Twenty years ago today: October 20, 1989. NIN releases "Pretty Hate Machine". I am mesmerized. Life and concert-going as I know it changes drastically. From the old Cleveland Agora to my final show in Charlotte this year, NIN has been a mainstay. Trent Reznor may have gone off in a different direction after the "Wave Goodbye" tour, but the creation he spawned will live forever for me.
MANCHESTER, Tennessee - Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor said their performance Sunday at the Bonnaroo Music Festival was their last in the U.S.
The industrial rock group performed in the early morning hours Sunday at the Tennessee festival, shortly after Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band wrapped up.
"It just dawned on me that this is our last show ever in the United States," Reznor said during his band's set. "Don't be sad. I'll keep going. But I think I'm going to lose my fucking mind if I keep doing this, and I have to stop."
Nine Inch Nails just completed a U.S. tour with Jane's Addiction. Their summer tour continues in Europe and Asia. The tour, dubbed "Wave Goodbye," was conceived as a farewell tour to mark the 20th anniversary of their first album, "Pretty Hate Machine."
Super sweet to see. But in reality, quite "bittersweet". Observe a February post on nin.com:
Towards the beginning of my career in Nine Inch Nails, our biggest break came in the form of an invitation to perform a series of shows with Jane's Addiction. These performances essentially created and defined the term "alternative" rock in the US, created an ongoing festival franchise that is still thriving (Lollapalooza), set the stage for Nirvana to shift popular taste a few months later, and were really fucking FUN to play and attend - truly the best times I've had. The shows were epic. So epic, they propelled NIN to the "next level" (whatever that means), but caused Jane's to implode. The band broke up at the end of that tour.
Fast forward to the present. Corporate rock STILL sucks. A friend tells me they saw the original Jane's lineup play a tiny show in LA that was unbelievable. I break out my Jane's records and am amazed by how vital they sound. These guys were the real deal and in this current climate mostly dominated by poseurs and pussies it was refreshing to hear something that sounded dangerous, volatile, beautiful and SINCERE. Emails were sent, phone calls were made, dinner was arranged, ideas were discussed and the next thing I know we're in the studio experimenting. We laugh, we get to know each other, we cry, we yell, we almost quit, we record LOTS of guitar solos, we discuss, we actually begin to all communicate, we yell some more, we become FRIENDS, we laugh again and we do some great things. I get to see first hand why they broke up all those years ago but I also get the chance to see four distinct personalities that become an INCREDIBLE band when they're in the same room.
In NIN world, 2009 marks the 20th anniversary of our first releases. I've been thinking for some time now it's time to make NIN disappear for a while. Last year's "Lights in the Sky" tour was something I'm quite proud of and seems like the culmination of what I could pull off in terms of an elaborate production. It was also quite difficult to pull off technically and physically night after night and left us all a bit dazed. After some thought, we decided to book a last run of shows across the globe this year. The approach to these shows is quite different from last year - much more raw, spontaneous and less scripted. Fun for us and a different way for you to see us and wave goodbye. I reached out to Jane's to see if they'd want to join us across the US and we all felt it could be a great thing.
Will it work? Will it resonate in the marketplace? Who knows. Is there big record label marketing dollars to convince you to attend? Nope. Does it feel right to us and does it seem like it will be fun for us and you? Yes it does. Look for tour dates soon and I hope to see you out there.
Trent
"Disappear for a while"? Ugh. And from The Guardian in the UK:
...it's hard to know what Reznor has in mind. He may simply be retiring the NIN name – or he may be retiring from music altogether. The last time Nine Inch Nails "disappeared", after 1999's The Fragile, it took six years for Reznor to return. That gap stands in stark contrast to the past four years, which has seen the group release four separate albums.
Sigh...
The final(?) setlist from one of the many multiple Nine Inch Nails concerts I've seen. I'm already pining for a return, and they're not even fully gone yet..
home somewhat damaged wish march of the pigs piggy metal i'm afraid of americans head down burn gave up la mer the fragile non-entity the downward spiral survivalism suck -------- hurt the hand that feeds head like a hole
And here's my mid-concert "tweets" from my seat (and one from this morning):
SPEAK UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU VERY WELL THIS MORNING!!!!! 44 minutes ago
I'm going to go out on a limb and say perry farrell is a little more flamboyant than trent reznor. GREAT SHOW! - about 11 hours ago
Jane's addiction next. Last time for a long time to hear "bow down before the one you serve / you're going to get what you deserve"? - about 12 hours ago
NIN up next. The "wave goodbye" tour. Shirts say 1989-2009. No tours for "quite a few years" according to the internets. I am sad. - about 14 hours ago
"Street sweeper social club" onstage now. Tom morello RAWKS. - about 15 hours ago
Sorry to have been so long in between posts. The inspiration to type on these pages has dulled considerably. An official "funk" has occurred.
I'm sure the process will revert and blogging will return in earnest, but for now it's just not there. The House of Gordon will try to trudge through the fog and dark clouds, so hopefully all 4 or 5 of you will check back occasionally for updates.
In the meantime, what we've been doing this past week or so: - Triad Stage's performance "Bell, Book, and Candle" - sampled the carbonated Chocolate-Vanilla Imperial Stout and declared it awesome - weekend jaunt to Alexandria, VA - Nine Inch Nails concert here in Greensboro - bottled Razzmatazz Raspbeery Ale - bottled Vintage Hop (2007) Pale Ale
August 22, 2008 - Cleveland, OH November 3, 2008 - Greens-freaking-boro, NC !!!!!!!!
The day before the presidential election. I can only imagine what he'll have to say...
More tour dates were added to the tour, and some The Spiral fan club seats went on sale at 5:00pm. A glitch in remembering our online MusicToday ticket sales password resulted in some sucky seats for Greensboro: Section 109, Row B, seats 1-2. Row B!!!! Oh the humanity.....
I'd like to thank all of you who attended the first leg of the Lights In The Sky tour. If you missed it, check the schedule - we'll be playing through the rest of this year. If you've seen it, come back - we'll have some new tricks up our sleeve on this next leg. We're very proud of this show and it's been exciting (and quite the challenge) for us to present it to you.
Oh, and it was quite a surprise to get back home, turn on the television and discover we've apparently won the war in Iraq! Yeah, some woman from Alaska said so - apparently that troop surge was all we needed! That's good news, because I was starting to think all the shame and embarrassment I've felt as an American citizen traveling abroad the last few years wasn't going to pay off in the end. Now I can rest easy knowing we've successfully spread FREEDOM - AND we've stopped evildoers in their tracks.
Nobody wants anyone preaching their opinions at them - particularly a musician - but PLEASE get involved and pay attention to what's happening during this election and try to see through the clutter to the substance of what is or isn't being said.
Wouldn't it be great to feel proud of this country for a change? Seems like it's within reach.
OK - I got it out of my system. Thanks for reading.
Another Nine Inch Nails concert. We have lost count.
Wow. What a show.
The Gordons fly up to Cleveland Friday the 22nd on a 2:30pm flight after Kimberly worked 7a-11a...which was more like 12:45pm when all was said and done. A not-so-quick rental car experience at the Cleveland airport left us just a touch over 90 minutes to visit Chris's parents, then it was downtown for the creative Trent Reznor and the umpteenth NIN concert we have seen live.
Incredible.
NIN's fan club The Spiral ticket sales for members got us in the front row, right side of the stage. The entire floor was standing room general admission, so we opted for seats instead. We are OLD after all to continuously go to NIN conccerts. Our approximate seats: Awe-inspiring light show. Easily the best one yet. Three curtains of lights: one on the far rear wall, one immediately behind the drumkit and keyboards, and a third one that would drape down in front of the bass, Trent, and the guitar. Mesmerizing. Gave a lot of 3-D effects this way with all three curtains dancing about. Wow.
Kimberly has actual photos from our seats on her phone, but is being stingy with them and hasn't shared them with the world yet. Something about being "busy" with "conventions" and the like. Oh well, one day they will grace these pages.
The setlist from the concert:
999,999 - (The Slip) 1,000,000 - (The Slip) Letting You - (The Slip) Discipline - (The Slip) March of the Pigs - (The Downward Spiral) Head Down - (The Slip) The Frail - (The Fragile) Closer - (The Downward Spiral) Gave Up - (Broken) The Warning - (Year Zero) Vessel - (Year Zero) 5 Ghosts I - (Ghosts I-IV) 25 Ghosts III - (Ghosts I-IV) 19 Ghosts III - (Ghosts I-IV) Piggy - (The Downward Spiral) The Greater Good - (Year Zero) Pinion - (Broken) Wish - (Broken) Terrible Lie - (Pretty Hate Machine) Survivalism - (Year Zero) The Big Come Down - (The Fragile) 31 Ghosts IV - (Ghosts I-IV) Only - (With Teeth) Head Like a Hole - (Pretty Hate Machine)
(encore) Echoplex - (The Slip) Reptile - (The Downward Spiral) God Given - (Year Zero) Hurt - (The Downward Spiral) In This Twilight - (Year Zero)
All 8 NIN releases were represented with at least one song, and he leaned quite heavily towards the newer CD's: 2007's Year Zero and 2008's The Slip. The performances of the Ghosts tracks were ethereal with a stand-up double bass, xylophone, and uncommon instruments at an industrial rock concert. So very clever and entertaining...all with an amazing light show to augment the experience.
Afterward, we drove down to Stow to crash at Nick and Staci's. Then, the magic happened. A 3:31am text message wakes us from our slumber:
Trent Reznor in Cleveland and Barack Obama in Denver both await Gordonian arrivals. We're sure some gripping and suspenseful posts will be promptly typed on these very internets upon our return. We apologize for giving you nothing to read for the next week or so, but we're sure all 3 or 4 of you will survive just fine.
In Nine Inch Nails-speak, this means until the end of the summer tour. TR speaketh:
I am proud to announce the final personnel lineup of nine inch nails for the foreseeable future. We've added, we've subtracted and we've wound up with unquestionably the strongest lineup I've EVER had. Joining me onstage will be Robin Finck, Alessandro Cortini, Josh Freese and Justin Meldal-Johnsen.We've been working on something really special for these shows and so far I couldn't be happier with the results. We'll be revealing some live performances shortly here on nin.com - in the meantime, we've posted some photos from rehearsals up on Flickr here.
On lead guitar, Robin Finck is back. Aaron North is out. Here's the band lineup:
Everyone's favorite, TR:
Robin Finck and Alessandro Cortini:
Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Josh Freese:
Interesting. Some old faces, some new ones. Who'll play keyboards when TR's on the geetar? Justin? Perplexing.
The previous post mentioned something about an upcoming NIN tour. Well whaddaya know, the House of Gordon is not missing a beat and is seeing Trent in concert yet again. Haven't missed a year yet since we've been dating/married.
As members of the fan club "The Spiral", we get opportunities to purchase tickets days before the general public. This has enabled us to be in the front row, the mosh pit, and just having all around GREAT seats for his shows. This year follows along that vein.
Sadly, Trent is not coming anywhere really close to us in Greensboro for an arena tour; Duluth, GA being the closest. BUT, he is playing in Cleveland on one of Chris's 3-day weekends! Sold! Granted, it's not flying from Greensboro to Chicago as we did a few years ago to catch him on his tiny club tour, but it's still a bit of travel for us.
Thank you for your order. Please find your order details and pickup instructions below. 8/22/2008 Nine Inch Nails, Quicken Loans Arena Number of tickets: 2, Seat Locations: Section 110, Row 1, Seats (9, 10) Lower Reserved All Ages Ticket Delivery: Will Call
Didja read that? Row 1. Granted they are not center stage but rather stage right, but still....Row 1. Tickets went on sale at 5:00pm Wednesday for fan club members, and Chris had to work 12p-8p. So, the laptop came to work, Chris took his lunch at 4:45, went across the street from Walgreens to Starbucks, logged on and ordered up some sweet concert tickets. So no scalpers can get their hands on them, Chris's name will appear on the tickets and he has to show ID at Will Call. Kimberly better hope he takes her!
General public tickets go on sale this coming Saturday the 10th if you want to join us.
Drive up Friday morning, concert Friday night, then drive back home to Greensboro sometime later that weekend. Another whirlwind House of Gordon trip, but WELL worth it.
Trent Reznor introduces his latest album, The Slip, with a note that reads, "Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years -- this one's on me."
He means it. The album is available for free in what could be the perfect array of digital formats: MP3, lossless (FLAC or Apple) or 24-bit, 96-kHz WAV files that sound better than the CD would have, if Reznor had bothered to release one yet. Vinyl and CD versions will go on sale in July, according to the Nine Inch Nails site.
You can stream all of The Slip starting Monday on iLike or download it for free with a valid e-mail address. The album is more song-oriented than the instrumental abstraction of the band's recently released Ghosts I-IV, with full vocal tracks and the sort of dark, grimy loops that helped Reznor make his name.
Not only is The Slip available for free, but it was released under the Creative Commons "attribution noncommercial share-alike" license. A note on the NIN site says: "We encourage you to remix it, share it with your friends, post it on your blog, play it on your podcast, give it to strangers, etc."
The MP3 version of the album is available as a direct download from a server, while the larger files (lossless and high-resolution) are available as torrent downloads. All versions come with a printable PDF with the album cover, the track listing and artwork for each track. The liner notes list the release date as January 2008, but aside from "Discipline" and "Echoplex" (.mp3) none of the songs have been previously released.
The Slip is worth a listen. On my second way through, it's sounding better and better, especially the sinister dub aesthetic of "The Four of Us Are Dying."
Reznor's direct-to-fans approach extends to his upcoming tour. Tickets will be available through the NIN website in the 72 hours leading up to the show (updated). Each ticket will have the name of the buyer printed on it, so they will not available through scalpers.
Needless to say, The House of Gordon is quite giddy. That Trent, always keeping us on our toes.
Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.
Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts.
This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as... something.
The team: Atticus Ross, Alan Moulder and myself with some help from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione. Rob Sheridan collaborated with Artist in Residence (A+R) to create the accompanying visual and physical aesthetic.
We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing. What we thought could be a five song EP became much more. I invited some friends over to join in and we all enjoyed the process of collaborating on this.
The end result is a wildly varied body of music that we're able to present to the world in ways the confines of a major record label would never have allowed - from a 100% DRM-free, high-quality download, to the most luxurious physical package we've ever created.
More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future."
"Videos" already have shown up on YouTube, and we as superhuman NIN fans are absolutely required by Reznorian law to share some highlighted tracks with you now:
Ghosts I - 04:
Ghosts I - 08:
Ghosts II - 12:
Ghosts III - 19:
Ghosts III - 22:
Ghosts IV - 31:
Ghosts I- IV + iPod + Bose sounddock + Levaquin = a fine way to spend a sickly afternoon.
Life is good! There's new Nine Inch Nails music! A four-volume, 36 song, all-instrumental collection entitled "Ghosts". The response has been absolutely rigorous! Per the skinny from Mr. Trent Reznor himself:
03 March 2008
The new Nine Inch Nails record is available RIGHT NOW! (kind of).
YES, WE FUCKED UP!
We thought we bought enough beer but too many of you showed up for the party. We are fixing the Ghosts site right now, I am told it will be back up 100% in a few hours.In the meantime, you can buy the whole new record at Amazon if you are in the US, or you can get Ghosts I at The Pirate Bay if you know about torrents, or RIGHT HERE directly. We are sorry for the trouble (but you know it's worth it!).
posted by Trent Reznor at 6:02 PM pst, from hong kong
And from the NIN website:
We quietly released this album last night without any warning, and without any press. Because we know how devoted our fans are, we planned for an overwhelming response, and expected heavy traffic. To our surprise, the traffic was more than three times what we anticipated, and has only been getting heavier throughout the day. The response has been absolutely phenomenal, and we couldn't be happier, but our servers have taken a beating, causing numerous problems with the download site. Our developers, who have been working non-stop to combat the surge of traffic, feel that taking the site down for a few hours to fix some crucial issues is the best way to get things running smoothly again. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.
So, since NIN couldn't handle the surge, Amazon had the download for the same price: a mere $5 for all 36 songs. It is downloading as we speak, and Gordon iTunes will most assuredly be blaring new Trent music tomorrow to the delight of all.
