The 1999 French Interview MCM UNCUT 18mn version

FULL  TRANSCRIPT OF FRENCH UNCUT INTERVIEW nov1999
(French technicians speaking about framing)
-C'est large?...
-Là, j't'e vois mais...
-Essaye d'reserrer dans c'cas là...
-Ouais, mais, écoute au début, je reserrerai, d'abord j'veux un p'tit plan large, et après..
-Okay, vas y, vas y, vas y
Trent Reznor: looks like i've been on a bus all day (laughs)
French Woman: okay, so first to be waiting for five years to hear "The Fragile", so what happened during all these years?
TR: It's funny you should ask that question... first. It amounts to basically, ummm, NIN usually needs to tour for quite a while to support a record because it's really only the true, the tried and true avenue of promoting ourselves; getting people to be aware of us. We did that with "Pretty Hate Machine"-- we toured for an exceptionally long time on that one; "Downward Spiral" we toured for a little over two years. And, ummm, we went in America from being kind of a medium sized band to a pretty big band. And that just kind of, i think that at the end of those couple of years we were all sick of being around each other and sick of being on the road, and i started working on the Manson album, "Antichrist Superstar", and we did that record and that took longer than we thought. and at the end of all that i was kind of burnt out and i really wasn't-- i didn't feel that passionate about starting a new album so i kind of wasted time for a little while, about a year i did some soundtrack stuff and put off starting the new album. when i finally did start it, it ended up taking two years. there's where the five years went. Two years to make a record, i think, is an exceptionally long time as well. we worked pretty much everyday of those two years on tons of ideas because i was in the process of really experimenting and trying to -- i stumbled into so many things it just took me to new places and it went on and on and on and on and wound up being this record.
FW: Okay, how did you feel when it hit number one in the charts the first week?
TR: (to Danny) How did you feel Danny? I was surprised.
DL: Yeah, i was really surprised. ummm, i don't know. (laughs)
TR: i mean it was flattery. i don't think we belong there, and we certainly didn't stay there very long, but it was nice to know that. i mean i'm very aware that it's been a long time since the last record and it wasn't like a calculated thing, by any means, and i do think it did damage to the career part of NIN, but i was pleasantly surprised that some amount of people are still interested in what we had to say.
FW: "The Fragile" seems to be perfectly a completion considering that it does everything that electronic induced rock???? but some people were saying that it would be the ultimate rock record, so what do you feel about this when you were working on this? and does it open up something new people said like "Pretty Hate Machine" did ten years ago?
TR: can you rephrase that one more time?
FW: What i want to say is that "The Fragile" is really what we could wait for in electronic-rock record, but do you think it opens to something new like because when PHM was out it was really something new. and now?
TR: i'll argue, well, when PHM came out,; i think it might be new because it combined a few different elements together. but i remember at the time i felt a bit derivative because i knew what i was listening to and it showed in my influence list. i could tell where a lot of the ideas came from. "The Downward Spiral" and "Broken" were their own things, but when i did this one i didn't go into it trying to emulate what i had done in the past. i didn't try to --i wasn't that concerned if people that liked TDS would like this because i was a different person working on this record than when i was on TDS. and i allowed myself to take the time to try things i wouldn't have done in the past or have the courage to do things, so... i'm not really sure how to respond about your question, but...the whole way through it we thought we were on to something that was really interesting and we started with some really weird things. and towards the end moved into more of the song-songs that are on the record and more vocal things. and, ummmm, what can i say? i'm proud of it and i like it.
FW: Yeah, sure. Did you feel a lot of pressure because they were saying it would be the ultimate rock record?
TR: I felt pressure mainly from myself because i'm pretty tough on myslef and i have high expectations or high standards, i try to live up to. it didn't help when you get voted the most anticipated album of this and that. those start to...you're aware of it and you try to... when i'm in the studio i try not to think about all that stuff and just try to make music that i think is good.
FW: Do you like to play music as a catharsis? does it help you?
TR: i do, yeah. i would probably go crazy if i didn't have some way, kind of like a pressure valve, a release situation. i mean the act of writing, those are two different things. sitting down and writing is very difficult and i try, i tend to avoid it because you meet failure every turn, but then you stumble on something that's great and makes it all worthwhile but it's a difficult and painful process but when it's finished you realize you have taken something that's--my inspiration is usually a place of pain or anger and turn that into something that might have some beauty in it. then we're in this mode, now where it's played live and it's instant gratification and feedback where you can physically assault people with this music and see them throwing energy back at you, it's a good exchange.
FW: Are you at peace now with yourself or still not?
TR: I'm in a better place than i was. before i started this record. there's always new things to creep up, a new cloud cover.
FW: the video, WITT, is very soft compared to other ones so there won't be any fetish video or stuff iwe've seen?
TR: I don't consider it soft, i think it is more blaringly offensive and i wouldn't do it again because i have done it. i think it is easy to shock people, it's easy to punch people in the face to get their attention, it's much more difficult through subtlety to create tension or mood. that's more of what concerns me now than seeing some guy's penis grind off. not that that's a bad thing, but you know, but there's a time and a place for it.
FW: But do you take part in the video at all, or just let the director do what he wants?
TR: No, i've been pretty much involved, pretty intimately involved with all the stuff i've done.
FW: and about the live act, is it as weird and violent as before? woodstock in '94...
TR: what to you think, Dan?
DL: yeah, i think it's easily as violent as that, but it has lows that weren't achieved on the old set, the old show. woodstock, in particular, i don't remember there being a lot of subtle, soft mood in the set, and this has ultra highs and ultra lows. where as that was kind of just like mid to high, as i remember.
TR: yeah i think we're a lot better as a band then we were then. definitely., musically. that was a pleasant surprise upon getting everyone back together at the end of this record. Part of the challenge of the live set is incorporating stuff we still feel is pertinent to play and has a nice flow in the set and we found that with a lot of the new material, it's soft, as you'd say, so we'd like to find a way to incorporate it that makes sense mood wise and we found that the show is a lot more dynamic now than it had been in the past.
DL: and it's harder to make that stuff come off live and in an interesting or dramatic way as opposed to like it's easy to get up there and five guys, you know, it's like way easier to do that the whole night.
TR: Yeah, to have a mosh pit going the whole entire time and violence, we've learned how to do that and i think we can do it well, but it's...there's elements of that but it's not just that now. there's an interesting dynamic there.
FW: I read that you were really depressed when you were producing Manson's album, so how do you feel now that your album's out?
TR: i had very little to do with Manson's album, but at the time it was in an area, and now i feel a lot better. i feel ummmm... i've got my head on a lot straighter than it was then and i remembered that i enjoy making music and sat down and made it for a long time and that helped me. i feel good about things right now.
FW: about "starfuckers" the lyrics. you didn't want to say who it was about. so do you still not want to say?
TR: I mean it's about everyone you think it's about. and it's about a hundred other people you don't know you think it's about. i was just calling some people's bluff because there were a lot of ridiculous behavior and people and scenarios and it was my way of bitching about it.
FW: It's like an anti-rockstar song?
TR: it's an anti full of shit type song, in my opinion.
FW: why did you choose to live in the Tate house? and how was it to live there, was it a special mood?
TR: chose to leave where? (confusion from her french accent)
DL: (repeating what she said) chose to "live" at--
TR: i only rented that place for whatever it was, a year to set up shop for TDS and we were out of there before the record was even finished. there was no intention of staying there or being there. any longer than we were.
FW: and you live in New Orleans now. so is there anything special with this tow?
TR: is there anything special with...yeah i liked the city i just chose to live there because it was an easy place for me to write and no one screws around with you and you can... if you want to do something there's something to do but it's not drawing you into a scene necessarily. it's out of the way so, you don't get invaded that much, i kind of like to be left alone when i'm working on stuff.
FW: You met Robert Smith in New Orleans?
TR: Yeah, i'm wondering how everybody knows that, because i've been asked that a lot lately. it was a minor little incident that...yeah. he played, and a lot of my crew was on his crew and somehow we ended up in the same silly, little gothic bar and we hugged each other. and that was it. it was nice. the hug meant a lot, you know? he's been a hero of mine for a long time. FW: You are looking on the internet for a girl singer. what is this for?
TR: we're just looking at starting maybe another side project, or i am, i've got a lot of extra music that i would like to have someone else sing. just looking for someone with an interesting voice that's not like mine, to come in and interpret maybe lyrically adapt some stuff. and danny and i are working on, and some other guys in the band, are working on another project, tapeworm, which has got other singers in it. we have a whole list of stuff we'd like to--we finally can get to now hat the record is done. and once touring gets in kind of a rut, we'll have some time to do that.
FW: Why did you choose a French title to the song, "La Mer"?
TR: it was a tribute to Debussy. it was the influence pretty much for that. staring at the sea out in Big Sur in California. and i tried to make just a somewhat my version of an impressionistic piece based on that.
FW: Your lyrics don't refer to religion, you don't talk about religion like before.
TR: didn't have much to say this time, so i didn't feel the need to attack. i'm not saying it has been resolved, but it wasn't...my own internal world was more overbearing than my views on the external world on this record, pretty much so...
FW: How was it to work with Dave Ogilvie, was it usual or..how do you work with him?
TR: Dave Ogilvie? describe Dave Ogilvie, Danny.
DL: i'm not gonna.
TR: and he might be watching.
DL: yeah, because he'll see this. that's your question.
TR: Dave's a great friend of mine. and ours. it's always a pleasure working with him. The problem is we're so good of friends that we end up wasting time because we both contend to lack discipline sometimes and when you get both of s together then suddenly doing other things and music becomes the priority. But i say that jokingly. he's a great guy.
FW: Is there going to some remix of "The Fragile"?
TR: we've dome some alternate versions of stuff when we were doing the real ones in the studio, and there is a bunch of extra stuff i'm debating on what to do with. i don't think you are going to see stuff farmed out to people like i had in the past, with the remixes. because i'm not...i don't feel it is appropriate and i think it ...i'm kind of sick of it. i'm sick of funding other people's solos records under the name of it being a remix. and i'm tired of.. i think it is lazy to throw out music you rally didn't do. where you cater to a trend or adapt your song to fit in with something else. the verdict is out. i'm not really sure, i'm not leaning towards that, but there a chance i might do something like that.
FW: and are you going to tour a long time this time or just some dates?
TR: it's unknown right now. probably a fair amount. we are trying to concentrate on getting the rest of the world up to speed with America because we have never toured much outside of america because we never had the support from he label or any money to do it. and we are going to try to put more attention to touring abroad and elsewhere and see what happens.
FW: Two things to ask you...if you could sign my CD?
TR: sure.
FW: and the last thing is on the TV we have some artists they come to the program one day, and say what they would like to see on TV and we would like to know if maybe you would be interested to do this in like six months, not right now ,but...
TR: umm, yeah i could be into that. sure
FW: i have the...it's explained in this. it's carte blanche, so you understand...
TR: so i can take this? okay great.... am i free to go? thank you.