In a note posted on Nine Inch Nail’s official site, Trent Reznor hints at taking a break from NIN, but not before “waving goodbye” with a possible tour with Jane’s Addiction.
Says Trent, “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.”
Read the full note from Reznor here.
This is something I don’t quite understand. Why does Reznor feel it necessary to “wave goodbye?” After all, it took him five years to release The Fragile after The Downward Spiral, and an even longer six years to put out With Teeth after The Fragile… why can’t he just take his time again now? He says that NIN will “disappear for a while,” which does not mean he’s dissolving the project. So what is the point of announcing this break?
An artist creates for a living. They can’t HELP but create. It is in their nature, in their blood, in their genetic makeup. For an artist to stop creating would be like telling the Swallows of San Capistrano to stop coming every year. They can’t help but make the 6,000 mile flight back, just as an artist can’t help but make something out of nothing.
I can understand Reznor’s announcement if he is going to stop NIN, but again, if he’s just taking a break, then what’s the point? To get people to go to the shows? Is this merely some PR stunt?
In any case, it’s sad news. I’ve been enjoying his rather prolific output in the 2000′s.
If you haven’t picked up Nine Inch Nails’ latest latest album, The Slip, yet, you can pick up a download of it free by clicking here. If you’re one of those who prefer to have the physical CD in your hands, there’s also a limited edition CD/DVD and deluxe vinyl available.
And finally, if you’ve never heard NIN live, follow this link to a bootleg we posted a few weeks ago.
Here are a couple tracks from The Slip.
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Wow. I just don’t know what to say when an artist says something like that.
I totally agree with you on the fact that an artist HAS to create. I’ve tried to stop writing and actually went a few years without writing a thing and you know what? It was the most miserable few years of my life. I will NEVER do anything like that again. I don’t know if what I do as a ‘writer’ would be called art or if it even puts me in the artist category, but I like to think so.
If something is your passion it’s what makes your heart beat and your lungs work. You HAVE to create, to live.
So, that being said, I’m going with PR stunt.