This piece revisits Lou Reed's notorious 1975 double album Metal Machine Music, an hour-long collage of guitar feedback with no songs, lyrics or conventional structure, released at the height of his commercial success. The article argues that, whatever Reed's true motives, the record can be read as a deliberate rejection of the songwriting craft he was famous for, and a challenge to listeners and record executives alike as to how far they would follow him.

Reed himself called the album "the closest thing I've ever come to perfection", describing it as the only record he knew that "attacks the listener" and refuses to stop even after the final side ends. The article suggests that judged by conventional musical standards the album is unlistenable, but that its true achievement lies in turning listening into a physical, almost endurance-based experience rather than an aesthetic one. It also credits the record with anticipating later abrasive and noise-influenced genres, from industrial acts to shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine, even though few would cite Reed as a direct influence.