It’s the thing that should not be! Metallica have just launched a ‘limited edition iPod interactive jacket’ costing a cool $330!
Here’s the full sales pitch:

‘Trapped Under Ice? You’ll want this jacket if you are. Metallica is teaming up with Sessions to bring you this limited edition iPod interactive jacket. The jacket comes with a built-in pair of speakers, an amplifier and illuminated control pad on the outer sleeve. It all plugs in to your iPod or iPhone that is safely tucked away in a waterproof compartment. This jacket also comes with complete Metallica graphics including the Death Magnetic inside liner and new M4 logo. Still don’t have Whiplash? You can put the hood up for added bass as you scream down the mountain.’

(If it’s all the same to you, we here at Classic Rock will stick to our beige duffel coats and white satin Uriah Heep ‘Wonderworld’ tour jackets.)

Metallica’s iPod jacket, we hear, is limited to only 800 units coming out this autumn. Reservations can be made online at the band’s MetStore while supplies last until June 8 and require a 50 per cent nonrefundable deposit. The item also has reduced shipping costs of $24.75 in the USA; international shipping varies by location.

The bad news is that we hear a few early prototype jackets have had to be returned to the manufacturer due to faulty stitching. “The problems have driven us to the frayed ends of sanity,” grumbled a Metallica spokesman…