Can we talk about Lulu? The first thing I thought of, upon hearing about Lou Reed's death, was the highly controversial collaboration between him and Metallica.

Personally, I liked it! I thought *Lulu* was weird and experimental. As a huge fan of Beat poetry, it was like listening to William S. Burroughs or Allen Ginsberg set some sort of weird, whimsical metal / blues hybrid.

When it came out, everyone blasted it. It was the musical whipping boy of its time and likely too easy of a target. When I search tracks, I find just as many negative reviews as I do actual songs.

Why? What's with all the hate? Was it too weird for mainstream audiences? As far as Metallica goes, this is better than Saint Anger. The music is crisp and catchy. It might not be as heavy as *Master of Puppets*, but it still sounds good.