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If you ventured out to see The Social Network in recent days you've been subjected to Trent Reznor's musical genius, as the movie's soundtrack was conceived and recorded by Reznor and partner in crime, Atticus Ross. If the soundtrack did nothing for you, that's okay; you don't have to enjoy Reznor's music to respect the man himself. Well spoken, introspective and dangerously intelligent, the former Nine Inch Nails frontman's candor is legendary. In a recent interview with Drowned In Sound, Reznor frankly declared his feelings surrounding social networking, and surprisingly, Steve Jobs.
Last year, Reznor left Twitter in a creeped out huff after feeling that his every move was being tracked by both his devouted fan base and his detractors. While he still hops on the service from time to time to promote upcoming projects, the life-probing and trolling that the private musician was subjected to left a long-lasting bad taste in his mouth. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise then, that Reznor's none to thrilled with the notion of Facebook either.
In speaking with Drowned In Sound's Sean Adams, Reznor explained that he felt Facebook was terribly false, citing the fact that if as many people on Facebook who claimed to "Like" Joy Division in their profiles actually followed the band in real life, the band's popularity will dwarf that enjoyed by U2. Reznor continued, saying that he couldn't get behind the disconnect that comes from communicating with a computer as the medium. “I guess I’m just coming from an older school of thought," said Reznor. "When you met people you met them. Whether you spoke to them on person or talked on the phone, when you interact with them it would be a real person and not some avatar of themselves." However, having said that, Reznor did admit that social networking systems like Facebook had helped him to get back in touch with old friends that he'd lost track of over the years. Reznor closed his diatribe against Facebook in saying:
"As far as the concept goes, I don’t think it’s actually executed that well. The layouts [sic] kind of foolish and the processing is terrible, as a tool. When I see the media heralding Zuckerburg, putting him up on a pedestal of genius and mentioned in the same breathe as Steve Jobs, I’m highly degree [sic] with that. He was in the right place, at the right time, with a functional tool."
With such strong words for Facebook, we have to wonder how Reznor's going to feel about Ping, and in turn, Steve Jobs in a few months.
Follow this article's author, Seamus Bellamy on Twitter.