Trent Reznor is not a fan of modern music, a sentiment that’s probably shared by people who go looking for the Nine Inch Nails mastermind’s opinion on things. In a new interview with Yahoo Music, the musician and composer who recently worked on Patriots Day shared what he sees as the problem with today’s music.
Reznor thinks that the ability of everyone to publicly broadcast their opinion has had a chilling effect on musicians taking risk.
“What has crept in is that everyone’s a commentator now. The Internet is giving voice to everybody thinking that someone gives a sh*t what they have to say and they have the right. I think, in general, that has created a toxic environment for artists and led to some very safe music. Artists are trying to make music to please the tastemakers that tell the sheep what to like. It’s a vicious cycle and I think it’s unhealthy. I don’t see any Princes emerging on the scene today. I see a lot of people making formulaic, made to please, vegan restaurant patron-type sh*t. And I think it creates an environment where people are too f*ckin’ worried about what other people have to say. And people who have never made anything think it’s OK to talk sh*t about stuff they have no right to talk about. You got a Facebook account? Nobody gives a f*ck. You haven’t achieved anything.”
Is it funny that someone who makes music that’s literally meant to sound mechanical is accusing others of being formulaic? I’ll let ya’ll discuss that one. What I do know is that music has been around for like 20 years, and we’ve still only had one Prince. So maybe, not seeing any new Princes out there isn’t a statement on the musicians being lame but rather a reminder that Prince was special.
Then again, maybe Reznor just isn’t looking hard enough.
