Some kind of monster
Nov. 29th, 2005 05:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gordonzolaAs noted in yesterday’s post, I watched the Metallica in therapy documentary "Some Kind of Monster". I had heard lots of bad things about it so I had put it off. I shouldn’t have. It was a thoroughly enjoyable movie. In fact, I laughed most of the way through.
I gotta say, I’m buying the hype on this one. In the end I was convinced that they released the movie, despite often not showing our men in a very good light, because they really felt therapy helped them and wanted to send that message out to others. I’m sure there was some recoup the investment cost discussion. But these guys seem to own half of Northern California and they paid a therapist around half a million dollars a year for two years so I imagine they could have buried it if they wanted to.
Most of the reason the movie is fun is because it’s incongruous. Watch the metal band use "I" statements! Look at the macho dudes talk about their feelings! Follow every moment of the creative process and realize the band isn’t handed the lyrics and melodies directly from Satan!
Basically the story is that our boys are on the verge of breaking up. They’re trying to record a new album but they are territorial about their individual contributions and all harboring grudges and slights that go back 15 years or so. Part of the way they try to combat this is by hiring a therapist used to dealing with big ego millionaires who have to work together. They are paying him $40,000 a month! The beginning is fairly painful and you might find yourself wondering why you should care. But then one goes off to rehab, leaving the others rudderless. He comes back looking cute for the first time ever and the band fights and creates, finally releasing another album that makes them all millions.
As a co-op person it was great fun to watch their band meetings and see how they would have been improved with decent facilitation , ground rules, and an agenda. In fact, under the guise of therapy-speak, that is a big part of what happens to get the band cooperating again.
Maybe I’m falling for an intricate ploy to humanize the band after they pissed off their fans, and all good people, with the Napster lawsuit. But I found myself liking them more than I thought I would, especially Kirk. Kirk is my favorite. There is some Spinal Tap to the whole thing except that the decisions they make as a band are cunning and smart. Dumping that horrible song about temptation, choosing a name for the album, hiring the bass player from the Suicidals instead of one of the generic metal dudes, buying Basquiat paintings low and selling high. That’s why unlike Spinal Tap, in the end the joke is not on them.
My favorite moment was when they bring Dave Mustaine to group therapy to let him vent about the way they fired him nearly 20 years before. Oh man, that guy is still living the pain from that. Because I’m mean, I was howling when he talked about metalheads taunting him on the street by yelling "Metallica" at him. He made it sound like they were waiting outside the door at that moment to mock him. He preemptively and defensively brought up the record sales from his band Megadeath* but the best moment was when he talked about the hurt he felt in getting kicked out and says, "What happened to my little Danish friend (Lars). He’s not there anymore."
Watching the therapist "rock out" during the recording sessions and start to use "we" when talking about the band is also a highlight. Metallica has never been one of my favorite bands. I haven’t listened to them since "Master of Puppets" really, but I did wanna go find my tape of that or "Kill ‘Em All" after the movie. I always resented the fact that they encouraged way too many people who shouldn’t have been playing one bass drum to try and play two, but I can’t deny that some of their songs are pretty great.
*I actually saw Megadeath and Overkill at a small club (the Stone in San Francisco) because I won tickets. It was the only metal show I eve went to and I hated it. Megadeath did cover a DOA song which weirded us out and made us flee.
I gotta say, I’m buying the hype on this one. In the end I was convinced that they released the movie, despite often not showing our men in a very good light, because they really felt therapy helped them and wanted to send that message out to others. I’m sure there was some recoup the investment cost discussion. But these guys seem to own half of Northern California and they paid a therapist around half a million dollars a year for two years so I imagine they could have buried it if they wanted to.
Most of the reason the movie is fun is because it’s incongruous. Watch the metal band use "I" statements! Look at the macho dudes talk about their feelings! Follow every moment of the creative process and realize the band isn’t handed the lyrics and melodies directly from Satan!
Basically the story is that our boys are on the verge of breaking up. They’re trying to record a new album but they are territorial about their individual contributions and all harboring grudges and slights that go back 15 years or so. Part of the way they try to combat this is by hiring a therapist used to dealing with big ego millionaires who have to work together. They are paying him $40,000 a month! The beginning is fairly painful and you might find yourself wondering why you should care. But then one goes off to rehab, leaving the others rudderless. He comes back looking cute for the first time ever and the band fights and creates, finally releasing another album that makes them all millions.
As a co-op person it was great fun to watch their band meetings and see how they would have been improved with decent facilitation , ground rules, and an agenda. In fact, under the guise of therapy-speak, that is a big part of what happens to get the band cooperating again.
Maybe I’m falling for an intricate ploy to humanize the band after they pissed off their fans, and all good people, with the Napster lawsuit. But I found myself liking them more than I thought I would, especially Kirk. Kirk is my favorite. There is some Spinal Tap to the whole thing except that the decisions they make as a band are cunning and smart. Dumping that horrible song about temptation, choosing a name for the album, hiring the bass player from the Suicidals instead of one of the generic metal dudes, buying Basquiat paintings low and selling high. That’s why unlike Spinal Tap, in the end the joke is not on them.
My favorite moment was when they bring Dave Mustaine to group therapy to let him vent about the way they fired him nearly 20 years before. Oh man, that guy is still living the pain from that. Because I’m mean, I was howling when he talked about metalheads taunting him on the street by yelling "Metallica" at him. He made it sound like they were waiting outside the door at that moment to mock him. He preemptively and defensively brought up the record sales from his band Megadeath* but the best moment was when he talked about the hurt he felt in getting kicked out and says, "What happened to my little Danish friend (Lars). He’s not there anymore."
Watching the therapist "rock out" during the recording sessions and start to use "we" when talking about the band is also a highlight. Metallica has never been one of my favorite bands. I haven’t listened to them since "Master of Puppets" really, but I did wanna go find my tape of that or "Kill ‘Em All" after the movie. I always resented the fact that they encouraged way too many people who shouldn’t have been playing one bass drum to try and play two, but I can’t deny that some of their songs are pretty great.
*I actually saw Megadeath and Overkill at a small club (the Stone in San Francisco) because I won tickets. It was the only metal show I eve went to and I hated it. Megadeath did cover a DOA song which weirded us out and made us flee.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 07:43 pm (UTC)Like Nikki Sixx, the dude's just getting better with age.
*sighing*
Wish I could say the same about their albums. "St. Anger" was poorly-mixed, and fairly uninspired. "I'm not in anger with you" my fat ass. Therapy ruined that fucking record.
And that therapist = CREEPY. BAD BOUNDARIES. BAD BAD BAD. He set off all my "bad therapist" alarms, and I've had plenty of experience with people who go into the "helping" professions because they're manipulative control freaks who like to punish women for being sexual, smart and angry.
Off the subject, kind of, but did you see the documentaries "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Lost II"? Soundtrack by Metallica. EXCELLENT movies, about a bunch of little boys who got mutilated and killed, and their small town's attempts to find the killer.
xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxo
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 08:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 10:22 pm (UTC)When the band brought their growing discomfort up to him about the situation and let him know that their professional relationship would be ending when they went on tour and perhaps even sooner than that- he got insistant that they needed him and it was unwise of them. But it was in a 'but..but..I'm one of you guys' way and not in a rational, professional defense of keeping his job. They fired him (nicely) anyway.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 10:35 pm (UTC)that's tremendously creepy.
guess who has the REAL narcissistic plate o' issues?
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 09:27 am (UTC)Not like I want to deny them their emotions, but in this case it just made me double certain I wanted out.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 06:10 pm (UTC)and i HATE Psychology Today in general, but there are a few things about this article that made laugh and are perceptive enough. A little simplified, but ach, well.
Why Shrinks Have So Many Problems
no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 05:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 02:59 am (UTC)Called me a two-bit whore who wasn't as smart as I thought I was.
Got visibly hard in his pants when I cried.
*laughing*
No more counseling for me, man; I'll stick to meds. :)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxox
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 06:16 pm (UTC)you know that's massively unprofessional and not what one should expect, yes?
i'm not here to change your mind about it (no really), but many good counseling experiences can be had with a nice, smart, non-threatened, non-pathologizing, socio-culturally-and-class-aware empathic therapist.
(also, i'd suggest a nice lady therapist. but the rest of you didn't see me just do that.)
meds are awesome for symptom management, but they don't *teach* you anything. (that was not me bagging on meds. not not not.) another thing a good therapist should do is not just dig around in your past but **TEACH YOU TO COPE WITH YOUR PRESENT MORE EFFECTIVELY**.
ok that's all ;p
no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 10:09 pm (UTC)It's sucky because all the therapists I've ever seen have been really, really stupid--or really, really damaged individuals, using the therapeutic process to manipulate/control clients. I've never had someone smart and helpful before.
Better living through chemistry, baby. :)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxox
no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 10:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 08:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 03:03 am (UTC)I would love to visit Damien. I'm a little curious about what he thinks about the fact that he was basically incarcarated for being goth, in a backwoods Southern town. I wonder if he's angry, or if he's somehow achieved a sense of zenlike enlightenment, by separating himself from desire.
I need to rent those two movies again, definitely.
How are you, beautiful?
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoox
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 09:02 pm (UTC)I loved Paradise Lost. I can't believe those kids are still in jail.
I knew you'd comment on this post. ;)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-08 05:37 am (UTC)I'm so transparent.
I don't know, I love puffy alchoholic boys. Boys who know how to drink generally know how to fuck--sorry to all your straight-edgers out there, but it's true. The worst sex I've ever had has come from people who make a point of staying sober. Some of the best sex I've ever had has been borderline blackout drunk or way, way high on heroin. It's just a fact: drug and alcohol use decrease inhibitions. And the people who have that "go to hell" attitude about doing drugs and drinking, are usually the same people who are super, super nasty in bed.
I could tell you a story about recent hijinks of the drunken, carnal kind, but I'll spare you.
But shit, man: I thought James was HOT before, and HOT afterwards. I figured I could probably get him to relapse and fuck me really nasty, AND he did have those cute glasses. :)
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxo
no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 10:35 pm (UTC)Totally. I like him without the mutton chops and facial hair actually. He's so, so much better looking. The glasses and the psuedo-rockabilly look is just incredibly hot on him. I was kind of disappointed when he grew back the facial hair for their tour but that's how people know him....
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 03:04 am (UTC)Why don't boys understand that we want them heavily tattooed, but completely nerdy otherwise?
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