Something very fun from Trent Reznor

[Tom]

Here is the link: http://www.nin.com/current/

Trent Reznor took all the tracks from the Pro-Tools session of The Hand That Feeds and he converted them into GarageBand files. It is like getting inside his head! For someone like myself who records original music too, this is nothing short of freakin' awesome! You can modify the song any way you want to. I can only do it on my lunch break since I don't have a Mac at home. (I record my music on a PC, but maybe one day I'll be able to buy a Mac) I'm having a great time re-mixing NIN. I'm thinking some of you will too. That's why I'm sharing the news.

Basically if you have a MAC computer with OS 10 or better then you've probably got the GarageBand system on your computer. It isn't the audio software I'm used to, but I'm catching on to how to use it fairly quickly.

Trent is moving way up my list of cool musicians for doing this. Now if only some other great artists would do this.

[DvChWi]

Cool, but alas, I have no Mac access.  That may change in coming months, though.

[Tom]

well i finished my 1st remix of "The Hand That Feeds." it was a lot of fun! i made it meatier, (more guitar) funkier (more weird synths) and i added some other stuff here and there too.

now i think i'm going to strip it of Trent's vocals and put female vocals in place of it and maybe take out his guitars and make up my own riffs.

so am i the only one here with Mac access? too bad PC's don't have something compatable with Garageband.

[murlough23]

As long as he's going to limit stuff like this to the elitist Mac user community, he doesn't get my vote for coolness at all.

[DvChWi]

As long as he's going to limit stuff like this to the elitist Mac user community, he doesn't get my vote for coolness at all.

Well, you have to consider that most similiarly capable PC software is quite pricy, so choosing GarageBand might actually allow the most people to take advantage of this, since its free with Macs.

[bloop]

As long as he's going to limit stuff like this to the elitist Mac user community, he doesn't get my vote for coolness at all.

Hey, I'll use a Mac or a PC.  I don't think it's elitist, but rather cool that he's allowing people to mess around with it at all.  Also, Thom Yorke likes Macs so it's all good.

(There's gotta be a hacked up version of the program somewhere anyway).

[Josh]

Hey, I'll use a Mac or a PC.  I don't think it's elitist, but rather cool that he's allowing people to mess around with it at all.  Also, Thom Yorke likes Macs so it's all good.

As does The Edge. And Jars of Clay. In fact, I don't know of a single musician who has publically said that they prefer PCs to Macs.

[murlough23]

As does The Edge. And Jars of Clay. In fact, I don't know of a single musician who has publically said that they prefer PCs to Macs.

I realize that's the standard for musicians, and I'm fine with that. But I didn't see U2, Jars of Clay, Radiohead, or anyone else releasing fan goodies that only the Mac users could play with.

[bloop]

So, your solution is to release something PC users can play with if they have pricey software (in that case, a very similar case for elitism could be made)?  Or perhaps you'd rather Trent shell out the money to get all the downloaders licenses for PC software to do the same?  

I'm sorry, but in this case you just aren't making much sense.  I repeat, it's cool that he released it in any manipulable format.  I would say the same if he only put it out there for Commodore 64 users with special computer - ancient hardware connections.

[danny316]

I realize that's the standard for musicians, and I'm fine with that. But I didn't see U2, Jars of Clay, Radiohead, or anyone else releasing fan goodies that only the Mac users could play with.

Arguably, the iTunes exclusives.

[Josh]

Arguably, the iTunes exclusives.

Yeah, Jars and U2 are both guilty of that, actually.

[DvChWi]

Arguably, the iTunes exclusives.

*Psst*...iTunes is available for Windows.  I think it's a great way to distribute singles and such, personally.

[danny316]

*Psst*...iTunes is available for Windows.  I think it's a great way to distribute singles and such, personally.

Hence the "arguably" part. I can't say I use iTunes for Windows much. You can tell it was originally made for a different OS, it's just not very stable or convenient in Windows.

[DvChWi]

Hence the "arguably" part. I can't say I use iTunes for Windows much. You can tell it was originally made for a different OS, it's just not very stable or convenient in Windows.

Hmm..having an iPod, I use it all the time, and it works fine for me other than being a RAM hog.

[bloop]

Well, I guess anyone who put out an iTunes exclusive before there even was a Windows version would be guilty.

[murlough23]

Yeah, Jars and U2 are both guilty of that, actually.

I stand corrected. Jars and U2, you suck for doing that too.

And just to be fair, anyone who puts CD-ROM content of any significance on their album, and doesn't bother to ensure that it works on a Mac, sucks also. I may hate Macs, but my goal here is compatibilty with both major platforms, because hey, it's what's expected of me in my job.

[Guest]

Again, I don't see how Trent could have done anything different to insure cross-platform compatibility without spending oodles of money himself (or requiring the end user to do so).

[murlough23]

Again, I don't see how Trent could have done anything different to insure cross-platform compatibility without spending oodles of money himself (or requiring the end user to do so).

Then he should have held off until there was a better option.

NP: "Verb", Silage feat. Knowdaverbs

[bloop]

There is no better option now, and there's unlikely to be one in the near future, so just do it now.  I fail to see what's so wrong about throwing Mac users a bone from time to time.  

To me, it's similar to exclusivity deals, except this is more de facto than designed exclusivity.  PCs get most games months before the Mac users see them, if they ever do.  I don't have a problem with that fact, either.  In any event, it's apparent to me that if there was a way to get 90% of his fans excited in this way, he would have done it, but there isn't.  The way I figure it, at least someone's happy.

Would you have even messed around with a Nine Inch Nails single anyway?

(off to play on my wife's powerbook)

[murlough23]

Would you have even messed around with a Nine Inch Nails single anyway?

No. I probably wouldn't have messed around with a Jars of Clay single, either. It's just the principle of the thing.

NP: "Heaven Will be Near Me", Michelle Tumes

[Tom]

just a little playful ribbing here, but murlough23 exactly how is it against your principles to manipulate a song until it sounds the way you want it too? by virtue of the fact that you are a critic, does it not suggest that when you rank something you are in essence saying what you would do differently with the music when you rate it poorly? and are you not in essence saying, "i'd do it like this too" or "i approve of your artistic decision" when you find something you like in an album?

 

[bloop]

I think you misunderstand him, Tom.  It's against his principles to only release a manipulable version of the song for one platform.  I can't say I agree with him, but I think he's right that, ideally, things should be cross-platform compatible.

[Tom]

ah! i think you're right Bloop. it did seem rather odd to me that he wouldn't want to manipulate a song.

[Tom]

FYI: You can listen to the new Nine Inch Nails album in full today at their myspace site:

http://www.myspace.com/ninofficial

Caution: the album does contain some strong language. i guess rumors that Trent had toned down the expletives were false.

musically though, it is very cool. Trent is a wizard with production. after all, he created "Pretty Hate Machine" on a Mac Plus. and if you've ever seen and used a Mac Plus, you know that is an amazing thing that not just anybody could pull off.

[murlough23]

just a little playful ribbing here, but murlough23 exactly how is it against your principles to manipulate a song until it sounds the way you want it too? by virtue of the fact that you are a critic, does it not suggest that when you rank something you are in essence saying what you would do differently with the music when you rate it poorly? and are you not in essence saying, "i'd do it like this too" or "i approve of your artistic decision" when you find something you like in an album?

It isn't against my principles. Try actually reading my posts.

[murlough23]