Holier Than Thou

I have been meaning to buy a copy of this record for ages:



(That's an image of Metallica's eponymous album, often (and obviously!) called the 'Black' album by fans because of it's completely - except for the coiled snake in the lefthand corner - black cover)

and today I ventured down Brunswick Street on my lunch break to secure my very own copy. I was more excited than a normal person should be, to be honest, but I have just discovered Metallica. I didn't really like them in their Black-and-pre-Black heyday, but I fucking love them now.

Those readers familar with Brunswick Street will know what store I bought the record from when I say that I checked Sister Ray first, which strangely had no Metallica discs at all. So I hiked in the opposite direction to this other place, where I ultimately found it.


I don't particularly want to name and shame this store, because independent outlets should be supported by us all in the interests of cultural and commercial diversity. However, I was initially chagrined and then enraged by the staff's reaction to my musical taste. They sniggered and rolled their eyes at my choice, saying 'what this? Oh Met-al-li-ca' the same way one might say 'what's this? oh, dog vomit.'

Humph. Did I breeze into their store and complain about what they were playing and the band tees they were wearing? 'Ugh. Sufjan Stevens is soooo tedious and pretentious' or 'Fuck, I would rather kill myself than listen to Laura/Deloris/some other indie band named after a girl.' Maybe their tastes are so refined from working in the *ahem* music industry that the Black album is unforgivably populist, and therefore unworthy of notice? I'm not so ignorant of Metallica's entire oeuvre that I'd suggest that Black is their finest hour; it's a bloated riffy colossus, typically overproduced by Bob Rock. But I could have done without the supercilious 'tude and tut-tutting about my poor artistic judgment, reminiscent of the manner in which old codgers carp on about 'kids today...'. The record store dudes were most likely younger than me, goddammit, and their listening regime of indie music made them arrogant and judgmental. And yet metal gets blamed for anti-social behaviour. Sheesh.