Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music
 

On the forum at Music Banter, I was requested to write a review of Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music. Was this review request a joke? Quite possibly- I understand why few people are able to make it through one listen of this album without losing their sanity. Perhaps a better question is whether Lou Reed viewed this album as a joke. Is this a product of frustration similar to Dylan's Self-Portrait or did he view it as a potential masterpiece? Based on what I've heard of his earlier works, I believe that Reed did not view this album as an intentional insult to his fans and record label, but rather an unbridled experiment in organized chaos.

The music on Metal Machine Music is extremely harsh and polarizing- if you are willing to even call it "music." Perhaps influenced by the incessant screeching of George Crumb's "Black Angels", Reed seems to be exercising his abilities as an avant-garde artist through his meticulous organization of these hair-raising sounds. However, not every part of the music in this album is unlistenable- underlying the constant screeches and hisses of electronically generated patterns is a faint melody that is ever changing throughout the album- a hint of something pleasant masked by howling of excruciating noise. For instance, during the first track electronic bagpipes, or something similar to this, blast alongside hisses and blips. One could possibly view this higher ratio of unpleasant to pleasant sounds as a commentary on society or other things- maybe even the music industry. Perhaps Reed himself is the hint of inspiration clouded by a swarm of uninspired musicians.

Whether or not you decide to breath that much meaning into this album, it is undeniable that Reed was purposeful and true to his artistic desires through his work on his experimental Metal Machine Music. I did not particularly enjoy listening to it and I certainly won't be listening to it again any time soon. However, I can't discount this garbled noise as pure trash. Experiments like this have value. I'm certain Lou Reed wouldn't be as highly esteemed as he is had he not taken a "walk on the wild side" every once in a while...sorry, I couldn't resist.

5/10

OMFG. Thread of the year and I salute you!

Excellent review. :thumb:

hahaha and now he's banned

I always like it when reviewers don't criticize an album for the simple fact they didn't like it. Just because an album does not fit your particular tastes doesn't mean its bad, and I'm glad to see that you seem to share a similar view in your review. I briefly listened to Metal Machine Music, just a few tracks and although I didn't like it, I'm not going to say its crap with no value whatsoever.

EDIT: Anybody know why this guy was banned? I've seen a few of his other posts and I don't see any reason to ban him. I mean, he only has 8 posts, and I've already seen about 5 of those, none of which are what I would constitute as something that one should get banned for, and I doubt he could get himself banned in just a few posts, unless they were really bad...

Maybe he was advertising? Doesn't matter, this is a good review for what was a joke to many people.

He's gone for advertising his blog in every other post.

In fact I wouldn't be surprised if this was copy & pasted from it

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I'm back- Didn't realize how strict the mods were about saying positive things about MMM

lol niiiice.

I listened to Metal Machine Music (the first track, anyway) the other day, it wasn't that bad, except that it gave me a stomach ache.