The article looks at the demise of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, the multimedia spectacle devised by Andy Warhol in the mid-1960s that fused The Velvet Underground and Nico's music with film projections, strobe lighting and dancers. It traces how a run of poorly received performances undermined the project, contributing to its eventual collapse and the fracturing of Warhol's working relationship with the band. The piece situates this within the broader story of how one of the era's most ambitious avant-garde art experiments could not sustain its momentum once real-world touring conditions took their toll.

The Exploding Plastic Inevitable had been conceived as an immersive, boundary-pushing show combining live rock music with experimental film and performance art, and it toured venues across the United States in 1966 and 1967. According to the article, certain shows were met with confusion, hostility or technical failure, undermining the production's reputation and straining relations between Warhol, the Velvet Underground and other collaborators. These difficulties are presented as a key factor in the eventual winding-down of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable as a going concern.