This is the answer. Anyone who tries to defend that album is completely missing the point of the album. It is supposed to be indefensible. It was meant as a fuck you to the record label who wouldn't release him from his contract.

I will say, I remember buying that album for $45 in 1999 or, back in high school. It was out of print in NA, so I had to import it from Germany through this little local record store. I had a friend over and I'm like "we're going to listen to this god dammit, I paid $45 for it." About half an hour in, another friend shows up and walks into my room and we're just sitting there with this noise just blaring through my speakers and he's like "What the fuck are you guys doing?", and I'm like "listen this part coming up is the best part" BLEEEEECCCHHEHHEJEKELASOKEJANEINAELLEAM....and we broke down laughing. That was the only time I ever listened to it in full, but it's just feedback and noise. Like I've seen noise rock shows including a Thurston Moore solo show, that arguably sounded similar, but he had a drummer and a bass player...and MMM isn't noise-rock, it's just noise without anything else. I can almost guaruntee you Lou reed just put a microphone up to an amp, hit record, walked out of the studio and came back an hour later and hit STOP. Then gave that to the record label.