Nine Inch Nails: Chat Dec. 21, 1999 CHAT TRANSCRIPT Minus said webmasters enraged comments :) snguest_trent_reznor: I want to show you all what we've been up to for the past few months. snguest_trent_reznor: I felt very proud of what came out of it, from our first show in Barcelona snguest_trent_reznor: i haven't played in almost five years snguest_trent_reznor: and, I wasn't sure waht to expect and I was very blown away by the response, esp. from a place where we haven't played before. snguest_trent_reznor: This album is very experiemental and i jsut want to get it out to people. Scott_Lucas: Hi Trent! Here's my question : You said that anger was your main source of energy for the Self-Destruct Tour was anger, since the Fragile is kinda different, what is you source of energy for the Fragility Tour bismuth21: Trent : what is your favorite track right now? voidness_99: how come we never got to see the video for The Day The World Went Away snguest_trent_reznor: The reality is thsi: snguest_trent_reznor: ... i've always had a very difficutl time making videos snguest_trent_reznor: We were with Tomato, who did Underworld's videos. snguest_trent_reznor: They are part of underworld's collective snguest_trent_reznor: When NIN started in 1990, I looked for directors. I realize the I was a musician, not a director, so I looked for people who mmight convey my music through video, but things change. snguest_trent_reznor: Things change a lot snguest_trent_reznor: When I put "Broken" out, my friend put a video out, it was so intense, loike Henry the Serial Killer snguest_trent_reznor: Now, it's like a commercial snguest_trent_reznor: I think music, in general, as a product to be sold to the masses, has become a commodity, it's not about art, it's about commerce. snguest_trent_reznor: It's sickening to me snguest_trent_reznor: What i do i consider art. snguest_trent_reznor: If you hat e me for it, fine, if you don't like it, then fuck you, tha'ts what i think. snguest_trent_reznor: If my music doesn't fit in with teh backstreet boys suck-my-dick white boys tryin' to be black, then I hope it never will stndng0nthedg: how did dr dre affect the final product of "even deeper"? snguest_trent_reznor: I'm abig fan of Dre. snguest_trent_reznor: I've always respected eveyrthing he's done snguest_trent_reznor: We wanted to get a cfertain sound, a feel. snguest_trent_reznor: With Dre, he'd been a friend of mine for a while, and i wanted to pick his brain snguest_trent_reznor: He's impressed me so much that i wanted to make a record with him. snguest_trent_reznor: one that m;ight transcend the way the world of music is right now. snguest_trent_reznor: Music to me, from public enemy to dre to ministry to bob marley, transcends all genres. snguest_trent_reznor: Music is crucially human element thta communicates with people. snguest_trent_reznor: It transcends all racial and economic boundaries. snguest_trent_reznor: I truly believe that. lourai: What hardware/software does he use to mix his music? snguest_trent_reznor: Everything we do is on apple macintosh computers; snguest_trent_reznor: Without aquestion or compromise, they've been the ones who've supported the musicians and the independent mindset, and that will never change. snguest_trent_reznor: computers have been an integral part of how i make music, and if it wasn't for apple, i wouldn't make music the way i do snguest_trent_reznor: They've allowed me to ... grow. snguest_trent_reznor: I respect them and will support them, with no product endorsement, i just believe in their mindset. snguest_trent_reznor: they're smarter repti1ian: what do you start a song with usually? i mean do you use a piano? guitar? drum loops? snguest_trent_reznor: ON the new record i start with a visual idea. snguest_trent_reznor: it might be a postcard of a swamp at sunset. snguest_trent_reznor: that's all that matters to me snguest_trent_reznor: i try to write a song around that mood or feeling snguest_trent_reznor: Tha'ts what "The Fragile" really represented to me, I wanted to make a oplace that you've never been to before. snguest_trent_reznor: To be quite frnake the rcord came out. snguest_trent_reznor: I didn't know if the label would understand what I was trying to do, I was trying to not make a commercial record. snguest_trent_reznor: I wanted to make a record that mattered to me as a person. snguest_trent_reznor: That's the only thing that has ever mattered to me, ever fuck Universal. snguest_trent_reznor: All I ever want to do is make a difference, change some lives. snguest_trent_reznor: And now, i'm up against Britney Spears, and i say "fuck you." snguest_trent_reznor: I appreciate for what she does, but that's not what it should be about. snguest_trent_reznor: I've dedicate my life and watch me. snguest_trent_reznor: The only thing that i care aobut in my whole fuck ing life is to make a difference. snguest_trent_reznor: I won't concede, I won't give in snguest_trent_reznor: I love music and that's all I care about. ian17rtf: Mr. Reznor, What album do you feel has been your greatest work? snguest_trent_reznor: "FRagile," thanks duriaten: Hey Trent? Would you consider yourself a post modernist among your peers (in music, that is)? Are you, yourself, an adherent of the revivalist frame of mind? snguest_trent_reznor: I challenge myself to make the best art I can make. snguest_trent_reznor: Regardless of pretension. snguest_trent_reznor: I wanna lay at night, thinking that i've done the best I can do, that's all that matters to me snguest_trent_reznor: That's the only criteria that I have for myself. snguest_trent_reznor: I don't care about money, making new friends or fans, I could care less about that. Charredbone: Trent, who's your favorite artist to work with over the years been, and who would you like to work with in the future? snguest_trent_reznor: Prince, very much. snguest_trent_reznor: Coil snguest_trent_reznor: I'd love to work with them again. snguest_trent_reznor: Lou Reed, David Bowie, I've worked with him. snguest_trent_reznor: I'd love to be challenged by, there are a lot of people smarter than me, I realize. snguest_trent_reznor: David Gilmore, Roger Waters . . . I'm ready to be challenged. jeninfan4ever: Trent, how do you feel about the lack of album sales in the States right now? snguest_trent_reznor: The reality is, when it came out, I was very humbly surprise that we debuted at number one, because none of the other records did. snguest_trent_reznor: I couldn't believe that anyone still cared. snguest_trent_reznor: After the joy of debuting at number one, i realized that I don't belong there. snguest_trent_reznor: I don't want to compete with Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys. snguest_trent_reznor: You go from being the Golden Boy to why haen't you done as well this week. snguest_trent_reznor: I'd like my music to appeal to a lot of people, but I'm not catering to them. wshbrn69_2000: Mr. Reznore, what makes your record lable any differnet than the other lables? snguest_trent_reznor: We're like 4AD or Mute or Wax Trax who cares about artists. snguest_trent_reznor: Try anything and we'll support you. snguest_trent_reznor: The success of Marilyn Manson was that I believe in them adn i still do. snguest_trent_reznor: They have a vision and they need to be supported in what they do. snguest_trent_reznor: All the band s that i've ever loved have been on labels that I 've loved snguest_trent_reznor: Those labels promoted artists to be as unique and experimental as they wanted to be and that's hwo music and art has to be. snguest_trent_reznor: If not music will fail and be backstreet boys or Fred Durst wiggin' out on your ass. snguest_trent_reznor: When I started out in Nine Inch Nails, I wasn't sure about anything. snguest_trent_reznor: TVT told me that everything I was doin' sucked. snguest_trent_reznor: I said fuck Fine Young Cannibals, fuck 'em, I didn 't want to be like them snguest_trent_reznor: I didn't have anyone telling me to believe in myself. snguest_trent_reznor: I want to provide artists on Nothing Records support. snguest_trent_reznor: Fuck underage chicks, do it, music needs it. Music needs extremity. snguest_trent_reznor: I told Manson to just do it. snguest_trent_reznor: We don't need another Mandy Miller, what the fuck is that? tespatternsoul: I was just wondering if you ever planned on releasing the track that you did with Sister Soleil snguest_trent_reznor: That came up in an odd way. snguest_trent_reznor: I became aware of her music tharough different people. snguest_trent_reznor: When the movie "STigmata" came out, I was offered to work with her. snguest_trent_reznor: At first I was like no, but then I listened to her music. snguest_trent_reznor: Her track never came out, but I really liked it. snguest_trent_reznor: Will I work with her in the future , I don't know, I like her, she's a friend, that's about it. diredw: how do you feel about the internets effect on music? and how is the internet effecting your future projects? snguest_trent_reznor: The distribution of music is geting interesting now. snguest_trent_reznor: I like the idea that it can be immediately dispersed to people who wanna hear it. snguest_trent_reznor: But htere is a difference, labels can introduce music to poeple. snguest_trent_reznor: It's the whole indie rock problem. snguest_trent_reznor: The problem is, as a consumer, you need to knwo the difference between what is and isn't good. snguest_trent_reznor: I'm on a ;major lable now that i don't think believes in me very much. snguest_trent_reznor: I hope they do, but I don't think they do snguest_trent_reznor: I made a record that I think is, I cried when I heard it. snguest_trent_reznor: As an artist and a human being, it's the most I can make in my life, but I don't want to kiss Carson Daly's ass to get it played snguest_trent_reznor: Cuz I think it's art, you should frame it on your wall snguest_trent_reznor: Maybe I'm pretentious snguest_trent_reznor: I'm trying to get Tapeworm started because Nine Inch Nails is about my neurosis and tying to change the world. snguest_trent_reznor: And with the band, Ninc INch Nails, and Keith was the most integral guy with makeing the Fragile. snguest_trent_reznor: Tapeworm is a collaborative project. snguest_trent_reznor: I promise by mid-2000 it will be out. snguest_trent_reznor: I believe in my band and respect those guys. snguest_trent_reznor: And you'll see. im_a_creep_99: What were you laughing about on the MTV VMA performance>? snguest_trent_reznor: I wasn't snguest_trent_reznor: I'm so pissed off about that, I've never been more scared in my life, I couldn't hear anything because I had to wear those stupid-ass in-ear monitors, I got talked into it. snguest_trent_reznor: When I wrote the lyrics, it was suppose d to be that you couldn't understand ... i didn't fuckin' smile!!! snguest_trent_reznor: I spent a lot of time last week listening to the album, trying to face reality snguest_trent_reznor: To be completely honest, I would rather sit in the studio and do a new record. snguest_trent_reznor: But I love this record so much taht i have to support it. snguest_trent_reznor: I'll give up my life to prove to you that this is a great fuckin' album snguest_trent_reznor: If you don't believethat, fair enought, but I'll try to prove it. snguest_trent_reznor: I remember putting this album together, I love it. snguest_trent_reznor: I need to prove to everybody that it's a great fuckin' album snguest_trent_reznor: I care. snguest_trent_reznor: I'm tired of watching TRL, i'm tired of the tediousness of that, am I the only person who feels this way? I don't know.. fullblood_freak: trent : if you were a sandwhich, what kind would you be? snguest_trent_reznor: Next question. zent36: Mr Reznor, what instrument do you start playing first? snguest_trent_reznor: Piano snguest_trent_reznor: I'm intrigued and fascinated by the guitar because I don't know how to play it. snguest_trent_reznor: All of Fragile is based around the guitar because I don't know how to play it. loki_42_13: How has your stage show changed? snguest_trent_reznor: In a weird way. snguest_trent_reznor: In the past, the stage show was all about aggression, jumping around, being ridiculous. snguest_trent_reznor: With this albu, there is a lot more emphasis placed on restraint. snguest_trent_reznor: Trying to express it over a period of time. snguest_trent_reznor: I was very concerned about conveying restraint without looking like old men. snguest_trent_reznor: When we played this new music, a wierd thing happened, we discovered we are capable of more expression. snguest_trent_reznor: Not yet. snguest_trent_reznor: Sade said no, I didn't know how to deal with it. snguest_trent_reznor: I realized that I had about 15 more songs sitting around that I didn't feel motivated to write lyrics for. snguest_trent_reznor: But I didn't want to find a Trent replacement to do that. snguest_trent_reznor: So if I could find someone with a different perspective, that's what we're looking for right now. SonicNetHost: A Fan asks : Do you have any upcoming remixes? snguest_trent_reznor: We have a bunch we've done ourselves, but I don't feel this record will be that remix=oriented as the other records before ti. cvd11235: Are there any classical composers who have inspired you? snguest_trent_reznor: Debusey snguest_trent_reznor: I was sitting in Big Sur, losing mky mind. snguest_trent_reznor: His contribution was that you need to be regimented, with whatever you decide to do. snguest_trent_reznor: When I was sitting there, Debussey and I had a mind meld for a second. snguest_trent_reznor: I felt the need to plagerize the title "la Mer." snguest_trent_reznor: He revolutionized the Mozart bullshit world of everything was rigis and stabilized. Duff0821: when do you expect to tour the U.S. in support of the fragile? snguest_trent_reznor: Middle of February, in a very different capacity. snguest_trent_reznor: We're in arenas and there will be more new material snguest_trent_reznor: We started the web site and tried to put out disinformation, Fight Club style. snguest_trent_reznor: OUr web site is fake. snguest_trent_reznor: The web is a great way to be whoever you want to be. snguest_trent_reznor: You are empowered by your fucking web site snguest_trent_reznor: We play upon that. snguest_trent_reznor: We spend so much time fucking with people. snguest_trent_reznor: We make up people. snguest_trent_reznor: My web master is the main guy that fucks with everybody. snguest_trent_reznor: But don't tell anybody snguest_trent_reznor: We spend hours making up characters and fucking with people shockingSharon: how have your fans influences your music? SonicNetHost: How do your fans influences your music? snguest_trent_reznor: IN a way that I sit in a room by myself writingt music that matters to me. snguest_trent_reznor: When i play live and see people respond to it, that 's the only thing that matters. snguest_trent_reznor: I hope that I still matter to people, but at the same tiem, as an artist, I'm not responding to whehter they like it or not. snguest_trent_reznor: I'm not hearing that. crimsonplague: Do you feel you'e achieved happiness through what you've done and accomplished? snguest_trent_reznor: I'm a fucking imbecile and I thought that if I could ever communicate with people that maybe I would ... communicate with them. It doesnt' matter. snguest_trent_reznor: I've toured for a fuckin long time. snguest_trent_reznor: I've realized that it doesn't mean anthingn. snguest_trent_reznor: Being human is a lot more difficult thing that being on tour snguest_trent_reznor: With that said, I will tour forever to show you that this is a different record. snguest_trent_reznor: I'm looking forward to presenting "The Fragile" in differnt formats. snguest_trent_reznor: All those formats require infinite amounts of work that I'll never not do. snguest_trent_reznor: When you go to see our show, I'm proud that you'll see the best that you'll see. snguest_trent_reznor: And thank you. snguest_trent_reznor: The NIN hotline, Scenes like Salvation, NIne Inch Nails news and that's it snguest_trent_reznor: Thank you and good night. Yahoomc: Hey folks - Thanks for joining us tonight! Yahoomc: Thanks to Trent for making his on-line chat debut on Yahoo! Yahoomc: Thanks to all of your for your kick ass questions ... Yahoomc: Thanks to MTV for bringing us this killer event ... Yahoomc: Now, go buy Fragile -- It rocks!