Metallica released their collaboration with Lou Reed titled Lulu in 2011 and people never quite got over it. Lulu elicited a largely negative reaction upon its release, though Metallica has stood by the album over the years. And good for them – they made an artistic decision and they're sticking with it.
Still, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is confused about why people hate Lulu so much. In an excerpt from Reed's posthumous book The Art of the Straight Line: My Tai Chi obtained by Loudwire, Ulrich says he's still not sure why the album was so hated and calls the reaction ignorant. Or in his own words, "I can only put the reaction down to ignorance."
"What the fuck is it about Lulu that it got that kind of reaction?" said Ulrich. "I can't quite figure it out, but years later, it's aged extremely well. It sounds like a motherfucker still. So I can only put the reaction down to ignorance … It took our fans to a place I wish they would go more often.
"Maybe it would be a better time to release it now with what's going on outside in the world, the chaos. I don't know, but I am very proud of this record … James and I would be figuring out ways through a piece of music and then Lou would look over and go, 'That's it. I'm not doing another fucking take of that.' That's not the way we usually worked, but it was so beautiful and great, the whole thing."
I'm not sure "ignorant" is the right word. Sure, it seems like Ulrich is frustrated that fans didn't share the same creative vision that Metallica and Reed had. Which I'm sure is irritating – you work hard on a piece of art and of course you want everyone to love it as much as you do. But "ignorant" implies that people aren't educated or smart enough to get Lulu, or to go where it's trying to take fans, and that feels a little extreme.
Ultimately, Metallica seems happy with their choice and you can't please everyone anyone.
