Trent Reznor On Keeping His Private Life Private
Imhotep has an interview with Trent Reznor. In the piece, we get to hear Trent talk about the second part of Year Zero, the difference in his writing process for With Teeth versus the process used to compose the more recent albums, and, most interestingly to me, why he has made a conscious decision to keep his private life private:
I don’t really want my fans to see me. What I’ve tried to do in the media is not to let my personality get in the way of the music. In a way, that creates its own aura. Today with the Internet and MTV it is easy to reach out and overexpose yourself to people, and I don’t mean like I was embarrassed about myself, but when you listen to a Nine Inch Nails record, I don’t want you to know what I look like, I want you to create your own version about the record.
As I’ve written in my Oeuvre Blog entries, I’ve always been a listener more concerned with answering the question “How does this lyric apply to my own life, to my own experience?” than most. And I suppose my obsession with Nine Inch Nails has a lot to do with the fact that I don’t think about Trent Reznor when I’m listening to the music. I think about me, and about the lyrics, and about whether or not I’m going to break something as I dance around my house like a maniac.
Comments On This Article
BJ says:
As much as I love NIN (and I have NIN tattoos and all), I think that Trent should really prepare himself for fans out there wanting to know more about HIM, it’s not that we all want to have sex with him and whatever, most of us are interested in him as a person and how he forms his ideas etc. I don’t think it’s enough to just have this awesome music to listed to without wanting to know the thought processes that it all came from. To know that, you need to know his background, thoughts, feelings etc. There’s nothing wrong with that, however I can see Trent’s point of view as well… There’s a thin line between giving the fans what they want and maintaining a certain amount of privacy. Food for thought!
ChrisClark says:
Thanks for your comment, BJ.
I think it’s one thing to let people get a glimpse into your creative process—which I think Trent does—and another to let people see all of your personal business (and maybe even encourage them to watch it) in the way that people like Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse do.
BJ says:
Yeah I know what you mean, but I also think that letting someone in on the thought processes behind the music is not a bad thing. Sure I am all for making what you will of the music, and I totally respect that, but a little hint here and there can’t go wrong. People like Amy Wine-o and Brits are totally OTT, and I would be surprised if people out there actually want to hear about their personal stuff. I think it would be great for Trent to release a DVD of the process of recording albums like Ghosts I-IV and The Slip. That way he can keep his personal life private but still give the audience more than just a fleeting glimpse of his genius.
ChrisClark says:
Gotcha. I would definitely buy a “making of” documentary if Trent put one out. There’s stuff on Closure that comes close to documenting his creative process and his life and where his creativity comes from, but that came out so long ago that it’s only available on VHS (or as a burnable ISO, if you can find a torrent for it online).
BJ says:
Yeah, I LOVE Closure, I got it and had it transferred to DVD. It’s brilliant! I also found a copy of Broken both on VHS and a burny version on DVD, which I am also totally addicted to. I’ve downloaded torrent stuff, but never really had great quality, which has been a bit sad :(. I heard whispers on the grapevine which is the NIN blogger saying that T-Rez was going to release Closure on DVD… With extras! Wonder if that is ever going to come to fruition...? One can only hope!
ChrisClark says:
I have that version of Closure with the extras, along with a pretty good version of the Broken vid, both on DVD. I’m not sure if the torrents are still out there, or if anyone’s still seeding them if they are. If you’re interested, shoot me an e-mail (click on my name down there in the footer) and maybe I can hook you up.
BJ says:
Well I’ve added you on FB - that was me yesterday, LOL. I’m waiting also for the last tour to be released on DVD… That tour changed my life. They played all the songs they don’t normally play on our leg of the tour and it was brilliant! I managed to capture some on a small digital camera (using movie mode), it’s not great but still, it’s something!
beth says:
screw that, trent. i still want to hang out.
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