been upset by the reaction to Lulu. “I think this thing needs a champion. This is for people who are literate. This isn’t 'I cry in my beer cos you f---ed him and ran your truck through my bar.’
“You can write 30 of those and move to Nashville. These words – every time I see them I get thrilled because it does it to me. It may do it to no one else, I don’t care. I can’t try any harder. I can’t do any better. And my heart was pure and my soul was pure, too. I went in there to make music with the best guys I could find. And we did.”
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I'm trying to imagine Andy Breckman talking and acting in a way that won't make Lou drip with surly contempt, and am coming up blank.
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“You can write 30 of those and move to Nashville. These words – every time I see them I get thrilled because it does it to me. It may do it to no one else, I don’t care. I can’t try any harder. I can’t do any better. And my heart was pure and my soul was pure, too. I went in there to make music with the best guys I could find. And we did.”[/b]
[/quote]
I'm reminded of the 'what the f*** is wrong with you? This mug was made with a lot of love!' tirade/bit on a recent Todd Glass podcast.
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I'm trying to imagine Andy Breckman talking and acting in a way that won't make Lou drip with surly contempt, and am coming up blank.
Unless Lou's a fan.
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Seven Second Delay returns to the stage of NYC's UCB Theatre this Wednesday, December 14th from 6-7 pm for the last live broadcast of 2012. Joining Ken and Andy will be actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard, writer Tao Lin, and musical guest Suzanne Vega! The UCB Theatre is at 307 West 26th St in NYC, near 8th Avenue. Admission is $5. (Lou Reed has been postponed until January.)
Shucks.
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(Lou Reed has been postponed until January.)
Shucks.
It's never going to happen. Lou probably made his assistant listen to the show last week.
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Yep, sounds like it's not gonna happen.
:-\ >:( :( :( :( :( :( :( >:( >:( >:( :( :(
Maybe we can get Andy to record an album with Metallica.
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Breaking: New Liver Complains Of Difficulty Working With Lou Reed
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-liver-complains-of-difficulty-working-with-lou,32669/ (http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-liver-complains-of-difficulty-working-with-lou,32669/)