I’ve never been a rabid fan of Nine Inch Nails, but have been periodically intrigued by Trent Reznor’s music and output. His latest project, Ghosts I-IV, however, turned me into a true fan. Taking Radiohead’s cue, Reznor stuck a big digitized middle finger into the face of the recording industry by releasing this incredible 36 instrumental track album on his own. You have the option of downloading it for free, paying $5 or buying limited release boutique items. I paid the five bucks and I have to say it is the best music value I have ever gotten for coffee and bagel money. It’s also available on Amazon.
As a listening experience the record is like an open ended film soundtrack, as series of sketches, fragments, and movements. You hear riffs and bits from across NIN’s musical spectrum, but the album is mostly atmospheric and less didactic or scary like a lot of NIN’s music. There’s a little Sonic Youth, Radiohead, Tom Waits and clips from yet-to-be made films. This has to be one of the best iPod bubble albums in existence. I mean it.
Now you can upload your own video to the “Ghost Film Festival,” a really cool way to generate user feedback for the album (check out Reznor’s statement about it in the above video clip).
From the NYT:
Mr. Reznor also afforded fans freedom in another way. The band decided to offer the music with a Creative Commons license, a new type of intellectual-property copyright. It allows creators to reserve certain rights and, in effect, authorize various unpaid uses of their products. In this instance the band is allowing virtually any noncommercial use of its music. The band is also testing a tiered pricing system that could add a new wrinkle to the conventional wisdom on how to attract fans in the music business, in which a slump in sales has prompted Wal-Mart and other retailers to pressure record companies to cut their wholesale prices.
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