They’ve earned the right to overreach. But if the fundamental goal of Metallica is to make good music, it seems like trying to get rich while doing so dramatically improves their creative process. The constraints of late capitalism really work for them; they’re extraordinarily adept at making electrifying heavy rock that’s designed to generate revenue. The reason Lulu is so terrible is that the people making this music clearly don’t care if anyone else enjoys it. Now, here again—viewed in a vacuum—that sentiment is admirable. But we don’t live in a vacuum. We live on earth. And that means we
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