In a New York Times piece from this weekend called "Frustration and Fury: Take It. It's Free.," Jon Pareles visits Trent Reznor's place "on the outskirts of Beverly Hills," where there's an ever-expanding kitchen renovation in the works; in fact, it turns out the only "neat and dust-free" room in the house is the studio where Reznor's been recording his recent material, Ghosts I-IV and The Slip. It's another article about the shifting music industry, artists leaving their labels, etc., but Reznor's candor turns it into something more interesting. Presenting the NIN brain-trust as "an old-school rocker who is devoted to the album as a creative unit," but who has "reinvented himself as a digital-era adept," Reznor talks candidly about giving away the music for free ("Aside from any kind of monetization of it, I'm glad to know that a million people have it on their iPods," re: The Slip), NiggyTardust! ("I don't know how you could look at this as a failure"), his own freedom from a label ("It was bittersweet") and his general self-doubt ("I don't even know why I'm saying this in an interview situation, but I always feel like I'm not good enough for some reason...").
For his part, Pareles details the newer records well: We get the content and the stories around them (how long they took to make, Reznor's philosophies behind them). We also discover Reznor's collaborating with Tarantino producer Lawrence Bender on a cable TV series about Year Zero, among other things, and that Mr. Trent will soon have more free goodies: The software he created to "distribute digital files, assemble databases and connect easily with other applications." ("We've spent the money to make it," Mr. Reznor said. "Take it."). Fascinating in a fly-on-the-wall sense are the descriptions of the home studio ("It has burgundy brocade curtains over red velvet drapes over plywood-lined walls," etc) and Reznor's conflicted thoughts on everything I've cataloged up to this point. As he tells Pareles, "I don't agree that it should be free, but it is free, and you can either accept it or you can put your head in the sand." He says more, too ("I know how old I am," he said. "I'm not trying to fool anybody"), and comes off like a really good guy in the process. Some excerpts:
He knows what he doesn't want to do: make his music a marketing accessory. "Now just making good music, or great music, isn't enough," Mr. Reznor said. "Now I have to sell T-shirts, or I have to choose which whorish association is the least stinky. I don't really want to be on the side of a bus or in a BlackBerry ad hawking some product that sucks just so I can get my record out. I want to maintain some dignity and self-respect in the process, if that's possible these days."
...Before the full band's first rehearsal, at a complex in Burbank, Mr. Reznor had an hourlong conference call with Moment Factory, a high-tech production company in Montreal. Mr. Reznor's eye for technology keeps colliding with his budget. "I don't make any money because I spend it on the production," he said. "But I can't afford to go lose money to play shows."
With his longtime graphics co-conspirator, Rob Sheridan, at his side and an e-mail memo on his Mac laptop screen, Mr. Reznor went through a prospective set list, song by song, with Moment Factory, explaining where three giant video screens would be and which disorienting effects he wanted from the programmers and hardware makers -- like being able to move a video frame across a musician that also changed the sound of his guitar. "What I'm trying to do is use the stage as an interactive instrument," Mr. Reznor said. "I'm in the world of science fiction now."
...."These days I work too much, I think, because it makes me feel good," Mr. Reznor said. "I don't know how to do that in a relationship. I don't have a family. I'd like to have one. I just haven't somehow gotten around to it yet. But I know that if I work, it's likely I'll come up with something I'm proud of and that gives me a sense of worth. Not for money or fame -- it's, I feel good about it. So like any good addict, if I find something that feels good, if that feels good, maybe doing twice as much feels twice as, you know..."
His day was just beginning. There was a photo shoot, a band rehearsal, more stage plotting. "Make me look cool," he said by way of goodbye. He caught himself, and laughed.
You can fill-in the gaps at the NY Times. All said, Reznor definitely knows how to give an interview. Did ya catch that, Lou?
[Photo by Rob Sheridan]
