Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor writes a tribute to David Bowie

Everybody was surprised and excited when David Bowie released an entirely unexpected new album earlier this year. No one more so than Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor, it seems.

The industrial musician and previous Bowie collaborator has penned a guest column for the Hollywood Reporter in tribute of Bowie and his recent LP, The Next Day.

“To me, David Bowie is in the very top tier of artists — with capital letters,” Reznor begins the piece. “He’s proved himself so many times that I sit back and trust him. Often, he’s so far ahead of the game, it takes time to catch up.”

He continues: “When The Next Day came out , I was genuinely surprised… Then I was kind of pissed off because, between finishing an album and going on tour, I didn’t have long chunks of time to absorb it. I listened to it while going back and forth to the Valley for Nine Inch Nails rehearsals. It was a puzzle — it didn’t sound like how I thought it might sound. I thought maybe it was a bit conservative sonically. But over several months, it made its way into my playlist on countless bus rides; when I’m sitting alone to listen to music, I reach for The Next Day.”

Despite all the time spent delving into the record, however, Reznor still feels there’s much left to be explored. “I’m still unraveling the riddle that he presented. I’m still getting new meanings out of the lyrics. What I thought was conservative production now feels forward-thinking. Like any great album, it’s revealed itself to be something that wasn’t what I initially thought.”

He concludes: “Bowie is the most important figure to have inspired me. To a kid growing up in rural Pennsylvania, out of reach of college radio and on the wrong side of the Internet — in isolation — to see this alien creep in, this larger-than-life character who was smart … he’s been a consistent reference point as somebody who is uncompromising. He has found an audience yet challenges that audience and continues moving forward in a fearless way.”

Read the full piece here and watch Reznor and Bowie in interview together beneath:

[via FACT]