Watch: Darren Aronofsky Directed Video For Metallica & Lou Reed's "The View"

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by Kevin Jagernauth
December 3, 2011 4:57 PM
8 Comments

Well, the result of one of the unlikeliest collaborations in some time here. As reported about a month ago, Darren Aronofsky took a gig directing the first video from Metallica and Lou Reed's absurd Lulu album, and it's now in the can and ready for your eyes. Considering the whole musical collaboration is based on German expressionsist Frank Wedekind's controversial plays about a serial killing teenage prostitute, the video for "The View" (not "Iced Honey" as first reported) is surprisingly tame.

Debuting over at IFC, the spot is really nothing more than a black-and-white video of the band playing in a rehearsal space with a few effects and overlapping images to mix things up. Frankly, it almost feels like it was exhumed out of the 1990s alternative rock wave of videos, though that may also be because of Metallica's limp riffing too. But no matter what we feel about the song, Aronofsky says he was totally mesmerized. Or something. "The first time I heard 'The View' I was stunned," Aronofsky said. "I had never heard anything like it. Half was all Lou. The other half all Metallica. It was a marriage that on the surface made no sense, but the fusion changed the way I thought about both artists and morphed into something completely fresh and new. I couldn't stop listening to it. Lou's crushing lyrics, and the band's incredible licks."

Well, he's entitled to his opinion. As a song, "The View" is sort of terrible, but not as crushingly disastrous as some reviews would have you believe. But it's pretty turgid, and they hyperbolic lyrics don't help matters. Anyway, you can see what the team of Aronofsky/Metallica/Reed turn out below. We can't tell if the slow cap and "brilliant" bit at the end is supposed to be ironic or not.

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More: Darren Aronofsky, Metallica, Lou Reed

8 Comments

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splitlip | December 5, 2011 12:05 AMReply

Worst part of all of this is, it's still Metallica. The douche bags of Copyright. Aronofsky is wedded to the money. He's not too blame. Lou Red is lookin' to make a few bucks, sure. But in the end, it's still Metallica.
Rufus | December 4, 2011 7:02 PMReply

Yeah, but here's the thing, I'm Darren Aronofsky (not really, but you know what I mean,) I've been hired to film a video for Lou Reed and Metallica. What do you expect? I have a film about Noah's ark I'm trying to get off the ground. I like these guys fine and all and they're happy with the performance clip route anyways, soooooooo....Yeah, smiles all around. Geez. You would think this is the worst video ever made. It's nowhere near that bad.
missmoxie | December 6, 2011 2:09 AM

ha, i luv this response
Bogart | December 4, 2011 3:53 PMReply

Looks like a student-directed music video with William H Macy and a bunch of rednecks... tisk tisk Darren.
Rufus | December 4, 2011 3:03 PMReply

If I were Aronofsky and someone gave me money to make a video for this song, this is the video I would make. Any other video I could possibly make for this song would require a budget twice that of my last film.

I am the table...I like that bit. I really do.
Rick | December 4, 2011 1:24 AMReply

I dont know, but I got a little bit of a head ache and I like this kind of stuff, would been more interesting as a documentary like "lets get loud" in a new sort of way, depicting each artist in their own light, Lou Reed seemed to be out of place here. Nice try, but really?
jingmei | December 3, 2011 11:46 PMReply

Kind of awesome. Where the video originally from?
Styles | December 3, 2011 6:41 PMReply

holy shit, what was darren thinking? this is awful.