Well, Trent Reznor certainly took his time; let’s hope it is as good as the wait was long. And by it I am referring to the new Nine Inch Nails' album, With Teeth. After waiting six years there is word that new album will be out in May, but I no longer trust anything I hear about or from Trent unless it has to do with him taking his sweet ass time to write, record and release new material.
Most of the time there are just hushed whispers about stuff that he may have recorded or is possibly working on. My biggest disappointment: Tapeworm. Whatever happened to that? But, after all of the speculation and rumor of the past six years, there is finally proof.
Stuff to Steal: Nine Inch Nails – The Line Begins to Blur
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Trent and all the work he has done. My first concert was Nine Inch Nails. It was so breath taking and so frightening I had a hard time knowing what to think. I have been to a lot of concerts since but that NIN show was by far the most amped up and violent spectacle I'd ever seen. The whole arena turned into a gigantic pit as Trent and the boys raged through their set. When they played Hurt, the entire place fell under a weird hush which was almost as powerful as any hard-charging song they had played yet.
Fast forward five years and Trent releases The Fragile. One of his best and most ambitious projects. I caught two show off of that tour and was impressed by both. Trent has set the bar incredibly high for this album and for the ensuing tour. I can't wait.
Also, just as a side note. Go get The Lost Highway soundtrack. Trent produced and recorded some new music for the movie and the soundtrack is a great, cohesive peice of work.
I think Trent has gone beyond being musically relevant. He occupied an interesting place about 10 years ago, but has since let his arrogance get in the way. It seems his ego has reached Billy Corgan-esque levels, otherwise why would he take six years to complete an album, defending himself with the label of tinkering perfectionist? The problem is he built such a devoted fan base in the mid-90's that he will always sell a decent enough number of albums to continue. I feel bad for NIN fans (I'm not one)...nothing will ever live up to the Fragile, but he'll keep trying & making mediocre records. And how could NIN ever break up? It's one frickin' guy. It's almost as if he's deaf to the collective cry of his fans.
Ohhhh, dissension from the Peanut Gallery. I will concede two points. Trent stopped being musically relevant within the mainstream around 1996. Also, he needs two personal assistants to help him carry around his gigantic ego. But beyond those two points, I think you are wrong.
Overall, Trent has taken his time on all the albums he has released. Granted, it has gotten lenghtier as time has passed, but not by much. Lets break it down.
1989 - Pretty Hate Machine (an indie masterpiece)
1992 - Broken (hate rock meets industrial and things couldn't be better)
1994 - The Downward Spiral (makes Trent's career, becomes musically relevant for the span of two years)
1999 - The Fragile (A double disc of some of his best material ever)
2005 - With Teeth (Still unknown as to how good or bad this will be).
On average, Trent releases an album every 3.2 years. The span between Broken and Downward was uncharacteristically short, it took him another five years to create TWO cds for The Fragile. And after putting on one of the best live shows ever in support of that album he took his sweet ass time to personally compile the DVD that follow THREE (2002) years later.
Now after completing that project he had to deal with some label shit (I don't know specifically what, nor do I care but I hear it was bad) and then took another TWO years to complete With Teeth.
I know I didn't make any of this clear in my first post, I was going for more of a comic effect. But please, don't feel bad for the NIN fans, they have yet to see if Trent will or will not be able to live up to The Fragile, but as the past indicates, he has improved upon his music and grown as an artist while staying with in a decidely "Reznorian" state of mind (angst, hate, dark imagery, songs that alternate between quiet and loud or vice versa).
Yes, Trent's head is about as big as Corgan's. But most great musicians are a little weird and completely egotistical anyway.
And you can keep using the aliases if you like, I know who you are, no matter what name you decide to use. I check the logs every day. You and ScottyOp Amp are the only two reading this on a regular basis and for that I have to say: Thank You.
Off topic -
I keep hearing about the new Hot Hot Heat record, but it hasn't leaked out yet..................any word on to when it's out?
J
[4] I know very little about HHH. What I do know is this: their new album is out in stores on April 5. Also, they will be in Detroit March 5 at St. Andrews.
Do you have HHH's first two albums? I'd like to hear them.
As a rule of thumb, you can expect albums to leak about two weeks before the release date, unless the album is a major release or someone gets a hold of an "unmixed" copy.
I am a little annoyed that Trent has taken 6 yrs but then again I look at every thing he has done and am very glad to wait. I proud to be a NIN fan. Mr. TR is one of the few artists that continues to amaze me and bring hope to my fading music taste. It's a very exciting time to be a NIN fan. I've never seen so much information pour out from the NIN camp ever and all of it is promising. The With Teeth era is going to make every thing else look like a garbage pile.
Yeah Trent has a big ego but can you blame him? Correct me if I'm wrong but how many Bands have sold out a Stadium Tour? I doubt Billy Corgan every did. Besides where is he now?
[6] Billy was riding high throughout the mid 90s on the success of Meloncholy, so he might have sold out a couple of shows.
And last I heard, Billy and his gigantic bald head had broken up Zwan and were playing acoustic shows and reciting poetry in Chicago bars and coffee houses.
But really, how can one compare the success of two complete freaks like Reznor and Corgan?
Rolling Stone (please do not cringe too much) said that Trent was working with Dave Grohl. Any leaks on the songs they did together, and if so, hows it sound?
[8] What I have, you have. What I know, you know. I was suprised when I heard Dave Grohl was working with Trent but when you think about it, the parternship makes perfect sense. They both have a spot soft for dark, hard rock.
If I hear anything else, I will let you know.