News that sounds like a joke but apparently is not: Lou Reed releasing "digitally remastered" version of Metal Machine Music

There are generally two schools of thought on Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music—those who believe it’s a groundbreaking, arguably neo-classical exploration in the most extreme examples of noise as art, and those who believe the first people are just making pretentious excuses for what Trouser Press famously called “four sides of unlistenable oscillator noise.” Well, okay, but have you heard it in digitally remastered 5.1 stereo? In a recent interview, Reed confirmed that he plans on re-releasing his 1975 concept album/possible elaborate prank in a digitally remastered version—a coda to his current European tour as the Metal Machine Trio, where he’s reinterpreting the album’s rhythm-less industrial squall on stage with avant-garde composer Ulrich Krieger. There’s no word on an official release date, so in the meantime, your dinner parties will just have to make do with the original. UPDATE: Or not! Thanks to commenter "Rusty The Bailiff" for pointing out that Reed has already made the reissue available on his website in 180-gram vinyl, audio DVD, and Blu-ray formats. Not sure why Reuters only picked up on this today, but whatever—buy it now.