MicShazam

Another night spent listening to ****ty music on purpose. Here's what I learned.

Loud Reed - Metal Machine Music


I don't know much about Lou Reed but what I remember usually being said about this album is that it is rumored to be a thinly veiled "**** you" from Lou Reed to his record label, but I don't know... The world has moved on, and the idea of an album consisting entirely of abrasive noise isn't really that outlandish or unusual anymore. Not being a fan of outright noise albums, it's hard for me to contextualize Metal Machine Music fully. I do find that the four roughly 15 minute long pieces that make up the album are mercilessly repetitive, to the point that I'm not entirely dismissive of the theory that Reed originally intended the album to be a sort of glorified ****post.

But then again, it's probably not...? He's dead, so I can't ever know for sure, but since I'm usually a believer in the "death of the author" idea, it doesn't really even matter. It is what it is, no matter what Reed intended.

It's from that perspective that I'll dare call Metal Machine Music a bad album. One hour of largely eventless, repetitive noise, that seems worryingly bereft of ideas, is not something I can get behind. I said this sort of thing isn't my home turf, but this album wouldn't even be one that I would want to return to if I started to get more into the genre. It just seems so underdeveloped. It actually is pretty unlistenable due to the repetition.



Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box


My perspective on this band has certainly shifted, I'll say that much. Comparing this with Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water album, there's no doubt which of these two acts is the real stinker.
Limp Bizkit is just ****ing annoying on every level and they hardly ever had an idea worth a second of your attention. Insane Clown Posse on the other hand... well... their schtick is pretty daft, but there's a real feeling that they're giving it their best to entertain you and it's hard to hate them for their light hearted, goofy carnival-clowns-&-weed stories.

Riddle Box is a pretty layered album, as far as vocals and sound effects go. There's so many different voices, with all of these vocalists pulling off convincingly looney tunes-esque cartoon voices. The lyrics are dumb, but self aware. It's a lot less horrible than the tough guy posturing and whininess of Fred Durst, that's for sure.

Having listened to an entire Violent J album before, I'm not repelled by anything here as such. The thing that sinks Riddle Box is primarily that the songs are too similar in terms of tempo, beat and where the vocalist place their rhythmic emphasis. This makes the songs feel too similar and I started getting bored after a while. However, if we zoom in on a section and just look at tracks 1 and 2 put together, then that makes for a pretty fun, silly bit of comedy rap. It's dumb, but that's not always a crime. After all, one of my favorite comic strips of all time is Bud Grace's Ernie:



I'm not going to say that stupid/silly = bad.

My point is that I'm not sure I can fault ICP in any of the usual ways people dismiss them. Their music is undeniably creative, but the ireverrent, willfully goofy, violent and cartoony style is going to have to be categorized as an acquired taste. There's not a lot of musical depth here either. It's clear that they're focusing on the lyrics, the voice acting, sound effects and the general vibes created by each track. Think of their music as cinematic, rather than something that's trying to engage you through chord progressions, rhythms or melodies.

A few closing notes:

The song "Ol' Evil Eye" had some nice sounds.

Some lines were legit funny:
"But tonight, you ain't ****, now spin the ****in' wheel
Looks good, nice try
Now let's see just how ya gonna die?
Lucky, lucky, he landed on Carpenter Jed
He just pounds nails in your forehead"

Actually, that line sort of encapsulates the mindset you're either able to go along with or not. I do feel like this band is unfairly considered one of the worst things of all time, when I honestly think being boring is a much bigger crime than being somewhat tastelessly daft.

Here's a list of artists I'd insist are worse than ICP, for reasons of being just-plain-boring:

Atomic Kitten
Bryan Adams
Creed
Nickelback
Staind
Macklemore
Mumford and Sons
James Blunt
Rasmus Seebach (Danish artist. Ungodly boring.)
Coldplay

... and many more.

Am I now and ICP fan? No. But I don't hate them and shall refrain from ridiculing their music in the future. I'll still be making fun of Juggalos and that magnets incident though.

MicShazam

I'm currently binging on Britney Spears on Spotify, so that might be next in line.

Frownland

There are similar sounds used for MMM, but it's too diverse throughout the album for me to call it repetitious. And it's not abrasive you pansy.

I think that both theories are true: they were ideas that Reed wanted to try out and his label also would hate it. Win win win.

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Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

MicShazam

There was a certain droning noise that appears on so much of the album that I had a hard time getting around it. I even got a bit angry when the second track started with that noise again, because I really hoped that would be the end of it. I'm not saying there's no change at all on the album, but I really wanted it to take a more dynamic and varied approach than it does. I think that, intentionally or not, Lou Reed has crafted one of the least welcoming noise albums ever.

Frownland

Sounds like you missed the variety tbh. It's a subtle variety but no two moments on the record are the same apart from the closing loop.



That's adorable.

__________________

Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

MicShazam

Like I said, it's not very accessible to plebs who don't appreciate the genre.

Seriously. Any other crazy ass, abrasive, mentally taxing noise project I've listened to felt less like actually sticking my head in a tumble drier full of screws.

Frownland

Does that category include more than 10 albums? Because that's--and I don't mean this as an insult--hella ignorant.

__________________

Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

MicShazam

Probably way less than 10, tbh.

I'm telling you indirectly that I'm ignorant as hell and not equipped to appreciate Metal Machine Music.

I honestly don't think it's a good album to start on. Quite the contrary. If you can't appreciate what the genre is all about on a basic level, then this album is going to just come off as annoyingly repetitive. I have to strain to peer through the noise and attempt to appreciate what is happening in these arrangements, but I can barely get past the surface level. After a while, it felt like Lou Reed was simply trolling me.

Frownland

I agree with that, just showing that there is at least something there and it's not just the emperor's new clothes.

__________________

Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth.

MicShazam

I get what you're saying. So it wouldn't necessarily make, say, a top 20 for you?

I'll check that album you posted out when I'm done with my Britney binge.