I'm Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Ask me anything.

Not a question, but I just wanted to say that my friend and I met you once in Oakland and you were the nicest, most humble rock star ever. Thanks.

I thought you were an asshole but didn't say anything.

Trent do you remember me from the last NIN/JA tour? I was that one guy in lawnseating with the face wearing pants and a shirt.

Of course dude! Do you still have that thing?

For all of The Downward Spiral's echoes on Hesitation Marks, I was pleasantly surprised to see The Fragile was just as prominently featured on the Tension 2013 setlist. What is it about The Fragile that clicked so strongly with your vision for the production?

I was blown away in Toronto - sonically, visually and emotionally gripping work. Well done.

With the expanded lineup of Pino and the backup singers, I started reworking some older material at rehearsals and The Fragile became the most fertile place to pull from, for whatever reason (which is currently my favorite NIN album).

Al Jourgensen recently told the music press that he is working on a collaboration with you: http://pitchfork.com/news/51799-al-jourgensen-of-ministry-working-with-trent-reznor-and-lil-wayne/

Can you confirm or deny that this is happening?

You know as much as I do. I haven't heard from Al in years.

Hi Trent, Thanks again for doing another AMA. Two questions

1.With Spotify getting a lot of criticism from David Byrne and Tom Yorke, how does Beats Music plan on making things a bit fairer for the artist?

2. On the Fragile Reissue- Can fans expect this in 2014? I know the element of surprise is important but it's been in the works for a while now right?

Thanks man, really enjoying the new direction on HM, see you guys in London in May!

1. I've spent the last 2+ years (along with Rob) designing this platform and genuinely look forward to presenting it to the world. Our goal was to create something we would genuinely be excited to use ourselves that focuses on the joy of discovering great music, ease of use, and was built from the ground up as something that becomes an asset to the musician as well. There's much you'll hear me say on this in the near future.
2. It's possible.

During the recent tension tour, what aspects of the production were amazing on paper but failed in application and vice versa?

Lots of things. Rob and I have learned over the years that looking at renderings and imagining how things will look in real life always winds up quite different when you get to production rehearsals and see what you've built. Those few weeks of sitting in a warehouse is where everything comes together (hopefully). The end result of the Tension tour is very different than what we'd imagined, for a number of reasons, some of which are explained in the Vevo behind-the-scenes clip. For example, one of the many technical hurdles we didn't expect: When we set up the two front semi-transparent LED screens we had custom made for this tour, we discovered that in front of each other their structure created a moire effect, weird black lines over any video content. We had to work around it (Disappointed is the only song that uses all three screens layered in front of each other, the sparse white lines minimized the moire effect).

Hey Trent! Is there any chance you'll throw a 50th bday bash/concert like MJK is for yourself in 2015? the NIN/htda/exotic birds trifecta would be amazing!!!

No.

Trent, can we expect another U.S. leg of touring in 2014? If so, any thoughts of playing rarer or previously un-played songs?

Here are some thoughts on touring: When we commit to a touring cycle, it usually is at least a year long, and can start to feel stale after X amount of time. What I'm doing this cycle is making each leg of the tour have its own identity. The festival run we did over the summer was very different from the Tension tour we just finished. We're currently rehearsing with a new incarnation of the band for what's ahead. This keeps things fresh from a musician's perspective, but also keeps things interesting for fans in an era where every show ends up on YouTube. The setlist and presentation moving forward will be very different from what we just did. That's part of the incentive behind releasing the Tension footage now. That was one very specific look at Nine Inch Nails in the Fall of 2013, that I wanted the whole world to be able to see (just like you can see the festival footage on YouTube, which was its own thing). Yes, we are planning to return to North America in 2014...

Who's in the band now?

IR + AC + RF + TR

What was your favorite synth to use on the new record?

A Prophet 12 showed up towards the end of recording and jumped to the number one spot.

Your performance at Coachella with How to Destroy Angels was incredible. Can you talk about the crazy strands of the plastic(?) you used for the stage? It made for a scary/intense show.

That was surgical tubing (long story). The HTDA shows were surprisingly rewarding to be a part of. Check it out if you haven't seen it: http://reflectinginthechrome.com/shows/2013/20130412.html (Source 2 - video download link for the full Coachella broadcast)

Hey Trent, I have a friend who is close with James Franco and she told me that there was a possibility of you two working on a project together. Wondering if there is any validity to this and you could perhaps expand on it?

Also, will there be a remix album of HM? Please?

James was set to direct an Amex Unstaged with us that we unfortunately had to cancel because we couldn't get production together in time. I met with him several times and we had the start of a great idea. I am very disappointed this didn't come together and hope we can do something in the future.

Trent, as a long time fan and follower of all things NIN/Trent I've always wondered about the process of letting your fan base in on what you are currently working on. Nowadays everything that is released publicly seems to have very calculated and thought out timing whereas in the past you would tell us about projects that you are excited about but would not necessarily come to fruition for whatever reason.

1. Is this because the 'no record company' experiment is over and you have marketing guys working on this stuff instead of yourself? Do you miss teasing us with "soon"?

2. Will the footage from the Wave Goodbye tour ever see the light of day? Specifically, the Bowery show?

Finally, Thank you for the Tension footage that was released today. This year I had to choose between NIN and HTDA for a live show and ended up going to see HTDA in DC (I told myself I've seen NIN live six times, what would I miss?...) I'm sure nothing comes close to seeing Tension live but this is the next best thing.

1. I think there's a value in a good surprise. In addition, I've learned there's a slippery slope when it comes to expectation in the internet era. As much as I'd like to tell you everything I'm up to, I've found it's best for me to hold off until things become a reality, or if they don't pan out I end up answering questions about them forever (see: Tapeworm).
2. We have the footage and I'm sure some day we'll choose to release it, when the time is right.

how much say did you have in the production of the ACL Live show? i was at that show, and i think it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Also, do you know when that show will be released?

I wanted to showcase the band I'd put together for the Tension tour in a variety of places I couldn't in the past. I have a lot of respect for ACL and I wanted us to be a guest on THEIR show, not to convert their show into our concert. It was unusual to perform in that environment, and ended up being one of the best shows I think we played. I believe the show airs in Spring 2014.

What happened to the Everything video?

We can only speculate that it may have been scrapped due to the very vocal fans campaigning against it. I certainly hope that was not the case, as Everything is my most played track off of Hesitation Marks and I would love to see the video one day!

We made a video for Everything with Shynola. I love those dudes, but for whatever reason it just didn't turn out that great and I shelved it. This is not an uncommon occurrence in my world. Regarding fan reaction, if I paid too much attention to my most vocal critics OR fans, my career would have been over years ago.