३० नोव्हेंबर, २०२२

"[Kirk] Hammett, who is Buddhist, will talk at length about consciousness, God, enlightenment, resonance, Nirvana."

"He believes that the work he does with Metallica is an extension of some sublime and omnipotent creative force. 'I put myself in this space where I take in all the creativity around me and I channel it to create more,' he said. His hope is that Metallica facilitates a healing sort of fellowship. 'We are so nondenominational,' he said, laughing. 'Come to the Church of Metallica. You’ll become a member and rejoice! You don’t have to direct anything at us. You can direct it at the experience that you’re having.'"

Writes Amanda Petrusich, in "The Enduring Metal Genius of Metallica/On the road with the band in its forty-first year" (The New Yorker).

Metallica’s music is rooted in feelings of marginalization, and the band, despite its achievements, has found a way to maintain that point of view for more than forty years. It makes sense that people are drawn to Metallica’s music, because they’re ill at ease in a culture that relentlessly valorizes things (money, love, straight teeth) that are very easy to be born without....

[James Hetfield's] parents were devout Christian Scientists, and had met in church, where Virgil helped lead a weekly service. But Hetfield never connected with the religion.... Hetfield recalled being embarrassed when he wasn’t allowed to attend health class, or receive a physical to play football. “I still carry shame about that,” he said. “How different we were to people.”

When Hetfield was thirteen, his father left. “I went off to church camp, and I came back and he was gone,” he recalled. Two years later, his mother developed cancer, but refused medical treatment on religious grounds. “We watched her wither to nothing,” he said. “She had religion around her, inside her. She had practitioners coming over. But the cancer was stronger.”...

“I thought she cared more about religion than she did her kids,” he said. “It wasn’t talked about, either—if you’re talking about it, you’re giving it power, and you want to take power away from it. So admitting that you’re sick, that’s a no-no. We just saw it happening.”...

Much, much more at the link. I just cherry-picked some things about religion.

५५ टिप्पण्या:

Old and slow म्हणाले...

Good lord. I believe he is overthinking things. It's a rock band.

gilbar म्हणाले...

I have to admit, i DO really like Metallica.. Their song, ACE OF SPADES is Awesome!
oh, wait*; that's Motörhead.. i really DON'T like Metallica.. They're a bunch of arty posers.

wait* of COURSE i knew it was Motörhead, i'm just being snarky

Kate म्हणाले...

Don't actual Buddhists find Western notions of Buddhism offensive? The statue in the corner with incense, the selection of morality while discarding other tenets, the easy religious commitment ... When someone in the West says they're Buddhist I wonder if they're serious.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

I'm not a metal head - so I have no comment on the music. They seem like nice boys.


"Beavis sported one [a metalica T-shirt] for the entire nine-season run of “Beavis and Butt-Head.”

well... That's fame.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Ask Def Leppard's drummer : )

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

On Justified, when asked if he liked the reggae show, Raylan said, "It was not to my taste."

I thought that was kinda classy.

Some people don't like it!

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

"Hetfield is Metallica’s heart—its musical center and primary lyricist—Ulrich is its brain, a visionary who instinctively understands cultural terrain."

"Cultural terrain" hahaha lol.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
Anthony म्हणाले...

Not my bag, but I enjoyed the article. I, too, remember seeing Metallica listed at Lollapalooza and thinking "Huh?"

Bands that last for decades with the same basic lineup are so rare, it's worth examining, IMO. Rush, Stones, U2...those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

I'm a Rushhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh guy m'self.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

"EET FUR"

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

If I was in hell and Satan said, "You can have the Barbra Streisand room or the Metallica room and listen to their music for all of eternity,"

I would be like, "Holy shit you are an evil spirit."

Meanwhile, when I was so close to the stage at my awesome Who concert, I stood next to one massive large speaker about twice my size, and I stood there like a moron for a couple of hours until my right ear started hurting.

So musically speaking, that was my idea of heaven at that age. And I am pretty sure I damaged my right ear (maybe my left one too!).

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Hell is painful (can't stand Streisand or Metallica)

Heaven is painful, too?! (love the Who and listen to them until my hearing is damaged)

This sort of affirms for me that humans don't understand heaven or hell. It's way beyond our grasp. It's so far beyond us, Jesus couldn't explain it to us.

Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?”

Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

Simon Peter, "Lord, why can't I follow you now?"

This is kind of like when I used to have to leave my dogs behind when I went to work. They wanted to go with me, of course, and they had huge feelings of abandonment.

It might make them feel better if I could explain it to them. But I can't. There's no way.

And it causes stress in dogs (of course) but the smart and patient dogs always figure it out -- he'll be back.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

Yikes! 40 years.......it seems just like yesterday I bought "Ride the Lightning".

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Surely, someone has written a guidebook like "How to Survive in Hell... and Love It."

Whichever room you pick, you must enter with a plan to find ways to love this music. Will it be easier, over eternity, to find the love for BS or M? What sorts of details of the art will be drawing your attention after 100 years... 1,000 years... a million years... and you've only just begun.

BUMBLE BEE म्हणाले...

Townshend's hearing isn't so good now either.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves म्हणाले...

I would pick Streisand - not ever close. Her voice is heavenly.
The thing is - an eternity with the same music, even your favorite music, would be torture. no?

Ann Althouse म्हणाले...

Here's a guide, at Weekly World News:

-------------
1. IGNORE TORMENTS — “The first day, when the demonas strapped me down and started mutilating my body, I screamed bloody murder,” Gigamante recalls. “But an old-timer told me not to sweat it, becasue ‘your body is already dead and buried.’ Once I quit worrying about otrture, it stopped having any effect.”

2. DON’T MOUTH OFF — You treat the demons with respect and they treaet you with respect “Gigamante observes.

3. MAKE UP BOGUS PHOBIAS — “As soon as you get there, start screaming something li,e, ‘Please, anything but squirrels,'” Gigamanted advises. “They’ll stick you in a room full of cute little squirrels.”

4. JOIN IN THE ORGIES — ...

5. HOBNOB WITH THE RICH AND FAMOUS....

gahrie म्हणाले...

Metallica is one of those bands where I like the music but dislike the musicians.

Yeah Right Sure म्हणाले...

Lou Reed, "Strawman":

Does anybody need another self-righteous rock singer
Whose nose he says has led him straight to God?

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'Surely, someone has written a guidebook like "How to Survive in Hell... and Love It."'

Matt Groening's 'Life in Hell.'

Anthony म्हणाले...

Rush had much the same function for the nerdy guys.

And most were 'guys'.

Joe Smith म्हणाले...

'Surely, someone has written a guidebook like "How to Survive in Hell... and Love It."'

At least it's a dry heat...

I Have Misplaced My Pants म्हणाले...

I'm not inclined to ridicule those who maintain that creation -- creativity -- is sacred. It's fine to say that.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

41 years? Shouldn't he be in a monastery by now?

Trollinator1000 म्हणाले...

Fun fact; Kirk Hammett was taught by Joe Satriani;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yL4__J3I54

Howard म्हणाले...

Metallica isn't my jam neither

Howard म्हणाले...

Buddhism is a scam. They tell you the simple answer to enlightenment up front plain and simple in their first principles, then claim they can't explain it in words and you have to contemplate your toe jam for several decades to finger it out. Pro tip, the one hand clapping deal is a trick clue.

Narr म्हणाले...

He'll talk at length?

I just bet he will.

Narr म्हणाले...

That said, I like the two or three Metallica songs that I recognize.

As for me, I have never reached a level of consciousness that I would want to experience forever. In that sense, heaven isn't.

Alison म्हणाले...

The mother refusing treatment and dying of cancer is so sad. Rock singer and guitarist Myles Kennedy lost his father the same way at a young age. His album "Year of the Tiger" is all songs about how that affected him. It's a fantastic album.

Full Album on Youtube

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

"Will it be easier, over eternity, to find the love for BS or M?"

Choices, choices....Black Sabbath or Metallica? That is a tough one!

who-knew म्हणाले...

Linda Ronstadt was quite complimentary to Metallica but not about the music per se but for being the first band to really figure out how to play in an arena without having their sound ruined by the cavernous setting. I'll take her word for that, I have never listened to their music although I'm sure I've heard some of it floating around. I agree that a band that can hang around with the original members deserves some respect just for that.

Wilbur म्हणाले...

Hell would be even intermittent Mariah Carey.

I see she tried to trademark The Queen of Christmas ... and failed.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Will it be easier, over eternity, to find the love for BS or M?

Streisand, holy fuck, that's not even close. She's an annoying female but I could maybe trick my brain into falling in love with that shit.

Metallica got even less of a listen than Streisand.

They both annoyed me almost instantaneously, it was visceral repulsion. Very quick judgment.

Completely unfair, of course!

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Our minds can't even grasp "eternity."

30 minutes of either Streisand or Metallica would feel like a war crime (I think -- I have yet to give either of them 30 minutes of my musical life).

Horseball म्हणाले...

Several commenters here seem to believe the Metallica is comprised of its original members. It isn't, only Hetfield & Ulrich are original. Quite famously, Dave Mustaine of Megadeth was an original member, ousted in favor of Hammett. The original bassist, Cliff Burton, died in a bus accident in Sweden and was replaced by Jason Newstead, who was kicked out and replaced.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Argumentative hillbilly: "Simulated drowning is worse than bad music!"

Me: "Let me pound on your ears for a few minutes and see how you like it."

Stuff like sleep deprivation and bad music are at least two ways to torture people. Water drops on foreheads is another.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

A couple of things to always remember...

God loves all his children

but he gets angry with people who take his children away from the Lord

"Vengeance is mine," sayeth the Lord.

God was very strict with us, for most of human existence. The Old Testament God seems more severe to us Christians than how we experience Jesus.

I'm convinced that God sent Jesus Christ to us so that we would know we are loved. And if we ask to be forgiven, we will be forgiven.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

God spoils us with his love.

If we ask to be forgiven, we're forgiven!

Some spoiled brats never learn, and never ask.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

There are only two laws.

Love God.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Focus on those, and you will be happy, and your afterlife will be happy, too. But always remember that you are a sinner. You have hurt people, and you will continue to hurt people. Sometimes you will do so intentionally, and sometimes accidentally.

One of the awful things about getting closer to Christ is that you are given self-awareness of all your sins. Self-awareness can be over-powering and paralyzing. (But it's also how we become better people). This process of recognizing your sins, confessing your sins, it's how we improve. And Christ takes the stress out by reminding us that if we sincerely ask for forgiveness, all our sins are wiped away, just like that.

Christ Jesus sent a robber on the cross (who might have been a murderer) to heaven. If you were a relative of the murder victim, that might upset you. That's why it's important to remember, it's God's house. And none of us will earn our way there.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

'I put myself in this space where I take in all the creativity around me and I channel it to create more,'

So the process is to take in the creativity from it's reservoir and channel it to create more creativity. So he not only redirects creativity in space, but is an amplifier. He increases the volume of creativity by consuming some but creating more creativity than he uses, so as time proceeds net creativity is monotonically increasing. At some point we will have an excess of creativity and the price will drop.

I think the smart thing to do is to short creativity.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

God spoils us with his love.

Let me rephrase.

Because of our human nature, our inferiority to God, our misunderstandings of God, and our free will, many of us are incapable of loving God.

So the idea of having all our sins forgiven sounds like a "get out of jail free card."

We ignore God all the time.

We do shit we know God would hate.

We are like bad children, irresponsible children, and we're that way because (we think) "God loves us. Fuck it, let's party!"

Spoiled brats.

Other people do not feel God's love at all. They miss the birds singing. They miss the beautiful ocean he has created for us, the amazing beaches and rivers. They miss the amazing gift of creating a human life from nothing. They don't see any of it. They too have been spoiled. They enjoy this world and this universe, but they give no credit to the Lord, the giver of life.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

I'm convinced that many liberals become atheists because they have issues with hierarchies.

They don't think anything, or anybody, is better than they are.

Equality is important (we are all created by God), but hierarchies are real and it's a good idea to think about them, too.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

I think the smart thing to do is to short creativity.

Don't worship money.

Robert Cook म्हणाले...

"Townshend's hearing isn't so good now either."

I believe I read some years ago that Townshend did his hearing damage mostly by his many hours of playing guitar and listening to the music he was recording at his home studio through headphones. At high volume.

That's certainly how I came to require hearing aids in the past few years. LIVE AT LEEDS and The Stooges' RAW POWER (among many other records) played at blistering levels through headphone over decades was always exhilarating...and damaging.

Robert Cook म्हणाले...

"Fun fact; Kirk Hammett was taught by Joe Satriani;"

So was Steve Vai.

chuck म्हणाले...

What are his creative thoughts about P = NP?

Lazarus म्हणाले...

Fleetwood Mac's Christine McVie passed away today.

All those years of having to be Christine Perfect must have taken their toll.

John Althouse Cohen म्हणाले...

Wow, how terrible for him and his family. Maybe that's why he's always singing about death

walter म्हणाले...

A higher calling:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monks-meth-temple-thailand/
A Buddhist temple in central Thailand has been left without monks after all of its holy men failed drug tests and were defrocked, a local official said Tuesday.
Four monks, including an abbot, at a temple in Phetchabun province's Bung Sam Phan district tested positive for methamphetamine on Monday, district official Boonlert Thintapthai told AFP.
The monks have been sent to a health clinic to undergo drug rehabilitation, the official said.
"The temple is now empty of monks and nearby villagers are concerned they cannot do any merit-making," he said. Merit-making involves worshippers donating food to monks as a good deed.

n.n म्हणाले...

nothing else matters...

Wince म्हणाले...

I've noticed a lot of bands discover Buddhism after they make it big... and when their youthful indiscretions might eventually catch up to them and cause them PR problems.

Whether it's "Me Too" concerns, or Metallica now under TikTok cancel culture attack for supposedly flirting with Nazism.

Plus turning to Buddhism avoids all that nasty Jedeo-Christian baggage.

Say it with me: Oṁ.

Saint Croix म्हणाले...

Say it with me: Oṁ.

The Cali people put a Buddhist joke in one of the Smokey and the Bandit movies.

When I saw that movie as a kid, that joke made no sense whatsoever.

Buddhist meditation was not much of a thing in the American South in the 1970's. I know that's a shock! But it's the truth.

Josephbleau म्हणाले...

"I've noticed a lot of bands discover Buddhism after they make it big."

True, but the smartest go for family, even if not religion. Like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson.

Matt म्हणाले...

Was huge Metallica fan after discovering them with the Black Album. Their best song is hands-down Disposable Heroes from the Master of Puppets album. Their music largely went to crap after Load, but especially after Reload. I am glad they've grown and had families and are happy with their lives and success cuz they were cool as hell back in the day and I still bang my head to their early stuff. Just, admittedly, with a lot less hair than I used to.

But dear lord, there is nothing less metal than being featured in The New Yorker.