Introduction to Year Zero

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hello again. It's Annie, your public relations liaison for the Bureau of Podcasts. It has come to the attention of the Bureau that a pirate podcast feed may be intermittently cutting through official bureau channels. Unlicensed podcasting is a federal crime, punishable by time in a repoducation camp. In these open air prisons, offenders spend their days doing backbreaking labor, turning giant wheels that power the AI that writes monologues for Ira Glass. Oh, you thought he wrote it all himself, did you? No, he was replaced with a robot years ago. But somebody has to provide power to the computers that keep him animated. Oh, yes, it takes a lot of processing power to create a voice that sounds that casual and monotonous. We need laborers. These bitcoins won't mine themselves. Did I not mention that we're replacing the US dollar with cryptocurrency? Exciting new developments. More on that. Anyway, to summarise, don't create or listen to illicit podcast media. It's a crime. If you're caught, you go to podcast labor camps to bust rocks and mine crypto. Now we're all caught up. Enjoy your show. Or wait, don't enjoy it. If it's an illegal podcast feed, turn this off. Use the 15 second skip button a few times. Find some nice ads. Pod bless America. [00:02:08] Speaker B: Come on down. It's nailed. A song by song. Journey through the world of Year Zero. I'm Blake. [00:02:14] Speaker C: I'm Jessica. [00:02:16] Speaker B: And this is the introduction to Year Zero. [00:02:20] Speaker C: That's right, episode. It's the album that happened quickly and happened as an experiment. [00:02:27] Speaker B: Speaking of experiments, you may notice something in my voice a little bit lower. Rumbling the subwoofer or whatever system you're listening to. I'm sick, but I'm recording anyway. That's just how dedicated we are to this Year Zero project, so hope this lives up to expectations. Sorry, my voice is weird. [00:02:52] Speaker C: I want to ask you, though, your Billie Eilish shirt, where'd that come from? [00:02:56] Speaker B: I've had this for literally two or three years. It came from a bread and water. [00:03:01] Speaker C: I was gonna ask if it was bread and water. Okay. [00:03:03] Speaker B: It's a parody of Morbid Angel. Ah. [00:03:05] Speaker C: I was trying to figure out what it was a parody of. [00:03:07] Speaker B: I literally wore this to Nine Inch Nails show. [00:03:10] Speaker C: Oh, well, sorry. All I remember is your Taylor Swift T shirt because you met the second show. [00:03:16] Speaker B: I wore Taylor Swift shirt and met another bald, bearded glasses man wearing a Taylor Swift shirt. [00:03:22] Speaker C: How you doing, buddy? [00:03:25] Speaker B: So, Jessica, what can you tell me about Year Zero? [00:03:32] Speaker C: Why is it always so perfect that you ask A question. And Oscar responds, I don't know. [00:03:39] Speaker B: He wants to chime in on Year Zero. [00:03:41] Speaker C: Okay, yes. [00:03:42] Speaker B: Oscar's back on mic, folks. [00:03:44] Speaker C: Well, let me start out by just reading this summary. This is actually a quote from Mr. Reznor himself, and I think it kind of sums up generally the Year Zero era. Reznor said, I started formally writing last summer when I moved out in the woods for three months. I thought I'd see what would happen if I wrote a story about the future and what it could be like if we continue down this path of madness that we, the United States, seem to be on somewhere. Everything is based on greed, where human life doesn't mean much and no one cares about anything except their own preservation. I wrote this full place out before any words or lyrics. [00:04:23] Speaker B: Path of madness, huh? And this was 2007, you say? [00:04:27] Speaker C: Mm hmm. [00:04:29] Speaker B: Interesting, interesting. Continue. [00:04:32] Speaker C: I wrote this full place out before any words or lyrics. Then I thought of writing the songs as if they were from points of view of people living in this world. And that's how the record came about. It happened quickly and it happened as an experiment. [00:04:45] Speaker B: So it's not from his voice? Well, it is, but it's also, you could look at it as 16 points of view in this larger world that he started writing before there even was an album. [00:05:00] Speaker C: Yes. So let's just get started with the basics. Okay, so Halo 24 was released April 13, 2007 in the UK and Europe and April 17, 2007 worldwide. Writing and performance is Trent Reznor, of course. Production, Reznor and Ross, mixed by Alan Mulder. He didn't help produce at all this time. [00:05:21] Speaker B: The dream team, though. Reznor, Ross Mulder. [00:05:24] Speaker C: Yeah. Recorded all over the world from Rolling Stone. It was written and recorded primarily with just me and my main collaborator, Atticus Ross, in hotel rooms, buses, backstage closets, etc. [00:05:37] Speaker B: Do we think this was the beginning of the lifelong best friendship? [00:05:41] Speaker C: I don't think it was. [00:05:42] Speaker B: Not the beginning beginning, but where it really solidified, maybe. [00:05:46] Speaker C: Might be maybe. World building is credited to Reznor and Rob Sheridan. World integration and enhancement is credited to 42. And then individuals are listed like Alex Liu, Jordan Weissman, Sean Stewart, Elon Lee, Johnny Rodriguez and Susan Bonds. Art direction for this album was Sheridan and Reznor. And just to add a little bit of gossip here, I was reading through a New York Times article, and I astonishingly found out that ear0 had a $2 million budget. How is that possible? [00:06:18] Speaker B: I don't know that that seems. I don't Know if that's real or not. I remember hearing about one of my favorite albums, Daft Punk's Random Access Memories. There was like gossip around, like this album's budget was $1 million. They hired a symphony orchestra, all this stuff, and this is twice that. And it's all done on a laptop. [00:06:41] Speaker C: And it's all done on laptop. So what's going on? [00:06:42] Speaker B: How expensive was 42 entertainment? [00:06:45] Speaker C: Good question. I don't know because the album was mostly recorded on a laptop. My guess is that this budget probably includes obviously a budget for recording and studio time, but also probably all the music videos, any other kind of marketing or promotional material, that kind of thing. [00:07:03] Speaker B: Yeah, well, not to mention, not to skip to this, but the cost of the ARG and all that that entailed. [00:07:12] Speaker C: Well, the record company didn't know about it, so how would they know that that's where the money was going? [00:07:19] Speaker B: I don't know how this was calculated, so I don't know. It's an after the fact total, I'm guessing. [00:07:24] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean it's. Listen, it's for New York Times. Take it for whatever. [00:07:28] Speaker B: Right. [00:07:29] Speaker C: But at least it's a kind of legit source. I didn't just pull that out. Chat room. [00:07:32] Speaker B: They're the people who bring us Wordle. [00:07:34] Speaker C: That's true. [00:07:36] Speaker B: That's about all I trust. [00:07:38] Speaker C: This stupid ass connections game that pisses me off. Hate that game. But I play it every day. [00:07:43] Speaker B: They're good games. [00:07:45] Speaker C: Okay, anyway, $2 million. My guess, 1.5 million went to the ARG. [00:07:50] Speaker B: Yeah. And paying. Paying a certain actor at the end. Maybe. [00:07:55] Speaker C: Maybe he had a lot of actors actually. [00:07:57] Speaker B: Yeah, you're right. Maybe their quotes were. [00:07:59] Speaker C: Plus they had to send out promotional material. I mean there was a lot of like set out for the game. Yeah, and like in the real world, like the ammo boxes and things like that. [00:08:09] Speaker B: Right? That shit ain't cheap. All that shit costs money. [00:08:12] Speaker C: Exactly. [00:08:12] Speaker B: Shipping. You kidding me? [00:08:16] Speaker C: Also, what's weird, let's talk about this. With teeth was released May 3, 2005, year zero, April 17, 2007. We didn't even have a two year wait between albums. [00:08:29] Speaker B: Yeah, this was like a shockingly short gap for us NIN fans back then. [00:08:33] Speaker C: Yeah. So on the NIN site, Reznor wrote. Is it possible I'm actually finished writing and recording a new Nine Inch Nails record? Apparently. So. We begin mixing in January, juggling 14 all new tracks around, testing sequences, no leftovers from With Teeth. Highly conceptual, quite noisy. Fucking cool. [00:08:51] Speaker B: That's what I love. The no leftovers from With Teeth. Part this is all new bangers, all killer, no filler. [00:08:58] Speaker C: Look, I'm gonna argue this is gonna be coming out of left field, but on New Year's Day, I have a tradition of listening to Transatlanticism, which is a Death Cab for Cutie album. And there's a song on there I've never liked. I think it sticks out like a sore thumb. And I swear it's a leftover from their previous album that they just stuck on there. It doesn't fit. [00:09:19] Speaker B: Could be. [00:09:20] Speaker C: So. Thank you, Trent, for not doing that, because that messes up the whole album for me. Five star album. Nope. Four because of that stupid song. [00:09:27] Speaker B: And not to get into it too much, but I think this was the exact right move. A completely different direction from With Teeth. [00:09:35] Speaker C: Yes. Do you want to play the chart game? [00:09:39] Speaker B: Play the chart game. [00:09:40] Speaker D: Do you want to play a game? [00:09:41] Speaker C: This time I won't ruin it like I did the survivalism chart game. I'm sorry. That was too hard. What a dismal year for pop. [00:09:48] Speaker B: We gave up on that one, right? [00:09:50] Speaker C: Is that the one you were never. [00:09:51] Speaker B: Gonna get two questions in? I'm never good at the. I'm only good with hints. That's like escape rooms. I can only finish them with hints. [00:10:01] Speaker C: I'm. They're supposed to give you hints. That's the whole point. If you went in there without hints, you would never get out. So this album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 on the week of May 7, 2007. [00:10:15] Speaker B: Mm, not bad. [00:10:17] Speaker C: Do you want to hit The Billboard Top 10? [00:10:19] Speaker B: Game should have been won, but yeah. [00:10:22] Speaker C: Okay, let's start at 10 or you'll never get this. [00:10:25] Speaker B: This is too many. Can we start at five or something? [00:10:27] Speaker C: Let's do five. [00:10:28] Speaker B: Okay. [00:10:29] Speaker C: Five. [00:10:29] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:10:30] Speaker C: Country musician. Female. Not Shania Twain. [00:10:34] Speaker B: Miranda Lambert? [00:10:36] Speaker C: No. Was she around in 07? [00:10:38] Speaker B: I'm pretty sure. [00:10:39] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:10:40] Speaker B: Not Shania, not Miranda. Faith Hill. She's still doing stuff. [00:10:45] Speaker C: I mean, I don't know. I wonder if you'll even recognize. [00:10:49] Speaker B: Sorry, I forget to do my sound effects. [00:10:52] Speaker C: It's okay. Martina McBride. Her album Waking Up Laughing was number five. Number four. I had to look this person up because I didn't know who the hell they were. [00:11:01] Speaker B: Yeah, give me a hint. [00:11:03] Speaker C: American Idol contestant. [00:11:05] Speaker B: Oh, so it's not Clay Aiken, Ruben Studd, or Kelly Clarkson? [00:11:09] Speaker C: No, no. It's not the obvious. [00:11:11] Speaker B: Is it like Chris Daughtry or something? [00:11:14] Speaker C: No, actually, Daughtry's number seven. [00:11:16] Speaker B: His self titled album from what I Recall. It's not good, folks. I don't know who. [00:11:23] Speaker C: Bucky Covington or Covington. Self titled album. I don't think he was a winner, but I don't know, so don't quote me on that. I didn't do that much research. I don't care. Okay, next one. It's a compilation album. Very famous series. [00:11:38] Speaker B: This is number three. Famous series of compilations. Compilations. [00:11:43] Speaker C: They've been making them in the States since the late 90s. [00:11:46] Speaker B: Oh, it's a now. [00:11:47] Speaker C: It's a now what? [00:11:48] Speaker B: Number 69. [00:11:51] Speaker C: 24. It featured such hot tracks as Fergalicious, Smile and Suddenly I See. [00:11:58] Speaker B: I hate that. Those chart way up there. [00:12:02] Speaker C: They do. Number two was Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero. And number one. [00:12:08] Speaker B: Oh, my God. Let's see what's going on. [00:12:11] Speaker C: Nine Inch Nails, who Beat It? [00:12:14] Speaker B: Was it Coldplay? [00:12:15] Speaker C: No. Is that your final guess? [00:12:18] Speaker B: No. Give me a hint. [00:12:20] Speaker C: A female musician. [00:12:22] Speaker B: Solo. [00:12:23] Speaker C: Yes. Young. [00:12:26] Speaker B: Katy Perry. [00:12:26] Speaker C: Young. Still no. Punk rock. [00:12:30] Speaker B: Avril Lavigne. [00:12:31] Speaker C: Yes. [00:12:32] Speaker B: When you said punk, I knew it was gonna be the godmother of punk, the inventor of punk rock, Avril Lavigne. [00:12:39] Speaker C: Avril Lavigne. One of my favorite things from SNL was when Amy Poehler would do her Avril Lavigne. [00:12:46] Speaker B: Oh, I don't think I saw that. [00:12:47] Speaker C: I think she did it like a couple times on Weekend Update. And she would just come out with like her sleeveless shirt and like the necktie and she'd be like, I'm punk. And it was really funny. Sorry, Sorry, Avril. Anyway, that her album the Best Damn Thing was number one, featuring the hit Girlfriend, which I like because. [00:13:05] Speaker B: Yeah, Girlfriend. [00:13:05] Speaker C: Cheerleader chanting. It's fun. [00:13:07] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:13:07] Speaker B: That's like one of her only good songs. [00:13:09] Speaker C: I agree. I could do the top 10, but I'm not gonna. But I wanna go over albums that I think are really great in 2007 that were notable just to kind of put us all back in the same place. So. Arcade Fire, Neon Bible, LCD sound System, Sound of Silver, lp, I'll Sleep when youn're Dead. We'll come to that later because someone we know might have done a little collaboration on that album. [00:13:35] Speaker B: He was active in 2007. [00:13:38] Speaker C: Modest Mouse. You were Dead before the ship even sank. I wrote Boring Next. I hated that album. [00:13:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I kind of. I fell off big time at that album. [00:13:45] Speaker C: Yeah. Arctic Monkey's favorite Worst nightmare. [00:13:47] Speaker B: That was that one slapped. [00:13:50] Speaker C: Yeah. Feist breakout album. The Reminder, The Nationals Boxer. Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad. Paramore Riot came out in 2007. Queens of the Stone Age Era, Vulgaris, the White stripes, icky thump. St. Vincent's debut, Marry Me came out. Kanye West's graduation. And MGMT. Do you say MGMT or management? [00:14:10] Speaker B: I think I say MGMT and MGMT's debut. I don't know if it held up, but I liked it. Now we're getting a sense of what the musical climate was like. [00:14:21] Speaker C: Yeah, the musical climate that does not consist of a compilation album of hits. [00:14:25] Speaker B: Yeah. Although I guess that's part of the climate. [00:14:28] Speaker C: I guess I always feel like they're a little bit behind, too. Like the nows that come out, they're always like a year behind. [00:14:34] Speaker B: Yeah. But they're getting quick with them. [00:14:35] Speaker C: That's true. We probably are on 69 by now, right? [00:14:38] Speaker B: I think we're past that. [00:14:39] Speaker C: Really? [00:14:40] Speaker B: Yeah, because we get them at the library. They're way up there. And they're one of the library's most popular. [00:14:47] Speaker C: Really? Okay. [00:14:49] Speaker B: That's as far as CDs go. [00:14:51] Speaker C: Probably because people just take them home and put them in their musical libraries. Okay. Most recent now 90. [00:14:58] Speaker B: Jesus. Big one. Hundo soon. Time to celebrate the centennial. [00:15:04] Speaker C: May 3, 2024. So what were you doing in 2007? Were you busy listening to Now 24? [00:15:12] Speaker B: No, it was much more sad than that. Well, I had. God, this is going to date me so bad. I had just graduated from audio school when this album came out. I was living in Chicago in a really shitty basement apartment and being really depressed. And a relationship had just ended. I was downward spiraling. You could say I was living my own personal year zero. That's melodramatic. But I was very excited seeing all the promo stuff for this. I was waiting for it with bated breath for that drop. So, yeah, I listened to it. I think it might have leaked the night before. I think I listened to a leak. Can't remember if Trent was mad about that. He probably was. [00:16:05] Speaker C: No, no, I think he wanted it to leak. He was mad it wasn't leaking soon enough. That's part of the arg. Because there are hidden things in the songs. [00:16:12] Speaker B: Yeah, he probably leaked it. Kind of like certain things I might be messing around with on this promo for this podcast. Like, why aren't people interacting with this? I did all this anyway. So, yeah, it dropped on me and I enjoyed it by myself in my very lonely world in Chicago. [00:16:33] Speaker C: Did you participate in anything? Like, were you keeping up with the ARG at all? [00:16:37] Speaker B: I looked at a few of the websites and forums. I saw that it was happening, but I'M sorry to say I didn't get very deep into it, but I thought it was really interesting. [00:16:49] Speaker C: I met you in 2007. [00:16:50] Speaker B: God, I can't believe that was that same year. That was later, toward the end of that year. [00:16:54] Speaker C: But yes, it was like summer. [00:16:56] Speaker B: Okay. [00:16:57] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:16:58] Speaker B: Yes. That's when I moved back here because. [00:17:01] Speaker C: You and I were both. You were like a morning shelver. And I only worked part time at the time because I was working at T Mobile, if. [00:17:09] Speaker B: If any of you are thinking about audio school for Audio engineering. I. The year that I graduated, I was working at a bookstore, if that tells you anything. So. [00:17:24] Speaker C: Yeah. And you were in Chicago. [00:17:26] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:17:27] Speaker C: You had an internship though, weren't you? [00:17:28] Speaker B: Yeah, I did. It was. Everything was kind of my own fault. It was my own fault. [00:17:33] Speaker C: It was a rough year. It's okay. [00:17:34] Speaker B: Yeah, I had a rough. Mentally. I had. Having a rough time anyway. [00:17:39] Speaker C: And you were in Chicago by yourself. Like, that's hard. [00:17:42] Speaker B: Lonely ass shit. [00:17:43] Speaker C: Yeah. So in 2007, I didn't buy this album. I didn't know about the art. [00:17:52] Speaker B: For shame. You didn't know it happened at all. Did you even know that it happened? [00:17:57] Speaker C: Yes. Cause I worked part time at the. [00:17:59] Speaker B: Shelved it on the. You put it on the shelf. [00:18:01] Speaker C: I did, actually, because I was the. I always worked on Tuesdays and at the time, Tuesdays were new release days for our music. [00:18:07] Speaker B: Were you curious to hear it even? [00:18:12] Speaker C: No. I was so turned off by With Teeth that I just didn't care. And I was very much in like my indie rock era, I would say. And I was listening to stuff like Ladytron and Arcade Fire. [00:18:27] Speaker B: Yeah, I was big into that. [00:18:28] Speaker C: I don't know if anyone listened to, like, CSS. I didn't even have Internet at my home in 2007. [00:18:36] Speaker B: That's crazy. Some of us didn't. [00:18:38] Speaker C: No, it was not. It's expensive. And my roommate and I both worked at Barnes and Noble and made like no money. And we just didn't have Internet. We had a tv, we got local channels. Our favorite channel was csigary Sinise. That's what we called it because every time we turned it on, CSI Gary Sinise was on. Yeah, but no Internet. Occasionally we might pick up a signal from like a cafe or something downtown, but it would be like, really weak. [00:19:06] Speaker B: And so were you like, oh, this is probably like With Teeth part two. Not interested. [00:19:11] Speaker C: I just. Honestly, I was kind of like, intrigued by the COVID art, but not enough to listen to it. [00:19:15] Speaker B: It's some spook. [00:19:18] Speaker C: I was like, what the hell he doing? [00:19:20] Speaker B: It is intriguing. Love the COVID art. I was interested right away seeing that. [00:19:26] Speaker C: Yeah, but see, I had no idea. I had no idea that it was like a concept album. I had no idea that it fucking rocked. I was just in a totally different headspace at the time and I really thought that I just wasn't into Nine Inch Nails. Like I thought after With Teeth I was like, maybe they're best. Best left to like my adolescence. Like maybe I'll just keep them in that headspace. I just don't feel like I can relate. And so I didn't try again for a while. [00:19:53] Speaker B: I was kind of going through the same thing with them, but I was still keeping up with the albums at the very least. [00:19:59] Speaker C: I think big breaks don't help a lot. But you know, it wasn't like I was like a hater or anti. [00:20:07] Speaker B: Right. [00:20:08] Speaker C: I just didn't care. [00:20:09] Speaker B: Well, you missed out on what could be your favorite album. [00:20:12] Speaker C: I regret it because this is like one of my favorite halos. Although I still couldn't have participated in the art because I didn't have Internet, so wouldn't have mattered. Yeah, that was for rich people or people who still lived at home, you know, whatever. But yeah, my. My year zero recollection is very, very, very different. [00:20:31] Speaker B: Yep. Neither of us were doing the whole deep diving into the arg. [00:20:39] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:20:40] Speaker B: Going to secret shows. [00:20:41] Speaker C: I didn't have friggin time. I worked two jobs. Like who has time for that? And that economy in 2007, not in. [00:20:48] Speaker B: Bush's America or Obama's. [00:20:51] Speaker C: Like that was not a good time for a lot of people for a long time. The housing Crisis was like what 2007 through 2009? 10 Even the economy was just. [00:21:02] Speaker B: Yeah, shit. [00:21:03] Speaker C: I mean I was a recent grad, could not find a job anywhere. That's why I was at T Mobile. That's why I was at Barnes and Noble. [00:21:09] Speaker B: Job hunting was the worst. [00:21:12] Speaker C: I mean there was nothing. I even applied for like a secretary job at AMPAC where my mom worked. And they were like, you type really fast. Like that's amazing. But no, you're too like you. You have a degree. You have to have a degree to have this job. You're too qualified. I don't care, just give me a job. Anyway, that was my 2007. I was poor, I had no Internet and I was fucking happy. It was great. [00:21:37] Speaker B: You were okay? You were happy with it? [00:21:40] Speaker C: Yeah, honestly, I wasn't happy. What was 2007? [00:21:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I just told you about how depressed I was. And notice we said we met, not that we hooked up again. [00:21:53] Speaker C: That was a while later. [00:21:55] Speaker B: That wouldn't be. [00:21:56] Speaker C: We were just co workers. [00:21:58] Speaker B: It was kind of a enemies to lovers type tale. [00:22:02] Speaker C: No, I think I was just a bitch. [00:22:05] Speaker B: Yes. Correct. No. No, never. You. [00:22:09] Speaker C: What's that supposed to mean? [00:22:11] Speaker B: Just joking around. [00:22:12] Speaker C: Nah, I just thought you were kind of mean. [00:22:15] Speaker B: I was a horrible person and I'm still working on that. [00:22:20] Speaker C: Well, I don't think you're horrible at all. [00:22:22] Speaker B: But that's nice of you to say. [00:22:25] Speaker C: I think I made you a much nicer person. So you're welcome, everyone who loves boys. [00:22:31] Speaker B: Now I was single, I don't know what I'd be like. [00:22:33] Speaker C: Probably a toxic fanboy. Posting on Star wars sites and adding. [00:22:40] Speaker B: J.J. abrams, and adding Gracie Abrams being like, your dad ruined Star War Gracie. She's like, what do you want me to do about that? I'm a singer. [00:22:52] Speaker C: Okay, hold on. I have a stupid question. Is she really his daughter? Yes. [00:22:55] Speaker B: Oh, God. You didn't know? [00:22:58] Speaker C: Oh, my God. I had no idea. [00:23:00] Speaker B: Nepo, for sure. [00:23:02] Speaker C: Well, I'm glad I never listened to her. I had no idea. I mean, Abrams is common enough of a last name that I wouldn't connect him. [00:23:09] Speaker B: That's her. [00:23:10] Speaker C: So I want to talk a little bit as we're moving into this about Trent's attitude going into Year zero. It's very different than with teeth. Remember with teeth, he was kind of unsure, not very confident. He had a vision of, like a live band kind of sound, but he was not risk taking. Like, he wasn't. He didn't feel like he was being risky. He was just kind of unsure of his abilities, if he could even create while he was sober, that kind of thing. That's it. So in a rolling stone of March 2007, he said, I went into it with a sense of not giving a fuck, not worried about singles, radio play, melody, correct song structure, record labels, marketability, critics kissing ass, my own fans, expectations, chart positions, being fashionable, etc. In other words. Yeah, it is. In other words, probably every single thing that a band, like, say, Fall Out Boy worries about. Okay, now I want to say something. [00:24:08] Speaker B: Shots fired. Shots fired. [00:24:09] Speaker C: I'm not a Fall Out Boy fan. [00:24:10] Speaker B: Catching strays. [00:24:11] Speaker C: I just don't give a shit. But here, I think that's an unfair slight because they're not an established band. They're new. [00:24:18] Speaker B: Right, Right. [00:24:18] Speaker C: Like, and you have to play that game when you're new. So I don't think that's a very fair comparison. I do just Say that you don't like them. [00:24:25] Speaker B: When they came on the scene, though, I did not care for their stuff. So I was in the Reznor boat. Even though looking back, it's probably unfair and they have a long career. [00:24:35] Speaker C: I haven't really listened, but I've just never been, like. I've never cared enough to, like, dive deep, I guess, is what I'm saying. Or buy an album or listen to anything. Okay, I just want to point that out. Like, I just don't think that was a fair thing to pick. [00:24:48] Speaker B: They had a really annoying song that played on the radio every hour. [00:24:51] Speaker C: Was it the we're going down sugar? [00:24:53] Speaker B: So I think that gets you in people's bad, bad books. [00:24:59] Speaker C: Wasn't that a while before 07? [00:25:02] Speaker B: Yeah, that was maybe 05, but we still remembered that obnoxious radio song. [00:25:08] Speaker C: Okay, one way that I want to kind of approach this episode, I tried finding some, like, good interviews, like, on YouTube or, like, radio clips of radio interviews. I don't know how much promotion he actually did for this album or if he just kind of let the. Even though he's going to say it was not made for marketing or promotion, if he just kind of let the arc handle it. I don't know. I found a lot of print media, but finding interviews was tough. So I found this clip, though, that I think kind of breaks down some things. So what we're going to do is we're going to play a little bit of the clip, and then I'm gonna flesh it out with more stuff that I've found while I was researching. This, I think is from a best buy promo I don't even know I was reading through, I found a few different users on YouTube who had posted the same video, because I get excited every time I'd find something new. [00:26:03] Speaker B: Right. [00:26:03] Speaker C: Anyway, someone said that they download it directly from the Best Buy website, and so I was like, did he record, like, a promo thing for Best Buy? [00:26:12] Speaker B: Recall that at the time, but maybe. [00:26:14] Speaker C: Maybe. I have no idea. So, Blake, if you will play the clip, please. [00:26:19] Speaker D: When I go about starting to work on an album, normally the first phase of it is a musical one where I experiment around with different ideas and see if I can stumble into something that sounds exciting to me at the time. And it's kind of unpredictable where that goes. I can think that I'm going to do a certain kind of record. When I start actually writing things, I find that usually something else is what seems like the right thing to do. Something else becomes inspiring. When we were Touring for With Teeth, I found myself with some time on my hands and kind of anxious to try things out. So I started writing music on the road. And I set up a laptop situation that was pretty inspiring to work on. And found that anytime I had some free time, whether it be backstage or before show or on a bus, I could churn out little snippets of things. And in that process, I stumbled into the thing that felt really inspiring to me, the direction. And that's kind of like lighting a fuse. Once you get that momentum, then. And you want to keep going and going. So by the time the tour was over, which was last summer 2006, I found myself with quite a large chunk of musical ideas that had passed the test. What felt like a list ideas. And I wasn't particularly tired, and I felt creative. So I didn't take a break. I went right into really tiny. Trying to let the record turn into something, trying to finish it. [00:27:59] Speaker C: So let's talk about the recording of this album from the April May issue of Alternative magazine. Reznor said, I started writing on the last tour because I was really bored. I have theories about other reasons why he was writing on tour, but we'll talk about that in a second. [00:28:16] Speaker B: Bored? Well, I guess between shows, what are you gonna do? Not party? [00:28:21] Speaker C: Well, in the old days, he used to party. [00:28:22] Speaker B: It's not gonna be that. [00:28:23] Speaker C: I enjoy touring for the two hours a day on stage, but the other 22 hours can be a bit tedious. I never had any luck writing music on tour because I thought I had to have a full studio and candles lit and the right temperature and several hours to sit. [00:28:37] Speaker B: The candles are essential. You can't get those on the tour bus. [00:28:40] Speaker C: Guess not. [00:28:41] Speaker B: Not safe. [00:28:41] Speaker C: Probably not allowed in hotel rooms either. [00:28:44] Speaker B: Mmm, good point. [00:28:46] Speaker C: If I had a free half hour here and there on a bus ride or backstage before a show, I'd sit down and see if I could come up with some musical ideas. I didn't work on lyrics at all, but I did stumble around on ideas until I came up with a way of doing things that sounded really inspiring to me. I didn't start off with a plan that this was going to happen, but through needling around, I stumbled on some things that really excited me. And exciting is the kind of criteria to move forward. [00:29:10] Speaker B: There you go. [00:29:12] Speaker C: So I do think, though, that maybe touring could be a trigger. And so to keep yourself occupied, like, I mean, yeah. How did he handle? Like, nervousness whenever, like, anxiety when he was on tour, you know, and the pressure of Being on tour, it was drinking, you know, and he's touring with younger bands and some other acts that are around, you know. [00:29:36] Speaker B: Right. [00:29:36] Speaker C: The same era as when Nine Inch Nails began or before. But not everyone's gonna have a. Not everyone's gonna be sober. You know, people are going to party, and that could be a trigger. And so maybe just kind of keeping himself occupied and busy was really keeping the best thing schedule full. Yes. And in January of 2008, he told Wired. This time I opened up my laptops and, you know, everything had advanced so much that you actually get a very nice recording experience now. So I started working on some music and that led to quite a bit of ideas. When the tour was finished last year, I had more than an album's worth of musical ideas that seemed fertile and interesting. And I guess after the tour ended, he went and waldened it for a while. [00:30:24] Speaker B: He went to the woods, which. [00:30:26] Speaker C: He waldened it. [00:30:27] Speaker B: I don't. Yeah. To a pond. I don't think I know about this. Or I forgot. So this will be interesting. [00:30:33] Speaker C: I don't know. You forgot what? [00:30:36] Speaker B: The going to the woods thing. [00:30:38] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. Rolling Stone said that Reznor retreated to a secluded house in Malibu to work on the album. [00:30:44] Speaker B: So woods equals Malibu. Check. [00:30:49] Speaker C: Are there woods near Malibu? Hey, I'm sure there are. [00:30:51] Speaker B: There's a lot of woods out there in Cali right now. [00:30:54] Speaker C: And I've seen some redwoods. Have you ever seen a redwood? No. [00:30:57] Speaker B: I was just thinking about the fires. [00:30:59] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:31:00] Speaker B: Hopefully by the time you hear this. [00:31:01] Speaker C: It'S all gonna be okay and everyone's all right. [00:31:05] Speaker B: I hope that's right. My voice is so fucked. I'm sorry. [00:31:09] Speaker C: It's okay. I'm sorry. I just feel bad because you're like over there coughing. [00:31:12] Speaker B: I'm hopefully editing the coughs out. [00:31:16] Speaker C: So I do kind of want to talk about Sonic inspiration a little bit, but I kind of want to talk about how Trent described the album to various publications, because I thought it was kind of funny. [00:31:27] Speaker B: Okay. [00:31:28] Speaker C: So in March 2007, to Big Cheese. [00:31:31] Speaker B: Big Cheese? What's that? [00:31:33] Speaker C: I think it was a smaller alternative publication. I think I remember putting it out when I worked at Barnes. So I think it's just short lived. [00:31:41] Speaker B: Maybe. [00:31:41] Speaker C: I really couldn't tell you. Yeah, there's very little guitar. There aren't any drums. It's all a collage of sound. I'm not saying there aren't things that sound like drums, but there's no Dave Grohl sitting down and playing drums on this record. [00:31:53] Speaker B: No There's Josh Freese instead. [00:31:56] Speaker C: It's not a guitar based record. I don't know what it is. The sound came out and it felt like the right thing to do. That's one way it's very different from With Teeth. With Teeth was written imagining real drums and then having real drums, real bass, real guitar, and primarily pretty straight ahead musical arrangement. This record is the opposite of that. [00:32:15] Speaker B: Yeah. He's not wrong. [00:32:17] Speaker C: He told Kerrang there may be some surprise vocalists that pop up here and there. Although I don't want to say who, since the final mix hasn't been determined yet. [00:32:26] Speaker B: I'm intrigued. [00:32:27] Speaker C: Josh Freese is playing the drums on one song. But it's not a big guest star type record. It feels a bit more focused in a different direction than With Teeth did. [00:32:36] Speaker B: I wish it said feet period. Josh Freese, after Hyper Power on the title list, track list. [00:32:44] Speaker C: Okay. He told Rock Sound. This is kind of just more about the cool things that he would discover. If I had a spare 20 minutes, I could come up with a cool beat or passage or chunk of sound. So I had the time to stumble into the thing that felt good to me musically. That happened to be kind of noisy. Sample based, loop based collages of sound. I didn't really care about the songs on this one. I wanted to make something that conveys a certain feeling and gets the point across. If it breaks some of the rules, I don't care. [00:33:14] Speaker B: Yeah. That is a correct description, I think. [00:33:19] Speaker C: So let's talk a little bit about the inspiration behind these like sample based, loop based collages of sound. He told Kerrang in January of 07. It's not heavy in any kind of metal type sense. I'd say a big inspiration sonically would be early Public Enemy Records. A collage of sound type thing. Not heavy in a metal guitar kind of way. [00:33:40] Speaker B: That's really interesting to me. [00:33:43] Speaker C: Yeah. The end result has a bit of racket to it. It's much more improvisational, less refined. With this record, I feel a lot less concerned about what people think about it. Especially the dying record industry. I couldn't care less about that right now. [00:33:57] Speaker B: And he was right not to care. [00:33:59] Speaker C: Yeah. So let's talk about Public Enemy for a second. [00:34:02] Speaker B: Okay, let's talk about it specifically. Chuck D. We got that flavor. Flavor Asshole with the clock around his neck. [00:34:11] Speaker C: Flavor Flav. You got Professor Griff, who I think was maybe kicked out for being not nice. [00:34:16] Speaker B: I don't know. But they had a kick ass dj. I believe he was named Terminator X. He was talented and a bunch of dancers, all sorts of stuff. [00:34:27] Speaker C: So I'm gonna read this post that was up on, I believe it was the Spiral. And I stumbled upon this kind of late in my research and I was like, is this real, Chad? [00:34:37] Speaker B: Is this true? [00:34:40] Speaker C: Reznor posted. Let me clear a few things up so some of you don't kill yourselves. Or maybe now you will. [00:34:48] Speaker B: Is this when people had been in the ARG mindset where every damn thing is a clue and you'll go down, everything will send you in a rabbit hole? [00:34:56] Speaker C: No, I think people were just reacting to how he described it in various media. But I don't know because I wasn't there. So if you were in the Spiral, if you were on the message boards, I don't know. [00:35:08] Speaker B: I kick myself every day for not being in the Spiral. Sorry, Trent. [00:35:13] Speaker C: Alright. This is not a fucking hip hop record, for fuck's sake. I imagine my referring to old Public Enemy records as an influence and the fact I'm working with Saul Williams sparked that. To clarify what I meant by being influenced by Public Enemy, Hank Shockley's bomb squad had a unique and highly influential way of constructing tracks, layers of samples and loops that combined together to form something chaotic and new. Do not expect Flavor Flav to appear here. [00:35:41] Speaker B: Thank God. [00:35:43] Speaker C: Hold on, there's more. While we're at it, I wouldn't consider Saul's record to be labeled hip hop either. Certainly there is an influence there, but his record reaches far beyond the confines of what I consider a dying genre. He thinks everything's dying. [00:35:56] Speaker B: That's true. There is that. That mindset you hear over and over. [00:36:00] Speaker C: Yeah. As far as the sound and content of my new record, you'll see and hear soon enough. I am certain some of you will hate it. I am also certain some of you will find it the best thing I've ever done. Interesting. It is different in a number of ways. And it is who I am now. [00:36:17] Speaker B: I wonder, I guess maybe people who hated it, if they're out there, was for political stuff. I don't know. [00:36:26] Speaker C: Maybe it didn't rock hard enough. I don't really know. [00:36:28] Speaker B: There's all those reasons. But now really you just hear praise. It seems like. But that's. I mean, it was so many years. [00:36:34] Speaker C: Kind of acclaimed whenever it came out. Like Rolling Stone gave it four stars. So it's not like critics other than Pitchfork were shitting on it. You know what I mean? I am creating right now and I do not care what the record label or marketing people think about What I'm doing. I certainly appreciate your patronage and I hope you will get and enjoy what I'm working on. But I will not patronize you or pander to what you want. I wish people would say this to fucking Star wars boys. Okay. Anyway, sorry. [00:37:01] Speaker B: They would. [00:37:02] Speaker C: Seriously, this is like the beginning of that. I feel like the beginning of people like fans butting in and like voicing their opinions and being assholes about art. Like, I feel like this is the beginning of that era. Not just year zero, but like when people were more online and you had smartphones and shit like that. [00:37:18] Speaker B: If someone at Disney said, I will not pander to you fanboys, they would literally do a January 6th on Disney headquarters. [00:37:31] Speaker C: I assure you I am pouring every ounce of my life, heart and soul into this and it will be the best work I am capable of. And that's all I can do. What I want to say is quit bitching people. I'm sick of it. [00:37:43] Speaker B: Yeah, sorry, I can't speak to what bitching was going on in the message boards days. It's so far gone now. [00:37:50] Speaker C: But it's just ruined art. Like art, at least commercial art. I mean, not like. I mean, I don't really care about Star Wars. [00:37:58] Speaker B: People know that people are overthinking everything, especially the stuff they don't like. [00:38:01] Speaker C: Well, people. I think, like companies are just pandering too much to people and it's like, let artists make what they want. Artists know what they're doing, creators know what they're doing. You don't pander to fans because fans are, I'm sorry, maybe don't have the greatest ideas and are also predominantly for at least certain fandoms, white men who are very upset if something breaks through. That's not a white dude. [00:38:29] Speaker B: Right. That's why we were so mad. It was gonna be hip hop. We're like, oh, no you don't. I would've been. [00:38:35] Speaker C: See, that kind of fandom turns me off. Like, I'm not gonna. I don't care about Star Wars. Like, I'm sorry. Like that kind of like toxic fandom. I'm just. I know, I don't wanna know. I don't wanna be a part of it. [00:38:45] Speaker B: This is when we lose our toxic fans. Cause they're not gonna like all the left leaning. [00:38:50] Speaker C: Yeah, they're gonna hate us listeners. [00:38:53] Speaker B: We're not gonna pander to you. What's the other thing he said? [00:38:57] Speaker C: I will not patronize you or pander to what you want. [00:39:01] Speaker B: We won't patronize you listeners, but we Hope you patronize us@patreon.com we will not. [00:39:07] Speaker C: Pander to you, but make it interesting. Yeah. So I kind of want to move on to more of the concept. [00:39:16] Speaker B: Yes, please do. As it's a concept album. I think before I called it the most concepty of the concept albums from Nine Inch Nails. [00:39:25] Speaker C: It's pretty fucking concept. [00:39:26] Speaker B: Hard concept with story this time. Unlike the amorphous sort of Downward spiral or the Fragile, which is more like vibes and feelings, generalities without chronological. Anything linear. [00:39:39] Speaker C: Yes. This is a very. This has people with names, dystopian vision with actual characters and storylines. [00:39:51] Speaker B: And it has something to say politically. [00:39:55] Speaker C: Yeah. And people are gonna hate it. But I'm gonna tell you right now, it's pretty left leaning, so it's not. [00:40:00] Speaker B: Well, I mean, it's. At the very least, it is anti right. [00:40:04] Speaker C: Yes. Which is correct. You should be anti right. [00:40:08] Speaker B: This is where we don't pander the right. [00:40:12] Speaker C: The right is wrong. [00:40:13] Speaker B: More like the wrong. [00:40:16] Speaker C: Boy, we're such geniuses. [00:40:17] Speaker B: Where we lose everyone. Well, we lose like five people. Maybe even less than that. [00:40:24] Speaker C: Do you want to play the next clip? [00:40:26] Speaker B: Yes. Finally. I thought you'd never ask. [00:40:29] Speaker D: I found myself with quite a large chunk of musical ideas that had passed the test. Felt like a list, ideas. And I wasn't particularly tired and I felt creative. So I didn't take a break. I went right into really trying to let the record turn into something, trying to finish it. And I realized I'd been thinking a lot about concepts in terms of what to write about. And I think really, for the first time in my life, I wanted to break away from the idea of opening up my journal and transferring that into song lyrics. And I really thought about what was at the forefront of my concern. And, you know, at the state I'm at right now, at the age I'm at, just the state of being an American citizen and a lot of concern I have about the direction our country's headed in and kind of the erosion of freedoms that it seems like we're experiencing and the way that we treat the rest of the world and our own citizens felt like something I needed to comment on. And I wanted to do it in a way that didn't feel preachy and it didn't feel rooted in 2007. [00:41:47] Speaker B: Now, that's interesting. Rooted in 2007, it very much was about the anxieties of the day, but those are also kind of timeless anxieties and threats to personal freedoms. [00:42:04] Speaker C: And it's only accelerated people. [00:42:06] Speaker B: Yeah. When's year 02 coming. He needs to make some more commentary. [00:42:11] Speaker C: Yeah, we need it. We need it. [00:42:13] Speaker B: What these characters are doing up in Washington D.C. right now. [00:42:18] Speaker C: Okay, so in March 2007, talking about just the writing, like the concept and writing the lyrics, he said when it came time to write the words, I really wanted to focus on something that was at the forefront of my consciousness, which is, as an American, I don't even want to admit that anymore. So ashamed. Anyway, as an American, I'm appalled by the behavior of our government and the direction that it's taken everyone else in the world and its arrogance, like trying to buy Greenland. Anyway, I decided to write an essay about where the world might be if we continue down the path that we're on with the neocon esque government doing what it pleases, which seems to be the way that it works over here. [00:42:59] Speaker B: They had a different name for them back then. It was neocon for the young people listening. We don't use that term anymore. We just have Trumpism, but you know what he means. [00:43:09] Speaker C: Yeah. He told Wired magazine in January of 2008. Lyrically, I've been toying around with the idea of taking Nine Inch Nails out of being just a narrative in my own head and addressing something that has gotten higher up on the list of importance to me over the years, which has been what's happening in America and the direction we've taken as a country. And it felt kind of dangerous to expand Nine Inch Nails into that and risky. And that seemed like a good thing at this point in my life. It is risky to go political. Well, I've always argued that they're political had like a whole fucking political song. [00:43:39] Speaker B: Yeah, they were from the beginning. And the politics of sex as we've talked about, but it was just a lot more covered up and metaphorical. And now it's just very on the surface and literal. [00:43:51] Speaker C: I was going to write it from various points of view of people in that world and have no real narrative that went from point A to point B, but just glimpses, snapshots, polaroids going by. And it started as an experiment of just seeing how that would work. And within a month the album was pretty much written, which is extremely fast for me. [00:44:08] Speaker B: He surprised himself in a big way. [00:44:10] Speaker C: Yeah. Before I started writing the songs, I spent maybe a week really writing out kind of what the socio political vibe would be like in this climate, what it would be like from a spiritual tone, events that may have happened leading up to this. You know, if I was going to forward write History leading up to this day, 15 years from now. I had a good working knowledge of what things were going to be like and events that would have led us to this place. How does he know the future anyway? And then chose people that would be in these various different places to write these songs? [00:44:43] Speaker B: He is clairvoyant. He forgot to mention that he told. [00:44:49] Speaker C: Rolling stone in March 2007, I primarily dealt with personal issues in my songs up to this point. Relating, not relating, searching, failing, trying, hoping, hating human issues. However, when I look at the cold heart of big business and our murdering government, I am truly afraid. I don't get the sense there is any humanity or compassion behind those suits as I watch their total disregard for human life and the ecology of this planet. Not wrong, buddy. Yeah, I see those dead eyes. Marco Rubio's dead eyes. [00:45:20] Speaker B: Dealing with the same shit, but accelerated right now. Trent. [00:45:25] Speaker C: Yeah. So he was asked by Rock Sound, there's a difference between being an artist with an opinion and being a political artist. To what extent are you wary of crossing that line? He said, I wanted to flex my fictional muscles a bit with this record and see what happened. I have a love of science fiction, so I set it in fiction and I said it in the future. [00:45:45] Speaker B: Love that. Still messing with that alternate universe stuff he loves so much. [00:45:50] Speaker C: The ultimate goal was for it to mention some of the characters that may have inspired parts of the story, but not to sound preachy and not timestamped to 2007. I wanted to do something that was seductive enough that it could suck people into it, but at the core could get into some issues that need to be thought about. So it's entertainment, but it has a little more depth if you choose to seek that out. [00:46:10] Speaker B: It's 42 entertainment. In fact. [00:46:15] Speaker C: The album came out. There's some promotional materials. Like there was the website, year0.nin.com There. [00:46:21] Speaker B: Were a few promotional materials, let's say. [00:46:25] Speaker C: I'm not going to get too into it. Yeah, but you just said Year Zero part two earlier. [00:46:30] Speaker B: Yeah, that's in your outline. What did you mean by that? [00:46:33] Speaker C: Well, he told Rolling stone in March of 07, I began working on the conclusion part two. The world is in my hands. [00:46:41] Speaker B: Come on. Was he just trolling? [00:46:43] Speaker C: Hold on. He told Rock Sound in May of 2007, we're not touring very much of this record, but I'm going back home to write the conclusion to this, because it doesn't resolve. [00:46:51] Speaker B: You're right. [00:46:52] Speaker C: This record. This record takes place at a pivotal point in mankind's Existence. And on the next record, I'm deciding the fate of the world. So the next plan is to have the record out around the same time next year. If I can pull it off. [00:47:04] Speaker B: Damn. Maybe, yeah. It would have been like, what happens after the Giant Hand? Maybe it's better not to have controversial take. What if it was like a Dune Part two or something that didn't end well? Maybe it's better. [00:47:23] Speaker C: I mean, there's more books in the Dune universe. [00:47:25] Speaker B: Yeah, okay, that's a bad example. Maybe it's better as something left open ended. I thought that was very purposeful, but I guess he had thoughts about finishing it. Back then, of course, he changed his. [00:47:36] Speaker C: Mind and to just kind of. I just think he had a lot of fires burning at the same time because he also said, I've always toyed the idea of directing things or writing screenplays with Year Zero. That may come into reality or it may not. And that's exciting for me. It's more than just a record. So that's. I mean, there were rumors. I mean, not even rumors they had hired, like, we'll have a bonus episode about this, but I mean, they were going to make a Year Zero television series on hbo. Like a Prestige. [00:48:06] Speaker B: Would it have been Lindelof? [00:48:08] Speaker C: No, it. I don't think it was Lindelof. [00:48:11] Speaker B: That'd be cool, though. Or maybe it'd be bad. You never heard Lindelof? [00:48:15] Speaker C: Yeah, I never got into Lost. I just couldn't get into it. [00:48:19] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't know who it would have been running it, but people are still asking for that show today. And it's like, I don't. [00:48:27] Speaker C: But Lost. [00:48:28] Speaker B: No, I'm sorry. Oh, the Year Zero people are still leaving comments and shit on YouTube. Like, when's Year Zero TV show coming out? Like, I don't think it is. It's been a while. [00:48:39] Speaker C: I think that's been abandoned completely. Like about seven years ago or so, because I think in 20, as recently as, like 2013 or 2014, there were still like, rumors of scripts and working with various producers and that kind of thing, but it just never happened. [00:48:55] Speaker B: Nope. [00:48:57] Speaker C: So the album art will probably have a another bonus episode, or we'll just talk about it as we go along. But according to Reznor, Year Zero has the most elaborate album cover in the world because he includes the websites, the fan forums, the coded merchandise. These are all part of the artwork for Year Zero. He does not call it promotion. He does not call it marketing. Do not say that. [00:49:23] Speaker B: No, it's album art. [00:49:25] Speaker C: It's art. It's art. [00:49:26] Speaker B: The art or the packaging for the album is the world itself, basically how we interact with it. [00:49:36] Speaker C: Yep. So there is a lot more, but I can't cram it all into one episode. I just kind of wanted to get the basics out, get the vibe, everyone. I just wanted to vibe set and I. [00:49:47] Speaker B: We're just mood setting. [00:49:49] Speaker C: That's right. We're vibe setting. So there's a lot more to cover. I promise we'll do the best we can. [00:49:55] Speaker B: You have to listen to the whole series, basically, and. Well, and the bonus episodes, too. [00:49:59] Speaker C: Yeah, I know we've mentioned it briefly, but did you know that there's an ARG that came with this album? [00:50:07] Speaker B: Wait a minute. WTF is an arg? That's the title of the bonus episode we did, introducing the concept of ARGs. [00:50:19] Speaker C: It's true. Did you know there's an ARG for this album? [00:50:26] Speaker B: That's a Lana Del Rey album. [00:50:29] Speaker C: Oh, my God. I hope she does that. I hope her country album is. Did you know that there's an ARG for this album? [00:50:35] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:50:36] Speaker C: And at the end of the arg, if you win it for Lana, then you get to see her perform on a swamp boat with her husband. [00:50:45] Speaker B: Oh, God. [00:50:46] Speaker C: I think that sounds amazing. [00:50:47] Speaker B: Fanboat. [00:50:48] Speaker C: Yeah, the fanboats in the swamps in Louisiana. She's a Louisiana girl. [00:50:52] Speaker B: Yeah. I wonder if Trent swamped around on the hovercraft. They were doing nothing. Record stuff. [00:51:00] Speaker C: He totally swamped around. [00:51:01] Speaker B: I hope that was inspiring for the fragile swamp imagery. I think I mentioned some swamp imagery when we went through that. So. [00:51:08] Speaker C: Yeah, we talked about swamp swamping, swamps. So, Blake, there's a little clip I want you to play. [00:51:16] Speaker B: Okay. [00:51:17] Speaker C: It's from 42 Entertainment. By the way, don't use 21 Entertainment. They suck. Make sure it's 42 if you're going to create an ARG. [00:51:24] Speaker B: This cost them 2 million fucking dollars and we don't have that. So we've been doing some fun. You could call it promotional sort of stuff. We did hire 21 Entertainment. They are a dis. They call themselves a discount marketing entertainment company. And, well, you get what you pay for. That's all I will say. [00:51:47] Speaker C: You get what you pay for. [00:51:50] Speaker B: Shout out to Janie. [00:51:53] Speaker C: All right, Play that clip. Oh, wait, I lied. [00:51:57] Speaker B: What? [00:51:58] Speaker C: They're at 118 for now. That's what I call music. That's what I'll call music. 90 was just 90s pop. Oh, my God. [00:52:04] Speaker B: Oh, wow. [00:52:05] Speaker C: They're at 118. Sorry, guys. We missed update. Update. [00:52:08] Speaker B: We missed the 100. Oh, no. [00:52:12] Speaker C: Okay, okay. [00:52:14] Speaker B: 42. [00:52:16] Speaker E: If the physical medium of the album is obsolete, what then is a concept album in this digital age? Not simply a loose association of thematic elements and handsome liner notes, Year Zero is an idea made form through a multitude of medias. In 2007, an unsettling and fractured snapshot of a dystopian future future began to seep into our own, manifesting as dozens of websites detailing the bleak existence of the denizens of Year Zero. A world in time, ravaged by war and global warming, haunted by the myth of civil liberty and individual freedoms. An immersive and interactive experience, engaging players to build upon their involvement and create a community. Starting with a T shirt, the hidden message opened the door and participants flooded in, discovering and sharing the shattered glimpses of the future as they were found. So when at concerts in Lisbon, Barcelona and Manchester, USB drives were discovered containing leaks of songs from the new album, the global community stepped Forward to unearth URLs hidden in the files and decipher images and phone numbers, including encoded in static through spectrograph analysis. Upon release, the CD itself acted as a gateway, both for the casual participant citizens. [00:53:40] Speaker C: By calling this number, you and your family are implicitly pleading guilty to the consumption of anti American media. [00:53:46] Speaker E: And the dedicated players began to step beyond information gathering and started to act both in the real world and through the expression of original art. Some of the best pieces appeared in The Village Voice, LA Weekly, and other magazines and newspapers across the country. Finally, a select few were recruited to attend the first resistance meeting in la. [00:54:13] Speaker A: You allowed yourselves to be hustled onto a van. [00:54:16] Speaker C: You let us take away any way of communicating with the outside world that you had. [00:54:21] Speaker E: The players had engaged and interacted and now live Year Zero. [00:54:51] Speaker B: At the end, text appears on the screen. So I'm going to read it. Over 10 weeks, thousands of player generated art submissions. Top 10 of dig.com 6 times 3rd most popular search on Yahoo. Over 100,000 forum posts and 7 million viewings. 2 million phone calls to year zero recordings. 50,000 emails. 2.5 unique visitors. I don't know about that last one. Maybe they meant million. [00:55:20] Speaker C: I think million. Yeah, although that seems high. That seems if there were only 2.5 unique visitors, then that would not be a successful argument at the end. [00:55:32] Speaker B: That stuff kind of makes it sound like they are advertising it as a successful marketing campaign. But we know better. We know better. It's the album art. It's no different than a sleeve. [00:55:48] Speaker C: Well, think of it. [00:55:49] Speaker B: As a big sleeve. Ten weeks is the time frame we were talking about too. That's a while. [00:55:54] Speaker C: And it's so overwhelming. And what's sad is that a lot of those, actually, I think all the sites were built using Flash and so you can't even see them the right way. It's the worst. Some people have tried to archive them, but if you. If you go to those sites, they barely work and it's hard to read. [00:56:09] Speaker B: And Flash stopped being supported also. [00:56:11] Speaker C: Yeah, so, yeah, it's kind of hard. Some of the sites don't work at all. I think I am trying to believe is the really bad one that you can't see anything. [00:56:20] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a shame. [00:56:21] Speaker C: Yeah, it sucks. That's what happens when you rely on technology, though. It changes really quickly. [00:56:27] Speaker B: Yeah, but the stuff we have now, that'll probably be around forever, right? [00:56:30] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, totally. So next time, Hyper Power. [00:56:35] Speaker B: That's right. Tune in next time for song one, Hyper Power. A little drum, bass and guitar ditty. One of the most rock songs on this album. [00:56:49] Speaker C: A banger. [00:56:51] Speaker B: It's also a banger, so stay tuned for that. And we're doing. We are doing one song per week, song by song, in this version of Nailed Year Zero. So looks like it's our bedtime. [00:57:07] Speaker C: Oscar's already asleep, so. [00:57:10] Speaker B: Hey, what can we stop.