Postmodernism in Lou Reed and Metallica’s collaborative album Lulu: The subjective perception of highbrow and lowbrow

Abstract

The 2011 collaborative album Lulu (by Lou Reed and Metallica) presents one with what can be clearly identified as a ‘clash’ between highbrow and lowbrow culture. This ‘clash’, as will be demonstrated in this article, attempts to ‘blur’ what the media tries to enforce by revealing that Metallica and Lou Reed in actuality cannot be exclusively defined by one coherent label. The intended implication is that the album should not be dismissed as its impact, as Metallica’s first postmodern album, ought to be remembered and formally recognized as such – a postmodern experimental metal album.