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Music

Trent Reznor Doesn't "Get" Drake

Two sadboys, divided by generations.
Lauren O'Neill
London, GB

Nine Inch Nails made a triumphant return last Friday (21 July) with the release of a new EP, Add Violence, which means that frontman Trent Reznor is back in the spotlight. Recently, he was interviewed by Vulture about what's next for the band, as well as his take on the current climate of the music world.

When asked about social media, he got onto the topic of music's most omniscient star, Drake, and despite sharing a fundamentally #sad sensibility with one Aubrey Graham, Trent unfortunately doesn't 'get' the appeal:

I see what Drake's been able to pull off in terms of being omnipresent and constantly engaging an audience that seems to enjoy the way he's engaging them. I'm just not part of that audience. I'm not as well-rounded as I used to be about pop culture. I'm not saying pop music isn't well-crafted or the people who make it aren't wonderful, but it's not for me. I've asked people, "What is it that's good about Drake?" I've said to my friends at Apple: "Explain to me why." As the old guy, I don't see it.

Firstly, the idea of Trent Reznor asking Apple employees to explain Drake to him makes my heart feel kind of sore, because the idea of Trent Reznor ageing is not anything that I want to acknowledge anytime soon. Secondly, though it's hardly surprising that the man who wrote "Closer" and essentially popularised the industrial genre isn't exactly bumping the top 40 during his commute, it does draw out some interesting ideas about the emotional similarities between the music that the two artists make, and how they can be expressed so sonically differently that one just doesn't 'get' the other.

What I want to know is: will this be the beginning of the music industry's most #emotional ever sad boy beef? The old guard versus the new? Is Drake going to make a "Marvin's Room" style track about the disapproval Trent has shown him? To be honest I just feel disappointed because a NIN x Drake collab is all my musical dreams come true. Squash it, you guys.

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