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NIN - a short guide - ?
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A:1 "What is nine inch nails?"
Nine Inch Nails, often abbreviated as NIN, is the mind-child of Trent Reznor,
an extremely talented musician who has helped to shape the sound of modern
music. Since his 1989 debut _Pretty Hate Machine_, NIN has been recognized as
one of the leaders of the electronic music movement, spawning many bands that
have tried to duplicate their sound, but have never really matched it. Known
for his innovation and unique style, Trent Reznor has received such accolade
as one of the "25 Most Influential People in America" from Time Magazine and
the "Most Vital Artist in Music Today" from Spin Magazine.
Most nine inch nails music until now has been described as "industrial",
"rock", "electronic", "synthpop", "metal" or any combination of those terms.
It is probably just safer to say that NIN has had a very unique sound that
uses different elements from all sorts of different genres of music. But
perhaps one of the most interesting qualities of nine inch nails is that with
every release, the music is re-invented. There are similarities amongst all
of his work, but they are definitely not just continuations of the albums or
projects that came before.
A:2 "What does nine inch nails mean?"
In the words of Trent:
"I don't know if you've ever tried to think of band names, but usually
you think you have a great one and you look at it the next day and it's
stupid. I had about 200 of those. nine inch nails lasted the two-week
test, looked great in print, and could be abbreviated easily. It really
doesn't have any literal meaning. It seemed kind of frightening. [In his
best he-man voice] Tough and manly! It's a curse trying to come up with
band names."
A:3a "What is the significance of the Halo numbers?"
The Halo numbers appear on every official NIN release, except for a few
promos. They serve as a cataloguing system to keep the CDs in order.
A:3b "What Nine Inch Nails albums are out there? (DISCOGRAPHY)"
Here is a short halo list. Each album is also described in detail in their
individual sections.
For the best, most complete NIN discography, e-mail Alex Fletcher
at [email protected], or visit the HTML version at
http://democracy.queensu.ca/~fletcher/Nin/
??.??.89 Halo 1 : Down In It (single) *
11.29.89 Halo 2 : Pretty Hate Machine
01.01.90 Halo 3 : Head Like a Hole (single) $
11.27.90 Halo 4 : Sin (single) #
09.16.92 Halo 5 : Broken (EP) !
??.??.92 Halo 6 : Fixed (EP)
03.01.94 Halo 7 : March of the Pigs (single) &%
03.08.94 Halo 8 : The Downward Spiral @
05.30.94 Halo 9 : Closer to God (single) &^
05.30.95 Halo 10v1 : Further Down the Spiral [American Version]
05.30.95 Halo 10v2 : Further Down the Spiral [UK Version]
05.13.97 Halo 11 : "The Perfect Drug" Versions
* The remixes on this were re-released on halo 3
# Contains cover of Queen's "Get Down Make Love"
! Available as the following:
1) Regular 5" w/ bonus tracks on 3" minidisk
2) Regular 5" w/ bonus tracks as tracks 6 & 7
3) Regular 5" w/ bonus tracks as tracks 98 & 99
4) Cassette w/ bonus tracks at end of side 2
5) 12" vinyl w/ bonus tracks on white label 7"
6) 12" vinyl w/ bonus tracks on b side
& Available as 2-disc sets in UK
^ Contains cover of Soft Cell's "Memorabilia"
$ A Halo-less version of HLaH (3 tracks) is available in UK
% Also available on limited edition 9" vinyl
@ Japanese release contained 'Dead Souls' as track 15
In addition to these are the promos for "Piggy" and "Hurt". Although these
aren't official releases, they do have 'halo ten' on them. See section G:2.
A:4 "Is nine inch nails really only one person?"
Every nine inch nails album to date has been the work of Trent Reznor and
his assistants. Trent incorporates the help of other artists (see album
credits for listing) but has always had total control over his albums.
Live NIN is an entirely different matter. For the first Lollapalooza
tour, Trent supported himself with a very real band, including the late
Jeff Ward from Lard on drums, Chris Vrenna on drums, Richard Patrick on
guitar, and James Woolley on keyboard. Woolley also toured with the live
band during the Self Destruct and Further Down the Spiral tours. The live
NIN lineup changes a lot. At one point it included Martin Atkins; at
another point, in the early days of the band in Cleveland, apparently it
was just Trent, Richard Patrick, and Chris Vrenna. Also, a fellow by the
name of Lee Mars played live keyboards for a while.
As of the fall of 1997, the NIN lineup appears to be Trent Reznor, Charlie
Clouser, and Danny Lohner, with the possibility of a few other new people
that have been working on programming. Robin Fink left the band a while
back, and Chris Vrenna has gone on his own to work on other projects.
A:5 "Trent Reznor's Stats"
MUCH MORE than you've ever needed to know about Trent Reznor
Statistics
----------
Full Name : Michael Trent Reznor
Birthdate : May 17, 1965, at 7:30 a.m. EDST
Address : Louisiana U.S.A.
Height : About 5'6" or 5'7"
Eye Color : Hazel
Hair Color : Dark brown, dyed jet black every six weeks
Status : Single
Pets : Female Golden Labrador Retriever 'Emmy Lou'
Female Weimariner 'Daisy'
Hometown : Mercer, Pennsylvania U.S.A.
Religion : Brought up Protestant
Fav. Color : Green
Fav. Candy : Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Creamy
Tattoos : None
Education : 1 year at Allegheny College
Majors : Computer Engineering & Music
Piercing : Ears and for about a year he had his septum pierced
but it 'was a nightmare when I had a cold'
Family
------
Parents : Nancy Clark (Homemaker)
Mike Reznor (Interior Designer/Amateur Bluegrass Musician)
Sister : Tera (Born: @1971, Mother of 2)
Grandfather: Bill Clark (Semi-Retired Furniture Salesman)
Quick over-detailed overview of childhood:
When Trent's parents divorced in the early 1970s, Trent stayed with
his maternal Grandparents (who raised him) and Tera stayed with her mother.
As a child, Trent was in the Boy Scouts, skateboarded, built model planes,
and played the piano (according to his grandfather). Trent's piano teacher
(Rita Beglin) compared Trent's piano playing to Harry Connick Jr. In high
school Trent was clean cut, handsome and popular. He played the tenor sax
and keyboards in his high school jazz and marching bands. He was also voted
best in drama by classmates and performed in local rock bands.
No, he was not abused as a child, and has never claimed to be (even
though it seems to be the fashionable thing to do among people these days).
A:6 "Danny Lohner's Stats"
Name : Danny Lohner
Age : 26
Hometown : Corpus Christi, Texas
High School : Wheeler High
College : University of Texas, Austin Withdrew in Fall 1993
Past Bands : Skrew
Instruments : Bass, guitar, and keyboard
A:7 "Charlie Clouser's Stats"
Name : Charlie Clouser
Age : 34
Hometown : Middletown, Pennsylvania
College : Hampshire College
Instruments : Keyboard, Drums
Has worked w/: White Zombie, Prong, Marilyn Manson, others.
A:8 "What equipment does nine inch nails use?"
*Note* This list is from a while back. It is very possible that the
guys have acquired some new gear. I'll try my best to get an
updated list ASAP.
According to Sean Beavan (NIN engineer extraordinaire): (and I quote)
"Here's a brief studio equipment list:
tracking console- amek mozart 56 input automated desk
(with rupert neve modules)
We mix mostly on ssl series g consoles (72 input and up)
and remix on neve vr desks.
Tape machines- 2 studer a 800 mk3's, (3 da88's for live shows)
outboard gear;
neve and ssl stereo compressors
neve mic pre's
pultek eqs
focusrite eqs
summit eqs
la 2a compressors
urie 11 76 compressors
urie la 3a compressors
eventide h3500
eventide h3000
lexicon 300
zoom 9030, and 9050's
assorted delays
1mac quadra 950, 1 mac 2ci
barracuda and pro tools harddrives.
we have three optical drives which store our akai samples
2 akai 1100s
2 akai exs
2 kurzweil k2000s
1 emu e4 (courtesy of emu it's great btw.)
3 minimoogs
2 prophet vs
1 oberhiem expander
1 ppg wave with waveterm
1 arp oddessy
1 doepfer analog sequencer
1 oberhiem analog sequencer
1 ob mx
1 roland mks 80
1 roland r70
marshall jmp 1
assorted gtr pedals and cheap drum machines"
A:9 "What is Trent whispering?"
- In "Sanctified", during the instrumental preceding the final verse, you
will hear a very quiet voice in the background. It is a sample from Oliver
Stone's 'Midnight Express', one of Trent's favorite movies. The sample is
of the main character writing a letter:
"Dear Mom and Dad, this is the hardest letter I've ever had to write. I'd
hoped somehow to get out of this quickly so that you'd never have to know
about it, but that just isn't possible now. I don't know what's going to
happen, but what can I say to you? Will 'I'm sorry' make a difference?
Will it ease the pain? The shame you must be feeling? Forgive me. Please."
- Also, as far as whispering goes, about 30 seconds into "Physical", Trent
whispers something. Most people seem to agree that he is whispering "Eat
your heart out, Steve" in reference to Steve Gottlieb, TVT's manager/owner.
This is whispered on this particular song because it is a cover and a hidden
track, and evidently, they had to go through a bunch of copyright bullxxxx
to be able to release it. (It is well known that Trent and Steve have had
their disputes over copyright laws and over who's in charge.)
Note: The Adam Ant version of "Physical" also has whispering, most
notable at the beginning he says "Eat Your Heart Out, Do-It. You can't
do it, can ya?". Adam Ant was referring to Do-It Records, a label they
were on.
- In "Mr Self Destruct" Trent is in fact whispering "I am an exit".
A:10 "What is nin's connection to..."
a. "...the Revolting Cocks?"
Trent is listed as an "Additional Cock" on the inside of the Revolting
Cocks (Al, Paul, and Bill from Ministry, with friends) CD-single for
_Beers Steers And Queers_. Trent is also listed in _Linger Ficken' Good_
under the thanks list (T.R.). Trent toured with RevCo, taking the spot
vacated by Ogre.
~~~
b. "...Stabbing Westward?"
Chris Vrenna, former NIN drummer, went on tour with them a while back.
~~~
c. "...Filter?"
Richard Patrick was Trent's best friend during the Pretty Hate Machine
Tour, and the guitar player for the live show. Many rumors are floating
around about just why Richard left the group, but he now fronts up the
band Filter. About whether Richard is ever going to come back to NIN,
In Spin Magazine (Feb. 1996) Trent is quoted as saying "...there's been a
drunken phone call to me to say hello. And then asking an ex-girlfriend of
mine out on a date. Those guys. In their minds, they're stars."
As of late, though, it seems that there has been somewhat of a reconciliation
between the two parties. Here is what Brian Liesgang, formerly of Filter,
had to say about the situation, and "a night of nothing" in New York, as
quoted from Addicted To Noise Magazine (http://www.addict.com):
"We still have mutual friends in NIN. I ran into Trent a few months ago and
we hung and it was cool. We ran into some friends and they told us about
this secret show and invited us to come by and we just did the same old
thing. Trent and Rich and I all have a penchant for Budweiser and tequila,
so we just sat there and drank a while, then Rich said, 'Hey, I want to play
"Head Like a Hole" again,' and Trent said, 'Okay.' Simple as that. It wasn't
any big deal. I thought it was cool. Trent came over to him and said, 'Smash
the xxxxer.' And he dutifully did it..."
~~~
d. "...Die Warzau?"
Chris Vrenna and James Woolley (former keyboardist) used to participate in
some fashion in the Chicago-based band Die Warzau. Die Warzau is now no
more, thanks to them wannabes at TVT.
~~~
e. "...Tori Amos?"
Trent sang backup vocals in Tori Amos' "Past The Mission" on her _Under the
Pink_ CD. However, he does not appear in the video. Another note: even
though she mentions 'nine inch nails' on _Little Earthquakes_, this is not
where Trent got the name for his band. nine inch nails was already in full
effect when this CD came out.
Also, the phrase "...made my own pretty hate machine..." is in the lyrics
for the song "Caught a Light Sneeze" on her new album _Boys For Pele_.
~~~
f. "...David Bowie?"
David Bowie's late 70's recordings greatly influenced Trent, especially
during the recording of TDS. David Bowie was sampled for some nine inch
nails songs including the re-mixes of "mr self destruct" (See section
E:5). Trent remixed the song "The Heart's Filthy Lesson" on Bowie's
album _Outside_, and also took NIN on the road with him on his _Outside_
tour.
More recently, Trent put together five remixes of the track "I'm Afraid of
Americans" from Bowie's _Earthling_ album. Trent sings backup vocals on one
of the tracks, and has Ice Cube (see section A:29) rap on another.
~~~
g. "...Ministry?"
Trent and Al Jourgenson both remixed "get down make love" (see section B:6)
for the _sin_ single. Trent and Al were also both in RevCo at the same time
(see section A:10a). Trent and Al were also both part of 1,000 Homo DJs
(See section A:10i).
~~~
h. "...Guns n' Roses?"
Trent and Co. opened for GnR shortly after the Lollapalooza tour.
Here is what he had to say about that, quoted from Musician:
" ... Axl Rose made contact with us. He was a fan, and wanted to
help out. We were going to Europe to do a tour and figured what better
way to confuse people then to open for Gn'R? Se we did, and the audience
hated us. We were terrified to start with, and then were talking onstage
in front of 65,000 people in Germany. The first song goes okay. Second
song people begin to realize we're not Skid Row, who came on after us.
Third song they'd confirmed the fact that they've heard a synthesizer
and its time to attack. There's something about the sight of every
single person flipping you off in a giant stadium that makes you go
numb. I started laughing, then insulted them with everything I could
think of ... "
~~~
i. "...1,000 Homo DJs?"
Trent and Al Jourgenson did a cover of Black Sabbath's "supernaut" for
1,000 Homo DJs. But thanks to TVT, Al Jourgenson was forced to take out
Trent's vocals (It was later revealed that Al never did in fact re-sing
"supernaut" for the official 1kHD release, but he just played with Trent's
vocals and told TVT he re-sang it). The original version can be found on
Wax Trax's _Black Box_ 3-disc compilation.
~~~
j. "...Pigface?"
Pigface, the mind-child of drummer and producer Martin Atkins, is
typically dubbed an 'Industrial Super-group' because of its continual
rotating roster of musicians. Trent became involved in the band's first
incarnation on the album _Gub_ to create and sing the original version of
the song "Suck" and is also credited with loops on "The Bushmaster".
Trent and Chris Vrenna toured with Pigface for a while on the "Welcome
To Mexico...Asshole" Tour, and Trent can also be seen on Pigface's
_Glitch_ video singing "Suck" with Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy.
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Whats to come - ?
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reznor's description of his upcoming release, "the fragile"
"it will be irritating to people cause it's not traditional nine inch nails. think of the most ridculous music
you ever could imagine... with nursery rhymes over top of it."
where did reznor get his inspiration for the new album?
"the inspiration for this album has been the things... that give the goosebumps, the chills up the spine.
it's probably the opposite of the downward spiral. a bunch of... pop songs."
trent reznor and the meaning of "nine inch nails"
"i don't know if you've ever tried to think of band names, but usually you think you have a great one and
you look at it the next day and it's stupid. i had about 200 of those. nine inch nails lasted the two-week
test, looked great in print, and could be abbreviated easily. it really doesn't have any literal meaning. it
seemed kind of frightening. (in his best he-man voice) tough and manly! it's a curse trying to come up
with band names."
trent reznor's opinions on religion
"i believe in god," he says. "i was brought up going to sunday school and church, but it didn't really
mean anything. things upset me a lot. it was just a theme i kept coming back to-religion, guilt and
doubting. i believe there's a god but i'm not too sure of his relevance."
what's is nin music composed of?
"i think keyboards have been given a bad rap in rock music", he says with disgust. "the pearl jams and
whoever, that's not what i'm about. i like keyboards. i like technology. this is who i am."
what was the initial theme of the downward spiral?
the big overview was of somebody who systematically throws away every aspect of his life and what's
around him-- from personal relationships to religion. this person is giving up to a certain degree, but also
finding some peace by getting rid of things that were bogging him down. the record also looks at certain
vices as being ways of trying to dull the pain of what this person is hiding. of course i'm talking about
myself. so that was the general theme. not that that's any great leap for me, thematically. the reason
why i hope people like nine inch nails is the lyrics. i think that's the element i care about most on this
record, in terms of honesty and nakedness of emotion.
why was broken recorded in secret?
"with broken", he explains, "i wanted to do something a lot harder than i did on pretty hate machine. i
wanted it to be a blast of destruction." broken was made in secret because, according to reznor, "we
were in the midst of a legal tangle with tvt, our old record label."
why is nine inch nails music so dark and depressing?
how can such an apparently nice, regular guy be the source of such angst? "it's all basically me," trent
assures me, speaking in that quiet, controlled voice that always surprises people who only know his
music. "it's all my personality, but it's amplified in a certain direction. i get a lot of people saying, 'wow,
you must be the most depressed person in the world!' well, I don't think i am. i'm not the happiest guy
in the world either. but when i'm writing songs, i deliberately try to explore incredibly black
emotions--combining personal experience with imaginative projection--to see how far i can get. i often
end up bumming myself out pretty good."
why did trent reznor move into the house where the manson murders took place?
actually, it's a really beautiful place. that's what people don't know from reading the manson books and
seeing the t.v. specials and all. the view from the front door is the best view of l.a. i've ever seen. it's
amazing how beautiful looking down into a smog pit can be. when i rented the place i didn't even realize
it was that house. when i found out i thought it was kind of interesting. i didn't think, "oh, it'll be spooky
to tell people that..." i don't idolize charles manson, and i don't condone murdering people because
you're a xxxxed-up hippie trying to make a statement. but it's an interesting little chapter in american
history that it was cool to be a part of.
how did trent reznor get to be the producer for the soundtrack: natural born killers?
"oliver approached me about doing the soundtrack. i got a call from his people to say he had used
some nine inch nails music in the film and would i like to see a screening of it to approve its use? i
thought it was used tastefully for a change, which is unusual in hollywood movie-making. i went to
another screening the following week and oliver asked if i wanted to put out a soundtrack on my label in
the states. i agreed without realizing what the soundtrack was going to be. i thought about it and had
another meeting with him and agreed that it would be cool to make a record that followed the flow of the
movie, to layer the music just like the movie did and use a lot of dialogue. i wanted to try to make
something that's listenable to as a piece of music but also to call to mind the feel of the movie. he told
me to go ahead and do it. so from that point on i had pretty much free rein to use whatever i wanted."
what is the song "heresy" about?
"i was trying to explore some of the paranoia i have as a sexually active person in the age of aids," he
says of "heresy."
what was the falling out with tvt records all about?
"it came down to a simple thing," reznor says of the struggle that almost ended his career. "what i'm
most concerned about is that the record you get in the store and the way you perceive nin is the way i
want it to be perceived. i don't want it to be diluted by some marketing plan that's completely
inappropriate and would make the music impure."
what possessed nine inch nails to get into the mud at woodstock?
we were right out by the big mud pit and watchin' everybody, i thought, well, this looks like a lot of fun.
at that time there wasn't that many people that were muddy, but the people that were in the mud looked
like they were having a great time and we thought 'xxxx, y'know we kinda can't actually do that.' but we
didn't have showers backstage at the time either, sowe went back and hung out backstage, and it was
just a real nervous day. then on the way to stage i pushed danny, our guitar played, and he just fell
face-first into the mud. then he tackled me and it turned into a kind of all-male mud wrestling thing. it
was actually really funny. after we did that, all nervousness kind of subsided.
what's the connection between trent reznor and tori amos?
we met on a friendship level. it was not like some mutual ass kissing thing. i really liked her first album,
which is not the kind of thing i'd normally listen to. someone had given it to me and said that it sounded
like sinead o'connor. i xxxxing can't stand sinead o'connor, so I ignored it. then i saw the video for silent
all these years and it struck me in a way where i wasn't sure if i liked it or not. but it was interesting. i
was pleasantly surprised to find someone who i thought was taking chances. not playing it safe, and
also writing good songs, melodies and really good lyrics. i thought that i should try and get in touch
with her, just to try and say, not that i normally do this either, i think your record's really good. i relate
to her work a lot, on some level, in an opposite of a nine inch nails arrangement kind of way. i really
think that it works. she approaches things with a totally different aesthetic than i do, but it's good.
what is the song "big man with a gun" about?
the record was nearing completion. i had written those lyrics pretty quickly and I didn't know if I was
going to use them or not. to me, downward spiral builds to a certain degree of madness, then it
changes. that would be the last stage of delirium. so the original point of "big man with a gun" was
madness. but it was also making fun of the whole misogynistic gangsta-rap bullxxxx.
what was the first real rock band trent reznor ever played in?
option thirty. that was actually about one-third originals, two-thirds covers, from elvis costello to wang
chung. for what it's worth, wang chung put a record out before the "dance hall days" record, when they
spelled their name differently, h-u-a-n-g chung. all guitar-base-drums. still a real good record.
when did trent start playing synthesizers?
when i was in high school, i begged my parents to get a cheap moog. now i could play "just what i
need." whoo-oo-whoo-oo. [whistles synth line from the cars song.] when that kind of explosion of synth
music came around in the early 80's, it really was exciting; sequencers were just coming out. i was
going to college for computer engineering and i thought, i love music, i love keyboard
instruments-maybe i can get into synthesizer design. the excitement of hearing a human league track
and thinking, that's all machines, there's no drummer. that was my calling. it wasn't the sex pistols.
what was the deal with richard patrick leaving the band for filter?
rich was this friend, and he played in the band for awhile. a pretty good guy. we were going to work on
downward spiral together. but he wanted to be the guy that got recognized for writing the songs and
singing. i didn't realize his real agenda was to have a way out to l.a. to get a record deal for himself.
who are some of the musicians who trent reznor has come to think of as friends?
an odd bunch of people. i think the guys from pantera are cool. everyone from tommy lee of m�tley cr�e
to adrian belew. i met the guys in the band live because we were playing at festivals in australia. all of
them are people i wouldn't hesitate to say, let's work on something.
what was the hardest song to write?
there's always one song per record - maybe two if you're real lucky - where you work and work and
work, and it just takes a hell of a long time for the song to come together. on pretty hate machine it
was "kinda i want to," which I still think sucks, and "that's what i get." those songs took an
unbelievable amount of work. then you get into the trap of saying, "well, i spent so much time on this,
it's gotta be good. i've gotta make it work." it's usually one part that's xxxxing the whole thing up. and
that's usually the part that you think is really great. you'll hear a million playbacks of the song and say,
"man, that part is so xxxxing cool. why is the song not happening?" then finally someone hits the mute
button for that part and the song's good. and you realize, "oh xxxx, it's that part i love so much."
is their any particular reason for the pigs theme on the downward spiral album?
chance more than anything, i mean people say that it was because i was in the tate house, but you
know, it was a reference to that, which it wasn't consciously a reference to the murders that took place
there. that wasn't the reason i was in that house, but again, it's hard for me to try to say that and
people believe that it wasn't a publicity stunt of some sort.
does the song 'piggy' or 'march of the pigs' have anything to do with the tate home?
(reznor rented the tate house to setup a home studio to record "the downward spiral". he
named the facility "le pig".)
i had the song 'piggy' written long before it was ever knows that i would be in that house. 'march of the
pigs' has nothing to do with the tate murders or anything like that, i'm not going to say what it is about,
but it's not about that. ya, the name of the studio being "pig", that was a definite bad taste kind of joke
about being there. you know, it was written on the front door at one time, you know, i'll admit to that.
how did the lost highway project come about?
i had tried to track david lynch down years ago, just to see if he was a fan and if he'd ever be into doing
a video or anything like that. and then one day i got a call through interscope saying that he was doing
a new movie and, much like the oliver stone natural born killers thing, "would you be interested in doing
a soundtrack on [reznor's label] nothing?" i said "well what is it?" and "i'm a big fan so, yeah, i'm
interested." so i talked to david on the phone and he said, "would you be into me coming to new
orleans and maybe we could sit down and try to score some bits of the movie?" so i said, "sure." i
didn't expect that. and he ended up coming to new orleans and i had one of the most nerve racking
situations i've ever been in. he comes in the studio and it's david lynch, right, my hero. and he's bigger
than i thought, he's exactly that character on twin peaks, the hard-of-hearing fbi agent. (booming voice)
"trent! well, whaddaya say we get started?!" and i'm sitting there nervous out of my mind. i'd gotten the
script and i'd read it. and he goes, "okay! here's the scene. the guy's being pursued in a car by the
police and i want this sound of chaos." and he's talking real loud, he's real animated. i say, "did you
bring any footage?" (loudly) "nah! i didn't bring any footage. okay! see what you can come up with!" and
he just sits back on the couch. and i thought, "oh my god."
how does tapeworm differ from nine inch nails
i want those guys to contribute things and once in a while i'll come up with something that i think is
cool, but it's not the giant leap.... like, if i think the nine inch nails record has to be all dobro and jew's
harp, then it has to be that. but maybe i'll write a cool xxxxin' riff that isn't right for whatever new artistic
plateau i'm hoping for nine inch nails, and if i establish this other ground as a place to relax and have
fun and maybe make even better music, that's what tapeworm initially was.
is tapeworm reznor's first real collaborative "band" thing?
on this level, absolutely. my first true collaboration musically was the manson record, where i helped
write some of the songs. twiggy and manson would come in with a song that wasn't fully a song yet
and i'd say, "okay how can we get a bridge?' or "how can we make the chorus kick ass?" the band kind
of became us. it was a cool open thing and a cool vibe. i told those guys at the time. "i envy you guys,
you've got a band." but with tapeworm, i see that side of it.
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Is there anyhope ?
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what's it take to be named the most vital artist in music today? a singular vision, scores of imitators,
and a willingness to trash the competition. as neil strauss learns, trent reznor fits the bill perfectly.
eight years ago, trent reznor seemed like a throwback, beating the dead horse of industrial rock. today,
he seems like a visionary, the first rock star to make synthesizers cool for teenage headbangers,
paving the way to popularity not just for countless knock-off industrial acts but also, to some degree, for
the hyper-trendy beats of techno and electronica.
unlike many musicians, reznor is savagely aware of his place in the current strata of pop stars. he
constantly compares himself to other musicians, saying that he "can't write a thousand songs like billy
corgan," that he's "not as careerist as [marilyn] manson," that he "can't sing about [his] big dick like
david lee roth." it's for this reason, in large part-these intense feelings of self-consciousness and
competition-that the most vital artist in music today has completed only one new song in the past three
years.
while cleaning off a place on the couch at reznor's cliffside house in big sur, where he's holed up writing
the follow-up to 1994's the downward spiral, i spot an envelope. scrawled in black pen are the words
new songs. i don't open it. i do notice, however, that it's very thin.
spin: is it fair to say that you suffer from writer's block?
trent reznor: i'm afraid to really push myself and write because i'm afraid of failure. when i was doing the
downward spiral, i was kind of freaked out, and rick rubin, who's doing the new record with me, was
trying to talk to me. and i just wanted to kill myself. i hated music. i was like, "i just want to get back
on the road because i hate sitting in a room trying to, trying to"-how do you say this?-"just scraping my
f**king soul." exploring areas of your brain that you don't want to go to, that's painful. you write
something down and you go, "xxxx, i can't say that. i don't want people to know that." it's so naked and
honest that you're scared to let it out. you're giving a part of your soul away, exposing part of yourself. i
avoid that. i hate that feeling of sending a tape out to someone: "here's my new song. i just cut my soul
open. check it out. criticize it."
let me ask you then: why do you think spin chose you as the most vital artist in music?
i don't know. i've no idea. i was pretty shocked when i was told, "hey, you're number one." i was like,
"is this good?" because i can already read the letters the next month saying, "xxxx that, man. why
didn't you choose so-and-so."
it's nice, though, to have some kind of mainstream-media appreciation. i thought we'd always skirted
super-attention. there are a hundred books on courtney love in waldenbooks and there's none on us. so
it's flattering. but, you know, i'm just a footnote in rock history, the guy that had mud on at woodstock.
"where are they now: the nineties."
do you ever wonder, "how am i going to make sure i matter in the next decade?"
jimmy lovine of interscope records, who i respect a lot, said to me at one point, "i'm president of
interscope and not a producer anymore because i see guys like you and dre come along, and i can't
compete on that level." when you think about the rock world, there's a window of time where what you
do has pertinence and meaning. i hope ten years from 10 now i'm making soundtracks or producing or
something. i don't want to be putting mud all over myself at the sands in las vegas.
i'd love to think someday that i made a difference, i changed something, i shifted the axis somewhat.
but all i can do is try to make the best music i can. not go into it thinking, "i'm going to change xxxx." it
becomes calculated if you cater to the idea of shifting things. i think we have in a subtle way, but, um,
yeah, i'd love to be remembered. [sarcastically] elvis, lennon, reznor.
do you think that you helped pave the way for the mainstream acceptance of techno and
electronica?
maybe. it starts sounding real egotistical if i take any stance on that. but to answer your question, i
think we definitely took a certain element of harder-edged electronic music to the shopping mail. you
might say that my success was to take industrial music and add a melody to it, add an element of pop
to it. it connected with people in a way that we didn't anticipate.
how about these sort of one-hit-wonder industrial bands like stabbing westward and gravity
kills. do you feel responsible for them?
look at it in terms of the music-industry follow-the-leader approach: "okay, nirvana's big, let's sign every
band that sounds like them." i'm sure after nine inch nails had some success, other labels asked, "who
sounds like them?" do i think that stabbing westward and gravity kills were part of that? yeah, i do.
were they ripping me off? yeah, i kind of see that, and then i think, "do i whine like that? am i perceived
as that?"
i think there's few innovators and many imitators. it shocks me to see bush go to no. 1. not to single
them out, but i just can't respect them. do they write good songs? yeah, they've written some good
songs. but i cannot respect or tolerate the lack of innovation.
music is my life. i know everything i can know about it. i know that it's not background. it's not stuff you
put on in the car to drive home from your job at ibm. it means something to me. and that's why i hate
when something so uninteresting can be so successful. but i'm going into it with this purist attitude. i
can see that bush song as exactly this nirvana song. i can tell. f**k them for doing that, you know? but
it's also well-written enough that a guy who comes home from work can say, "yeah, that's a good song.
these guys rock."
exactly. it may be good music but it's not important music.
you've got a point there. from stone temple pilots on down the line, they've got some good songs-give
them credit-but their whole premise, the house they built, is ridiculous. they're not saying anything. i
don't mean to sound like "i am important." i rip people off, too. people always say about our music,
"yeah, they're just ministry songs." but if i started thinking, "xxxx, that's a good song. i should write one
that sounds just like it," or "i should cut my hair like that, maybe then i'll be successful," i wouldn't have
a soul.
do you think people can tell the difference between what's sincere and what's a pose?
i'd like to think they can. but the english press gives me all this xxxx, "no one can be as depressed as
this guy. he's full of xxxx. he's just cashing in." but i am that depressed! my head's just wrong. i'm not
trying to be mr. tortured artist guy. i wish i could be more content with the situation i've got. it's a
complicated situation, and i see contemporaries who are very happy in the situation they've got. but my
head doesn't work the same way.
but is being "content" something you should necessarily strive for?
it's not about being content. it's about, what if everything you ever wished for in your life and never
thought you'd get, you got? and it still sucked. that's the thing. i look at oasis: dumb idiots just living
life. you know, ignorance is bliss. and there's a truth to that. i guess i just don't want it.
so do you ever feel you don't deserve to be a rock star?
i'll say one thing here. when nine inch nails first got signed, i didn't know how to do interviews. i really
still don't. i talk too much and i say stupid things. at the time, my heroes were jane's addiction, among
others, and i'm reading where perry's a male prostitute and has this junkie lifestyle. and i'm like, i
smoked pot when i was 18 once. i'm boring. i'm not this icon. i love kiss for the same reason. gene
simmons had a cow tongue grafted to his; that was the greatest xxxx. and i kind of made this pact with
myself that i would just be honest. i am 31. 1 grew up in pennsylvania. i wasn't a male prostitute. i'm
not gay. my tongue is my own. it's not like a marilyn man- son situation. i love manson, i respect him.
he's about show- biz and he knows what he wants to do. and i think he's a good kick in the ass of that
conservative pearl jam pseudo-alternative integrity thing.
how much of what's going on pop-wise do you view as competition?
i watch mtv and i think it sucks.
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