Lars Ulrich's feelings on Metallica's 1989 Grammy snub

Here's what Lars posted on his Instagram account last Friday:

"Today 30 years ago, February 22 '89, we played the Grammys for the first time and that was quite a mindfuck!!  First time we were in front of a mainstream TV audience. First time mainstream America was exposed to whatever the hell it is we do. First time they had a hard rock/metal category on the Grammys. First time we were Grammy losers, since JETHRO TULL, somewhat unexpectedly to most people, walked away with the win.  But all was not lost. The expressions of disgust from most members of the audience (other than Iggy!) is something I will treasure for the rest of my life. And I was rocking some pretty crazy hair that was edging dangerously close to a mullet! Happy days indeed!!"

I remember this occurring when I was in my early teens but the truly ridiculous nature of this decision didn't truly sink in at the time. It wasn't just that calling Jethro Tull's music hard rock (let alone heavy metal) was a huge stretch. It was also that their 1989 album "Rock Island" (their seventeenth album to that time) was also amongst the band's poorest performing records from a purely critical point of view. To put it into perspective, it would be kinda like ignoring all of Black Sabbath's classic 70's records & awarding them a prize for "Never Say Die!" Unbelievable! But at least Lars has a sense of humour about it.