A View Into Lou Reed & Metallica's "The View," from Lulu
Lately, I've been listening to artists whose names I recognize, but their music was, for some reason, still foreign to me. I only know a couple of songs from Prince, Primus, Van Halen and many others.
Today, on that same exploratory note, I was thinking about Metallica, I know most of their work by heart, but then I remembered "Lulu." I listened to "The View" on YouTube, probably the most infamous track out of the whole set thanks to the incessant "I AM THE TABLE" verses.
I don't know if it's because I'm at a different stage in my life or if it's because I'm just seeing things, but what turned out is that I felt shivers after listening to the song, watching the video and reading the lyrics. I had the urge of sharing what I perceived, so I started writing this article.
I will focus on the song "The View," but like any artwork, context dictates much of its significance, so I will also dedicate time to discuss the album itself.
My approach to art analysis is this: I will tell you what I can see and maybe where the thing is headed towards. You choose whether to follow suit or rant about how wrong my perspective is. I'll try not to touch what influenced the album nor the song. All I see and hear are images.
Feel free to comment about, criticize and mock this piece. Just like Lulu.
And yes, I'll tell you what it means to be the table.
1. The album
"Lulu" is an album released in 2011, which resulted from the collaboration of the late Lou Reed, a notable poet, songwriter and musician, and Metallica, one of the largest musical acts in history. Most of us overlooked this album thanks to the abundance of memes that came out of it, but most importantly due to the album's unpleasant aesthetic, both musically and in its images.
The cover artwork depicts a female, naked, mutilated doll, seemingly named "Lulu", suggested by the name written in what seems to represent blood. "Lulu" sounds way too much like "Lou." We could say that it is either a doll or a mannequin. What's the real use of these types of dolls? Serving as displays for clothing in stores, serving as canvases. Also, this doll doesn't have arms. Does an armless female figure remind you of something?
The Venus de Milo is a marble sculpture from 101BC. It supposedly depicts the goddess Aphrodite, who represents love and beauty.
We can compare Aphrodite, a goddess that represents an ideal, to Lulu, a doll with a silly name and grimy looks. But can't she represent love and beauty, too? Lulu is also a work of art, authored by Reed and Metallica. Artists tend to love their craft; if it's not loving, then it is at least conformity or sympathy. Creating and being an artist must be somewhat better for them than working an office job. She, the album, was born out of love. She represents the muse, the inspiration to create something of aesthetic value, to create art.
But Lulu is no goddess. Lulu is cut up into pieces, broken. Who did this to her? Why is she like this? Why something that could've been easily accepted and loved, just like any other of Metallica's chart-topping albums, was displayed dismembered and naked? We can listen to the story by listening to the album.
2. Rhythm and Lyrics
I'll be following the video's time cues.
The View starts with Lars Ulrich laying a cymbal-heavy rhythm, not hi-hats, as he is inclined to do most times. The rest of the band joins in with a sluggish, descending riff. The sound is akin to their live sound post-Death Magnetic. They've maintained that sound and, despite not being so similar to the sound of their thrash-heavy era, it works as it is consistent and decent, both live and in the studio.
"The usual modern Metallica" we think at this point. "I think I've heard this riff on some of their rehearsal tapes." But then, Lou Reed comes in.
I am a chorus of the voices
That gather up the magnets
Set before me
When was the last time Metallica recorded anything that wasn't focused on Metallica? And with Lou Reed as the main vocalist? This is not typical.
Now, hopefully, if you're listening along, forget that this is Metallica. Don't expect anything familiar here. In their past records, they've been serving their purposes, their legacy, their intentions on riding and creating waves of reception and different sorts of heavy music. Here, they're serving the art, the child that is Lulu, Reed's chant in portraying a story. This is not Metallica, it's another kind of monster.
To be the chorus. Have you heard Creeping Death live? Metallica is that chorus, not just the fans. The fans chant, but Creeping Death is Metallica. Master of Puppets is Metallica. They are their songs when they play live when they are covered. The magnets set before me can represent the pickups on the electric guitars and the magnets in the amplifiers, they also attract people. This all can represent other artists.
I attract you and repel you
A science of the heart
And blood and meaning
Art. It is a science of the heart. This is a play on science, magnetism, blood, and ideas.
The coldness of most beauties
Is a challenge that our youth
Must quickly conquer
There is no time for guilt
Or second guessing, second guessing
Based on feeling
We have confirmation of our Venus hypothesis. Reed sings about different types of beauties, some of them being cold and a challenge that the younger generations must overcome. Social media, propaganda, beautiful products and images that are dead, cold. Screens are cold, electronic devices are cold. There is no blood here; no "blood and meaning." Lulu, despite not being among "most beauties," was indeed born from blood and passion, with a purpose, not indifference.
Reed tells the youth to disregard guilt and second-guessing, but not second-guessing about confidence or capacity or trying to find the truth (a principle in science), but second-guessing based on feelings. Feelings drive us to lose our most precious asset: Our independence. Whether through angry tantrums or pits of sadness and depression, feelings can't be the primary motivator to our actions.
I want you on the floor
And in a coffin your soul shaking
I want to have you doubting
Every meaning you've amassed like a fortune
Oh, throw it away
But the artist intends on having you confront your death. The intend is to shake up your soul and make you doubt your deepest beliefs. We've all been taught to worship fame, money, religion, politics, and symbols. "Throw it away," Reed commands.
For worship of someone who actively despises you
For worship of someone who actively despises you!
And yet, everything thrown away would just be replaced by worship of an entity who despises your being. This is honesty. The artist admits being part of those "amassed meanings." The image is of the subject acknowledging to being another actor who despises and steps over those who expect anything from it; whether it is a religious structure, society, the government, or even Metallica putting out an album that its fanbase would approve. Among themselves, artists can hate their fans to some extent. It's a complex subject, think Mayhem, the primal Norwegian Black Metal band, launching animal carcasses on their shows to scare off "posers." Posers are also fans, but art and beauty have an absolute right to be repulsive.
I am the root!
I am the progress!
I'm the aggressor!
I am the tablet!
These ten stories!
The root? The origin. The artist, the creator, the government, the religious organization or power entity is a tree that yields fruit but only itself knows how deep the roots go.
The progress? Only the omnipotent creator dictates progress. Only an artist can make more art, only a religious group can propose new ways of behaving. Only the State can say that the country is in good or bad shape. Not you. Never the audience, never the public.
The aggressor? Power. The State has the job of monopolizing violence. Only those in power have the right to use violence. Only an artist has the right to make offensive, vulgar works of art. Only a religious leader can call for the death of infidels.
The tablet? You ingest the tablet. In some cases, you must take it every morning to stay alive and well. It becomes a part of you at every instant.
These ten stories? Ten stories tall. Larger than you. The Ten Commandments are ten rules to live your life by. Probably there's something else I'm missing on this particular sentence because that's all I can perceive. If you've got an idea, feel free to comment.
I am the view
I am the table
I am the view
I am the table
I am all this
I am the root
the progress
the aggressor
I am the table
I am the ten stories
I am the table
I am I am I am I am
I am
I'll leave the rest of the lyrics for you to interpret. But first, let's address the chorus and the infamous...
3. The table
Let's start with the basics. How can we define a table?
- It's robust and stable. It should not break down or swivel.
- It can be used to put things on top of it
- It tends to serve a central purpose in a room (dining room, office, workshop)
Applying this to the images we picked up previously:
- The power entity is robust and stable. It should not break down or swivel.
- The power entity can be used to put things on top of it. Maybe not just "put," but also "build."
- The power entity tends to serve a central purpose, not in a room, but in your life. An artist wants your soul, your loyalty. The government wants your freedom. Religion wants your identity. All of this requires you to provide them with a central position within you.
And repeating frantically, perhaps sounding silly to those who are not listening, so it is damn clear who has the power in this scenario, who is listening to who's music.
I am I am I am I am
I am
They're reminding us that they can hate us and that they have the power, that we are nothing unless we learn to see everything that Lulu's beauty represents, which requires us to let go of our beliefs and embrace the blood, the ugly and the broken parts of life.
4. The video, the solo and the growl
Directed by Daron Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, mother!), the video starts with Lou Reed touching his eyes, almost wiping off a tear, not looking at the camera. We tend to avoid eye contact to bypass awkwardness, guilt or repulsion.
The video is in black and white, but there is a predominance in black. There are very few interactions with us, represented by the camera. The only noticeable one is Robert Trujillo giving us the horned fingers from inside a car as he drives by; a form contact that's rather impersonal and distant, coming from the "new kid" on the band. He's a warm guy, just watch some interviews, but this is the closest thing to any affection that you'll find in this place.
At 1:31, we hear
Worship!
And Reed looks upon us to comply.
Metallica is a metal band, and it is normal for metal bands to channel aggressive energy through their music and appearance. Usually, you see Metallica having a good time. But here, all of that is gone. They actually look angry, hurt, perhaps vengeful. They are not serving their shows in arenas and stadiums, they are serving Lulu with their blood. Here, all that matters is the artform.
At 2:35, James lets out a growl unlike any other I've ever heard him do.
I am!
I can only relate it to Live S**t: Binge and Purge, but this growl is more mature, much more uncommon for James in this era. All these talented musicians putting everything into this song with its corrosive message are directing energy, or to be more precise, are saturating the channels of sensorial communication. It is my belief that they are directing their despisal towards me, a fan, and it just gives me goosebumps. Think about it, is there any other metal band with such a toxic and diverse fanbase? James looks directly at the camera and punches the chorus at us. This cannot be a coincidence. They, to some extent, even if it is only an artistic image, actively despise us.
The riff changes to something equivalent to an actually angry St. Anger.
At 2:49, Kirk Hammett beings his solo.
But there are no blue scales! Hammett has been for decades a loyal warrior of the Blues and the Minor Scale. Here he went practically atonal; once again, serving the artwork, not Metallica and what you'd expect from the band. The only suggestion of blues is the bend he does at the end of the solo.
The song slows down once more, but the energy is still there.
We get the last angry shots of each band member. James looks straight at the camera, he's the frontman in Metallica. His job is to direct the show and convey the meanings.
Apparently he has something to say to us, and he's not happy. Lars screams from the back; the other founder of Metallica and a noted target of trolls and media controversy (Napster).
Finally, we end with the band settling down and Lou Reed clapping, asking for an "encore." He's playing the fan. He's also one of us. He loved Metallica and acknowledged that he, too is an object of Lulu's message.