Nine Inch Nails maestro Trent Reznor and his favourite album of all time
There aren’t many musicians in the public eye right now who is quite as expansive as Nine Inch Nails maestro Trent Reznor. The iconic singer, songwriter and cinematic composer has quietly been building a career to make renaissance men shudder with jealousy. Adapting his keen musical ear and solid sense of sound to be a part of some of the film, TV and music world’s greatest projects, the experimental industrial pioneer has expanded his impressive canon. It was an aptitude for creation that was rightly recognised as he and the rest of Nine Inch Nails were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Reznor is able to craft such soundscapes thanks, at least in part, to his remarkably discerning taste. Never one to make too many musical missteps in the eyes and ears of his fans, the avant-garde industrial rock music he first began creating with Nine Inch Nails has now morphed into an appreciation of music on a whole new plain. Applying his unique vision to the grand landscape of the silver screen, Reznor has manifested a broad brush with which to paint his artistic legacy.
There’s also something microscopic about Reznor’s film and TV soundtracks. So nuanced and mobile, they can burrow into your brain and lodge themselves permanently as fixtures of your psyche, anchoring themselves amongst firing synapses. It’s the kind of attention to detail which should alert you to Reznor’s previously mentioned penchant for the finer things in music. It means his favourite album is likely to be of interest to anyone with a preference for sound.
Thankfully, it’s a question that was answered when Reznor wrote into Vinyl Writers, to share his favourite record of all time. While many could suppose the composer’s choice would be something on the darker side of rock and roll, an expansive jab into the leftfield or perhaps even a nod to former touring mates like David Bowie. Instead, Reznor picked an album that he didn’t quite fully understand at first but soon grew to love and cherish.
Reznor also answers the question of ‘what is your favourite album?’ with the correct response “There are a few candidates for this question, but one of my absolute favourite records is Remain In Light by the Talking Heads.” The funktastic jams of the New York outfit’s incredible record isn’t what we were expecting, but when you hear the singer’s reasoning, it all becomes clear.
“It is an album I didn’t understand when I listened to it for the first time, in the beginning of the ’80s. Back then, I was living in a rural small-town that was widely cut off from interesting culture. And then suddenly this album landed. A strange, synthetic, polyrhythmical piece of art with African influences which confused me in every way.”
In truth, Remain In Light doesn’t even sound like Talking Heads’ previous songs, or, indeed, like anything that had come out in 1980. It was an album built upon poly-rhythmic jams devoid of many traditional pop hooks or structures. It saw producer Brian Eno and the band’s lead David Byrne work tirelessly to make tracks via looping rhythmic sections and a penchant for layering instruments as they went. They also overdubbed Byrne’s vocals, allowing him to add his Preacher-yelp with aplomb and also welcomed Andrew Belew to lay down some synth-treated solos. What could have been a confused album became one of the group’s most cohesive efforts.
The album has gone on to shine as part of all the bandmates’ glittering careers and is widely seen as one of the defining moments of the decade, even if it did land right at the beginning of it. For Reznor, the record was a slow burn thanks to the band’s leftfield structure, but that’s all a part of the process: “With good albums, it is the case that at the beginning you don’t know what you are actually dealing with. But you are fascinated by it, and with about six listens it slowly reveals itself to you. With the 10th listen, you are completely thrilled, but even when you listen for the 30th time, you still discover something new. Remain In Light taught me that.”
Reznor claims the LP both enlightened and changed him, even providing some comfort as a musician during his own heyday, “Since I started making music myself, this wonderful album has been something I can always consult. The great thing is that the record can still be approached from so many different directions without losing its puzzles.” What’s more, after sharing an evening’s conversation with lead singer Byrne, Reznor can even confirm that “he is a super nice guy and a true gentleman.”
It’s clear that music has always been important to Reznor, both professionally and personally. “Even now, music’s always been the thing that keeps me going,” recalled Reznor when accepting the band’s induction into Rock Hall. “As an artist, I think the most significant accomplishment or feeling is realising something you’ve created from a fragile and intimate place has reached out, resonated and affected someone else, possibly changing how they see the world. So as to whatever being in a hall of fame means, thank you for the recognition,” he concluded with the utmost class
Stream Talking Heads’ Remain In Light below.
