Lou Reed in Long Beach

Lou Reed in Conversation with Bob Ezrin at Carpenter Center

Lou Reed's Metal Machine Trio at University Art Museum CSULB

Does it sound confusing? Last weekend there was an exhibit of Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" in an art gallery and he was here in person to talk about it. Earlier in the day, Lou was over at Fingerprints to sign some records and CDs. There was a long line around the block for the legendary singer of the Velvet Underground. The crowd was large at Carpenter Center in Long Beach. I had never been to this building at the northern tip of CSULB, but it's much like Walt Disney Hall or Luckmann Fine Arts. And we were here for.... a conversation with Bob Ezrin, who produced many of Lou Reed's albums.

The casual conversation drifted off into many areas. Lou Reed repeatedly advised the audience to "walk for ten minutes to the art museum and hear the installation of Metal Machine Music. The conversation became technical and they started talking about vinyl and earplugs. Ezrin mentioned how lousy MP3 were. Lou Reed briefly voiced support for the Occupy Movement. People laughed and were generally bewildered. One man stood up and said: "Talk about the music!" Lou countered: "You don't have to be here, wise guy." The man left, as did a number of people who didn't care for the hour long discussion.

Metal Machine Music was released in 1975. It was an uncompromising album of noise. A few years ago Ulrich Krieger had contacted Reed. Krieger was a music teacher at Cal Arts. He had written down and notated Metal Machine Music. Reed thought that this was impossible. It soon led to live performances and the creation of Metal Machine Trio, with Reed, Krieger, and also Sarth Calhoun. They recorded a live performance at the Blender Theater in 2009. John Zorn also performed with this group. It was recorded by Arup Sound Lab as an ambisonic recording in 3D.

When you get to the installation at the museum, you enter a dark room with 12 speakers. It is a loud hour long performance and sounds like you are onstage with the band. Reed and Ezrin discussed that this new technology was futuristic and advanced. They hoped that many more experiences like this one would happen. This was a revolutionary environment. So after the conversation many of us in the audience headed over to the exhibit to experience this sonic moment in person. Lou Reed and the members of Metal Machine Trio soon appeared.

I entered the dark room. It was hot and crowded. It was meant for twenty people but at least 50 had crowded the room. I stepped out to listen from outside. The second time I entered the room, people were sitting in a circle, and it seemed like some satanic ritual. Lou Reed himself entered the room for a while. This was an amazing experience.

This will be at the museum until April 15th, 2012: www.csulb.edu/uam