Jamie’s Brain

I’ve been angry because I can’t go to Europe to catch NIN’s tour there. So, instead, I was able to get a small fix by attending the World Premier of their upcoming live performance DVD, Beside You In Time.

The screening took place last night at Slim’s, a small live music venue with a capacity of about 450. Doors opened at 7p- so I got there at 5 just to be sure, since it was free and all and they sold no tickets. Well, there was only a handful of people there at that point. It was cold and drizzling, and it seemed that fan dedication was a lot less than I had expected.

I stood in line with my friend, Eryn, who was there more to see me in full freak mode than anything. Some guy in front of us was going on and on and on about government conspiracies to these two poor souls. This is what happens when you have a free show in San Francisco.

We finally are let in. I get my preorder ‘coupon’ and litho right away. Initially, the guy made it sound like he was selling me the DVD for $5. Nope. I have to go to Rasputin and then I get $5 off, but whatever.

So they are playing Collected while we wait. An edited version. Yeah, you heard me. “I wanna *beep* you like an animal”…..”just a fading *beep* reminder of who I used to be”….yeah. What the *beep*? Lame. Interscope definitely didn’t seem to care much for quality control- the screens had tears in it, and apparently someone was able to get away with recording the whole thing.

Everyone is much more chill than I expected. People calmly sat down on the floor in a few rows in the front or lingered around in the back. The club was no where near capacity. Where were you, Spiralers???

And then it began. And it was beautiful. And I finally got to see what was projected on those screens that I was so pissed off about before. What was obstructing my view in the front row was actually pretty cool looking for the people in the back.

I am reminded of how awesome it is to watch Aaron North. The way he moves is just fantastic. Plus, I love his facial expressions. However, the best part of the DVD is when Trent opens his eyes. He must have been instructed to do this or something because it was being filmed, because we all know he pretty much never does this normally. The way the lighting is at that part is fantastic. So fantastic that I can’t even remember what song it happens during. I can’t wait to get it so that I can watch the extras, since Slim’s didn’t show those.

It was a fun night, getting my little NIN fix. But I left wanting more. Why does San Francisco not have an industrial music club??? I would love to be able to go somewhere that played Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Joy Division, etc…and didn’t throw a Fergalicious in there or something. Hmmm….

Having just seen the visually stunning Pan’s Labyrinth, coupled with award show season and film festival season is making me form a drool puddle for some upcoming films. Here’s my personal list of movies I’m counting down the days for:

End of January

Inland Empire, from the brilliantly insane David Lynch. I also look forward to hearing his composer/partner/muse, Angelo Badalamenti.

The Number 23: I like the serious Jim Carey. And thrillers…

February

Factory Girl: Muses fascinate me. I watched her put on eye makeup in one of Warhol’s films for several hours.

Hannibal Rising: I already read the book which means I will probably talk shit about the movie being so different…but, alas, I will be compelled to see it. Even sans Anthony Hopkins.

March

Zodiac: A) for my gross fascination with serial killers, b) they filmed a lot right by my apartment, and c) jake gyllenhal

300: Is it possible to love a movie already just because you love the music in the trailer? This looks so good, and it comes out on my birthday!!!

April

Grindhouse: Rodriguez and Tarantino? Say no more. Except Rose McGowan w/ a machine gun leg. Now we’re talkin’.

Maybes, could be hit or miss are:

Smokin’ Aces

Black Snake Moan

I think it was actually Daily Candy that got this book into my hands. Now, I normally don’t do romance novels, and I definitely don’t read westerns…but somehow Lily Burana made made this all relevant to me. I was obsessed and read it in about 5 days- which is really quick for me. As a Texas girl with minimal experience with the rodeo scene, I found this book particulalry interesting because I treated it like ‘this could have been my life’. Had I conformed to my family’s interests, maybe this is what my life would have been like.

Regardless of your background, the book is good. It is intelligent, witty, has a strong female lead, and is very steeamy. I was not prepared for some of those parts. When I was done with it, it left me wanting more. Lily Burana has a very interesting story herself…next up for me is her non-fiction book, Strip City.

I’m From Rolling Stone is a new show on MTV about a group of kids that are competing for a writing gig with RS. It’s 30 minutes of cringe-worthy reality TV. Parallel to the TV show, they are holding weekly contests that allow entrants to turn in short assignments based on the ones seen in that week’s program.

The first week I failed to get my shit together to enter because I was working too much and was generally uninspired. The assignment was to write about your local music scene. However, I was all over assignment two: 10 questions to any living musician/band. One guess for who I picked…Anyway, I didn’t make the top 20. It was harder than I thought to pick just ten questions and write them in a way that would preface to an unknowledgable audience what I was refering to. Maybe I’ll do better with next week’s.

10 Questions for Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails

1. Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails- writer, producer, instrumentalist, singer. What do your touring musicians bring to the music?
2. You are said to be very meticulous about recreating your idea for a sound in your music. Can you describe a source that inspired a sound that you have reconstructed?
3. When you write your music, do you have a visual counterpart in mind or does it come later in the process? Do you enjoy making music videos and having your music appear in films?
4. Recently you have played two solo performances, and have discussed doing a solo acoustic tour. What is fueling this departure from your usual live performances?
5. Though ‘Closer’ and ‘Hurt’ are perhaps your most famous songs, which songs would you select as your best work?
6. People are always trying to classify your music- rock, electronica, metal…if you could create your own new genre for NIN, what would you call it and who else would be there, if anyone?
7. What do you think about the Nine Inch Nails fan club, The Spiral? How does it feel to communicate to your fans through your blog?
8. Your fans often don shirts and other items with phrases of adoration on them. Where do you think ‘Trent Reznor is God’ came from?
9. You’re an avid video gamer. Have video games influenced your work in any way?
10. What do you hope to achieve through the release of your next album, Year Zero, which you haven’t in the past?