Bad Witch, the third and final installment in the Nine Inch Nails trilogy was released today. Along with the EP, Trent Reznor gave fans insight into why he's chosen the trilogy format and his current mindstate on songwriting and creating uncomfortable music in a feature posted on NIN's website. There's lots to digest in the interview -- a few highlights are posted below:
Reznor explained the trilogy is about making sense of the world:
"I’ve found over time that if I think about songs in relation to other songs in a bigger context it’s more fun to write them. It gives each a little more meaning. In the early days it felt like a miracle if any song got finished. You’d just happen to cross the line of ten and you’d have an album. Now it’s become more about the idea of the larger story, of a larger container. I like that format as a storytelling device.
Why am I doing it? It’s what I do. And I feel I have something to say. It’s really because I need to do it. It helps me feel good about myself to do this thing, it brings me in touch with a sense of purpose. I would like to let people know, music can be the central thing. It can be this thing that you put your attention on, that you carve out time to actually participate in. It’s not something that happens in the background while you’re doing something else. It can be the whole thing. It can command your full attention.
The first record, Not the Actual Events, was more of an internal fantasy of what if I lit a match to my life and just embraced burning the whole fucking thing down. You know? All of this is an illusion and I really should be dead or lying in a ditch somewhere. Who I really am is an addict that self-destructs. That’s my true nature and this is an illusion and some borrowed time. It wasn’t a pleasant thing, but it felt like, that’s a story to tell. And if felt like something I needed to internally process.
Reznor also shared his thoughts on the unique ticketing method NIN utilized for the Cold and Black and Infinite tour:
"Over the years I’ve learned which battles to fight. If it were up to me, I would do a lot of things differently, but some things you just can’t win. But no one wants the experience of tickets are onsale at 10 o’clock, refresh refresh refresh, sold out! Here they are on Stubhub for five times the price! So we looked into seeing if we could just put them onsale at the box office. I know it’s inconvenient for people, but it seems to me that if you’re the twentieth person in line you’re probably going to get good seats because you’re right there. There’s a sense of people being there for something and you’re all there at the same time, inconvenienced because you’re celebrating art and music together."
Read the full interview here. Stream Bad Witch in full on Spotify.
Nine Inch Nails w/ The Jesus And Mary Chain - U.S. tour
Sep 13 -- Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
Sep 14 -- Phoenix, AZ @ Comerica Theatre
Sep 18 -- Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks
Sep 19 -- Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks
Sep 24 -- Memphis, TN @ Orpheum Theatre
Sep 26 -- Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
Sep 27 -- Atlanta, GA @ Fox Theatre
Sep 29 -- Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheatre
Oct 09 -- Washington, DC @ The Anthem
Oct 13 -- New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Oct 14 -- New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall
Oct 16 -- Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theater
Oct 17 -- Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theater
Oct 19 -- Boston, MA @ Boch Centre
Oct 20 -- Boston, MA @ Boch Centre
Oct 22 -- Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
Oct 23 -- Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
Oct 25 -- Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
Oct 26 -- Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
Nov 23 -- New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theatre
Nov 24 -- New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theatre
Nov 25 -- New Orleans, LA @ Saenger Theatre
Nov 27 -- Irving, TX @ The Pavillion at Toyota Music Factory
Nov 28 -- Irving, TX @ The Pavillion at Toyota Music Factory
Dec 03 -- San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Dec 04 -- San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Dec 07 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Dec 08 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Dec 11 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Dec 12 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Dec 14 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Dec 15 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Palladium
Published June 22nd, 2018