Recognizing perils
Reznor is apprehensive about going back on the road, knowing that, for him, the touring environment made it easier to succumb to his addiction. Yet everything seems to be going well. He's in great shape, his arm and chest muscles pressing so hard against his black T-shirt that he looks as if he just came from the gym.
"By going through recovery and rehab, it has made me learn so much about myself and why I acted the way I did," he said. "I've finally begun to like myself."
There were only band members and a few friends with Reznor backstage in Reno. After someone congratulated him on the show, Reznor held up a bottle to toast day two of the tour. This time around, the bottle was filled with water.
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Mood music
Reznor often listens to particular albums repeatedly while working on his own. Here are the CDs he focused on while making his last three albums.
"The Downward Spiral" (1994)
"First there was Pink Floyd's 'The Wall.' I liked the theme of the album [fighting against conformity] and that it was a concept. It was all about one character and I felt like that character. Then there was David Bowie's 'Low,' which sounded so fragile and icy and desperate. It felt like someone was about to fall apart."
"The Fragile" (1997)
"I spent a lot of time listening to the soundtracks of David Cronenberg films, especially 'Crash.' What I like about him as a filmmaker, mostly, is the sense of dread he puts into his work. You know something bad is going to happen, and the soundtrack captures that tension."
"With Teeth" (2005)
"It was mostly like old Gang of Four, Public Image Ltd.'s 'Flowers of Romance,' some Pere Ubu. It wasn't so much for songwriting, but for the spirit of those records. I wanted to avoid ... over-production, which can often result in losing the human touch in the music.
I wanted the album to sound fresh and immediate."
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On the Web
To hear samples from Trent Reznor's and Johnny Cash's renditions of "Hurt," and Reznor's new album, "With Teeth," visit calendarlive.com/nails.
Robert Hilburn, pop music critic of The Times, can be reached at Robert.hilburn@latimes.com.
