Lou Reed
Metal Machine Music
[RSD 2025 Exclusive]
There’s this Venture Brothers episode where they make fun of Andy Warhol’s Factory collective. I got what they were parodying and just felt like it was a tribute them. What do I know about art, anyway? Then I heard the audio commentary from the creators and them skewering both Warhol and his minions. It was incredibly gratifying to know that there were other (smarter) people out there who thought both Warhol and his elitist art movement were bullshit. Music nerds sure love Lou Reed. I like him too. Does that make me a nerd? I’m not sure. I like Velvet Underground but don’t really care for the Warhol influence in them. Like, Nico sucks, right? We can all agree on that? But Lou Reed knew that Warhol had to go if the Velvet Underground were going to keep making real music. I give him props for that. At some point, Lou Reed also surrounded himself with sycophants who encouraged him to make very dumb decisions. How’s a man supposed to grow if he doesn’t know he made a mistake? I kinda love that Lester Bangs would give Reed shit every time they met for an interview. Imagine the hubris! Someone daring to question the God Lou Reed? Why, I never! Then again, Lester Bangs also notoriously “loved” Metal Machine Music. It all comes full circle!
There’s been a lot of excuses made for Metal Machine Music and they mostly involve vindicating Lou Reed and this terrible terrible album I don’t buy that. I fully believe that this is something Reed intentionally made to try and push the “boundaries” of “music” and “art.” What, IS MUSIC ANYWAY, MAAAAAN? Metal Machine Music sounds like feedback and atonal guitar distortion for an hour straight. There are different noises being played on the left and right channels so one can assume this wasn’t really spontaneous and train of thought, but something more planned. Or maybe Reed had help from another “musician.” The worst part is that it’s THE SAME NOISE for an hour. It doesn’t even change into a different kind of annoying music. If this is considered music then nothing should be considered music. And if nothing is music, then Lou Reed can go fuck himself. If Reed knew he was trolling his listeners, then Reed can also go fuck himself.
Metal Machine Music is more of a modern art exercise than anything else, and sets music back instead of progressing it. It’s to be talked about and, if done correctly, laughed at. Sometimes the Warhol “art” influence just runs too deep. It’s come full circle.
