Punished McCain

I'm seeing a lot of people who are unhappy with what James Hetfield said trying to counter it with "errr bhut Metallica wrote '...And Justice for All' and that's a political album". Unfortunately for them, it's not quite the gotcha they think it is. While the album famously doesn't take aim at any one political side, a substantial part of ...And Justice for All attacks authoritarianism, censorship, ideological conformity and the suppression of individual freedoms. All themes which can be heavily associated with authoritarian communist regimes, and ironically, the very sort of intolerance towards opposing views that can be found among those cheering on the likes of Macklemore and other leftist artists who turn their concerts into "Free Palestine" rallies. So yes, Metallica once recorded an album that was, in large part, political. But there's a difference between writing songs that challenge political institutions and ideologies and using your concerts as a platform to lecture audiences about what they should believe. And it's perfectly reasonable to interpret ...And Justice for All as challenging some of the very attitudes Hetfield was addressing in his speech.