Crystal Castles Open Up For Nine Inch Nails In Minneapolis

Download: Nine Inch Nails - "Discipline"
Download: Crystal Castles - "Courtship Dating"

Regardless of whether or not you are fond of Mr. Trent Reznor's musical endeavors, judging by the acts opening for Nine Inch Nails' upcoming tour, you have to give the man credit for having his finger on the pulse of underground music. Check out the openers for NIN's tour:

Deerhunter
Crystal Castles
Does It Offend You, Yeah?
A Place To Bury Strangers
White Williams

Not too shabby! Much like fellow 90s alt-rock giants Pearl Jam, it would seem that Nine Inch Nails like to use their big-level status to help get smaller bands some bigger exposure. And--going out on a limb here--I'm going to guess that's all those two bands have in common (except for playing Lollapalooza. Ah, crap! That's one more thing).

You can head to NIN's website to check out the rest of the dates, which we're assuming will be in support of a new record. We'll find out soon enough on Monday the Fifth, when NIN will make some kind of important announcement on their website. Hmm. Perhaps NIN will pull a themselves...again? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, listen to the new NIN track "Discipline", as well as a track from Crystal Castles, who will be opening for Trent Reznor and Co. on August 2nd at the Target Center in MPLS. No idea when tickets will go on sale, but we'll let you know as soon as we do.

Nine Inch Nails MySpace Page
Crystal Castles MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Somewhere, Over In Rainbows: Nine Inch Nails Release New Album Directly to the Interweb

Download: Nine Inch Nails - "04 Ghosts I"
Download: Nine Inch Nails - "06 Ghosts I"
Download: Nine Inch Nails - "08 Ghosts I"

Though he might have been discouraged at his earlier attempt with Saul Williams to help shift the music industry paradigm, it would seem that you can't keep Trent Reznor down. His band, Nine Inch Nails, has released an entirely instrumental, 36 track album called Ghosts I-IV through Bittorrent websites and NIN's own website. Listeners can obtain the first 9 tracks of the album for free. And if you want the other 27? Check this out:

$5 download
Ghosts I-IV: All 36 tracks in a variety of digital formats, plus a 40-page PDF.

$10 two-disc set
A double-disc set, packaged in a Digipak with a 16-page booklet, to be shipped on April 8. Includes immediate download of album.

$75 deluxe edition
Ghosts I-IV in a "hardcover fabric slipcase containing two audio CDs, one data DVD with all tracks in multi-track format, and a Blu-Ray disc of Ghosts I-IV. Ships May 1. Includes immediate download of album.

$300 "ultra-deluxe limited edition package"
Deluxe edition plus a four-LP set on 180-gram vinyl, which is packaged in a fabric slipcase. Two limited-edition Giclee prints are included; package is numbered and signed by Trent Reznor. Limited to a run of 2500, and one piece per customer. Ships May 1 and includes immediate download.

My, oh my, don't we have a plethora of options? If there are 100 diehard NIN fans with money to burn and every one of those fans buys a "ultra-deluxe limited edition", then Trent will be making some reasonably solid coinage (for an independent musician, that is). As for the album itself, Reznor described the project as "music for daydreams". I wouldn't be comfortable evaluating a record that I only have heard one-fourth of (once again, I've proven myself to be a cheap bastard), but that description is apt, to a degree. While "6 Ghosts I" is certainly the stuff of ethereal, sleep-induced wanderlust, only a person hellbent on scaring the bejebus out of themselves would snooze off to "4 Ghosts I". That song is the wholly apocalyptic middle ground between the Pixies' "Where is My Mind?" and John Murphy's "In The House - In A Heartbeat" (which you know from its use in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later). Incidentally, that song is fucking awesome.

Another highlight is "8 Ghosts I", a track that wakes up, puts on its shoe(gazer)s and hits the ground in a slow, methodical crawl like the vengeful ghosts from J-Horror's heyday (you know, before the remakes crowded the googleplexes). Overall, Ghosts I ranges from the mostly intriguing to the truly auspicious. It is unquestionably a unique introduction to what is a highly ambitious project. Listen to the three songs mentioned in this blurb at the top of the post.

Download Ghosts I for free here.

MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Trent Reznor Kicks It In Rainbows Style With Saul Williams Record

Download: Saul Williams - "Telegram"
Download: Trent Reznor and David Bowie - "I'm Afraid Of Americans"

Idolator's got the scoop. From the article:

Trent Reznor announced today that he'd be distributing an album via the Internet--not a new Nine Inch Nails record, but the next album by Saul Williams, The Inevitable Rise And Liberation Of NiggyTardust!, which Reznor says is the "most involved I've been with any project outside NIN since Antichrist Superstar." The album's official site launched today and is now taking pre-orders for its Nov. 1 release, and in a move that bears some similarity to In Rainbows' pay-as-you-go model, people can either get it for free or "directly support the artists involved in the creation of this music" and throw Williams five bucks.

Basically, the more you pay, the better quality of MP3 you get. As far as the concept behind The Inevitable Rise And Liberation Of NiggyTardust!, I'll leave that to Saul himself.

From his website:

The wall of sound that we've created is tagged with such graffiti that a passerby would seek out doors and ways to ENTER. Once inside a world defined by dreams come true they'd find aligned with the simplest act of sharing what we treasure. Most people aren't aware of the world of art and commerce where exploitation strips each artist down to nigger. Each label, like apartheid, multiplies us by our divide and whips us 'til we conform to lesser figures. What falls between the cracks is a pile of records stacked to the heights of talents hidden from the sun. Yet the energy they put into popularizing smut makes a star of a shiny polished gun. The ballot or the bullet for Mohawk or the mullet is a choice between new times and dying days. And the only way to choose is to jump ship from old truths and trust dolphins as we swim through changing ways. The ways of middlemen proves to be just a passing trend. We need no priests to talk to God. No phone to call her. And when you click the link below, i think it fair that you should know that your purchase will make middlemen much poorer...

NiggyTardust!

love,

Saul

Saul is encouraging blogs to help spread the word by copying and pasting this application here:



You should do so as well. Let's see where this experiment can go.

(Jonathan Graef)