Metallica frontman James Hetfield criticized entertainers who use concerts to promote political messages during the band's performance at the Sphere in Las Vegas on October 10.

Addressing the audience, Hetfield said Metallica was not there to influence fans with political agendas but to help them escape the outside world through “love, energy and heavy music.”

His remarks came weeks after rapper Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran's US tour following his onstage “Free Palestine” speech in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Although Hetfield did not name Macklemore or any other artist, his comments have drawn attention over musicians using their platforms to address political issues.

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[–] EatMoreMacroplastics@hexbear.net 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Playing at the Sphere is in itself a political statement, one that positions artists within a mode of cultural production that is fully aligned with capitalism. The entire venue down to its archietecture and audio, lighting and visuals systems only makes sense within cultural politics that produce rock stars, that make it economically viable for a tiny handful of artists to play the same location over and over again, charging astronomic ticket prices from a crowd that makes attending the show part of a vacation in the absurdist city-turned-theme park that is Las Vegas.

Obviously somebody who has adapted to that is deeply uncomfortable with anything that may endanger the mass appeal of their art, and probably also the owner of the Sphere, James L. Dolan, who is not only a close associate of Trump and ofc also has SA allegations against him, but who has in the past also been known for his obsessive stalking of a trans woman at New York Knicks games.

I'm not even gonna get into the Napster stuff or how much Lars Ulrich sucks, everybody knows this.

[–] Lussy@hexbear.net 9 points 1 week ago

Foulcault would have had a field day writing about the sphere. ‘Here we have the global panopticon manifest as a smiley face, reveling in Capitalism’s largesse and tacky excess’