Yesterday, Lars Ulrich contributed a column to Newsweek Magazine called “My Favorite Mistake.” In the piece, the Metallica drummer recalls the time when he failed to get back to director Quentin Tarantino about using the band’s songs in his action thriller Kill Bill: Volume 1. As it turns out, Tarantino had choreographed two major fight scenes to the songs “Enter Sandman” and “Sad But True.” And though the two shared enthusiasm over the combo during their dinner meeting, Ulrich apparently became uncertain after reading the script and failed to get back to the director in time.
You can read Ulrich’s entire column online, but here’s an excerpt that might intrigue fans:
“Page by page, I realized that most of this was written in a language that was outside of my realm of understanding. I had never encountered a narrative like this, set in, to me, a very foreign culture of martial arts and Asian myths. I just couldn’t wrap my thick Danish head around it. I championed his movies, loved him as a person, but at the end of the 180 pages, I sat there somewhat bewildered and felt very uncool for not getting it. I wasn’t capable of appreciating its brilliance. Then I started overthinking it. ‘Do it, do it,’ my gut screamed, but my head was confused. Cautious. I experienced a rare inability to pull the trigger.
Over the next few weeks the whole thing fizzled out as I continued not trusting my instincts. In the end, I never got back to him. Probably the single biggest mistake I’ve made in the creative department. Of course Kill Bill turned out to be above and beyond brilliant, as have his subsequent movies, which have all been a significant part of my life in the 2000s.”
“Probably the single biggest mistake I’ve made in the creative department,” eh? While we’re sure it would have been great to see Uma Thurman fighting the “Crazy 88” to “Enter Sandman” or “Sad But True,” we wouldn’t necessarily call that the greatest creative mistake Mr. Ulrich has made. He may still defend the album to this day, but we’d put St. Anger’s drum snare high up on the list of Ulrich’s “creative mistakes.” But apparently Ulrich doesn’t lose any sleep at night over the infamously horrendous drum sound, while he still regrets never getting back to Tarantino.
