It is what it is . . .
I’ve been going back through my iPod, trying to catch up on the backlog of albums I’ve loaded in the past weeks (Nicolay was today, and the new Gnarls Barkley waits patiently). Right now, I’m making my way through the Nine Inch Nails Ghost collection (purchased, in the interest of full disclosure, at a local record store as part of Independent Record Store Day).
What strikes me most goes beyond the music (which hits me as interesting but not particularly moving soundscapes or tone poems) - it proves both that somebody can make huge money off of a self-produced and distributed release (bonus for the artist!) and that they need a loyal cult following already in place to make it happen (bonus for that one particular artist only!).
It’s just impossible for me to separate this work from the established backstory. It works more as an example than it does a work of music.
Well, maybe that’s premature. Let me get through the second recording and see what I think. I don’t suspect much of a change, though.
EDIT: No sooner do I write this than there’s a new track up at Reznor’s website. The email/track exchange is fairly familiar and common, so let’s see how many folks jump on this.