Nine Inch Nails is set to play a string of UK dates later this month. In anticipation, frontman Trent Reznor spoke with the Daily Record (via Consequence of Sound) about the current state of rock and his concern that acts are too preoccupied with their popularity instead of focusing on being innovative and expressive.
"When you see a lot more excitement generated from the dance tent," he said, "I do think a staleness has permeated [rock music]."
He continued, "I get the sense that a lot of bands today are designing themselves to get a good review in the hip blogs and that is probably the safest and most cowardly thing you can do as an artist. If you have something to say, then say it. Express yourself and break the rules."
However, Reznor says he stuggles with it as well but has a method for staying true to his vision.
"What I try to straddle is paying attention to what is happening in the outside world to some degree and at the same time becoming insular and really trusting my own voice and my own sense of what is right and appropriate. I don't hear tons of that going on right now."
However, he acknowledged the fact that his years in the industry have given him a different perspective. "I'm saying this as an old guy," he said. "You start to morph into the guy you railed against when you were younger. But I am being true to who I am now."
"I have thought about the nostalgia aspect of Nine Inch Nails, because I am not completely objective," he added. "I'm me and I'm seeing life through my eyes. But it's sometimes hard for me to see how others see me."
He says he stays on track by being "mindful to keep myself in a place that feels artistically uncomfortable, unsure and makes me think and shoots me into some place new rather than resting on past achievements."
Read the full interview, which includes his views on fatherhood and his non-NIN achievements, here.
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