It may not be a paranormal event, but it’s cool and unusual: Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has teamed up with Fringe for a new promo spot, EW.com has learned. The spot, which debuts Thursday during Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, features a reworking of the Nine Inch Nails song “Zero-Sum” by Reznor, who recites lines of dialogue from Fringe’s William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) over the music. So, how did the freaky drama series secure the services of Reznor? After Fox’s marketing department showed the Fringe producers a version of the promo that used “Zero-Sum,” series exec producer Jeff Pinkner simply asked a nearby Reznor acquaintance—that’d be co-creator J.J. Abrams—if the NIN musician might be interested in a collaboration. One email later, Reznor was on the case. “We offered him compensation, and he said, ‘No, no, I just want to have fun and be part of something cool,’” says Pinkner, adding: “How often do you get the chance to work with somebody like that?” Reznor wound up revamping the song in his mobile studio while on tour, and he even came up with the idea of “embedding” one of the show’s glyphs in the music. (Hint: Examine the song’s sound waves on a computer.) Now for the big question: Might Reznor pop up in an episode of Fringe? “If he wants to come act on the show, that’s not tit for tat—that’s an open invitation, and we made that known to him,” says Pinkner. Any ideas on what he may play? “Well, his head would probably end up exploding,” deadpans Pinkner. “There’d be some uncomfortable biology in there one way or another.”

Looooove this!! Fringe is deffo one of the coolest shows on TV right now and I love that TR wanted to lend his voice and music to help promote the series. I would DIE if Trent decided to make a cameo on the show … even if they made his head explode, I think it’d be really effing cool. After the jump, check out this new Fringe promo vid featuring Zero Sum with the added vocals for yourselves …

The bride was absolutely stunning in her beautiful wedding dress and the groom was lookin’ pretty swanky himself. It is my extreme pleasure to share the beautiful sight of our newly and very happily wedded friends :)

After the jump, check out an adorable photo of the Mr. & Mrs. sharing their first dance together as husband and wife and also check out a really fun photo of Mariqueen rockin’ her sexy red reception dress …

Have you ever seen a more beautiful bride and groom ever in your life? As I mentioned yesterday, it was an honor to share in their love on Saturday night and I hope you will join me (again) in sending our best wishes and all our love to the happy couple. Congratulations and much, much love Q & T!!!

David and I have been planning on getting a second car for AGES but because we’ve been traveling so much the past few months we never got around to getting it together enough to find the right car. Because this is David’s first car he wanted to find the perfect one … after checking out a few models we decided to go with the 2010 Cadillac CTS. Folks, this car is phat … and at long last we don’t have to fight over who’s gonna get the car at any given time. I hope you’ll join me in sending congrats to my boo. David looks good next to our new ride, don’t he?

If you can believe it, the day got even better. David and I were invited to a very special wedding ceremony which took place last night … we were honored to attend and enjoyed one of the best nights of our lives with a very special couple who celebrated their love with family and friends. After the jump, check out some fun photos from the festive event last night …

First things first, this is not a news report … nor do I plan on explaining every occurrence that took place last night. We spent a wonderful night celebrating the joyous union of two friends and that’s pretty much all that needs to be said. David and I were so touched to be included in the celebration of the union our friends Mariqueen and Trent and we had a great time celebrating their love last night. Here are some pics of us lookin’ all snazzy and shizz with our friends Mariqueen & Trent and Tamar & Rob (from the infamous Turtle Party: Book Club):

Q’s fabulous red dress was her party dress not her wedding dress (which was stunningly beautiful, I can assure you). The personal nature of Q & T’s special night is not for me to tell … I will say, tho, that it was really amazing to be in the presence of so much love. I will also add that I got to share a slow dance with Tamar (who looked beautiful, y’all) so now my life is complete. I hope you’ll join me in sending love and congrats to the happy couple! May they live a long, happy and very prosperous life together!!!

The joyous fête was outfitted with an ol’ time photobooth for the revelers to play with … here are some of the photostrips that we took last night:

You will note that my D-town homie Sergio is included in one of the strips … yes, it was a lurvefest all night long :)

Being a part of such a loving celebration really made me realize how much in love I am with David (plus we may have gotten some ideas for when we say our I Dos in the future):

We had a really special night because we were able to celebrate with our dear friends. Again … many, many congratulations goes out to the happy couple!!

When I first saw this painting of President Obama astride a mythical unicorn, I was reminded of the fun graphic that was created by THIS site (which features lots of NIN/Reznor inspired artwork) of Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor riding on a unicorn of his own:

There seems to a growing trend of incorporating unicorns in fun artwork like this … a trend that I endorse and support wholeheartedly. After the jump, check out a few more pieces of Lacey’s Obama artwork — trust me, it’s not to be missed …

Here’s US President Barack Obama as a unicorn-riding superhero in these bizarre fantasy paintings by artist, Dan Lacey. Obama is seen astride the mythological beast in a series of different scenarios. In one he is seen wrestling a bear on Wall Street, while in another work the President can be seen alongside hero pilot Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger in the cockpit of US Airways Flight 1549 as it ditched into New York’s Hudson River earlier this year. Mr Lacey, based in Elko, Minnesota, has said of his work: “There’s a consistent demand for Obama, both for things that are funny and also for the serious.” He describes himself as a “disillusioned conservative”. He has also created a series of paintings of US politicians with pancakes stacked on top of their heads. Some of his artwork can be bought on Internet auction site, eBay.

Ummm … I believe the sentiment that you are looking for is, LOL, WHUT? Yeah, I don’t know that I really understand either but I do know that I LOVE IT ALL!! Personally, the Obama/Unicorn one is my fave … but they’re all really fun. Which one do you like best?

[Photo credit: Splash News]

As you may recall, I was able to interview Reznor on the last night of the Lights in the Sky Tour last December in Las Vegas, NV so I was thrilled he was willing to chat with me again on the last night of the Wave Goodbye Tour, the last for Nine Inch Nails. In our 20 minute chat, TR explained how he goes about crafting a setlist for each performance, which live performance in his 20 year touring history stands out most in his mind, his plans for new music outside of Nine Inch Nails and more. After the jump, you can watch my interview with Trent Reznor in full …

Next up for Nine Inch Nails, the last 4 dates of the Wave Goodbye Tour which will all take place at different venues in Los Angeles, CA (The Palladium, The Henry Fonda Theatre, The Wiltern and Echoplex). Trent Reznor gave an interview to The Los Angeles Times about these final, final shows … here is a portion of that interview:

There was something about a Nine Inch Nails show in the daylight that just felt wrong. “Maybe,” Trent Reznor said in a sly murmur, “it was the fact that it wasn’t dark.” Reznor, the angst auteur behind Nine Inch Nails, toured this summer with Jane’s Addiction with every intention of retiring from the road. The plan, Reznor had said, was to put the band’s concert life on hiatus for a decade or so and to say farewell with a twist, as the opening act for the elder Jane’s latest reunion. But there was all that sunshine. “I chose for us to play first; I thought it would be a respectful thing for Jane’s and also be interesting for us to have the challenge of playing often and in daylight,” Reznor said. “But then, well, these were the last shows we were doing. We could pull off something better than that, something that leaves a better taste in our mouths.” That something is now the hottest ticket in town — four sold-out L.A. shows in the next eight days, all in venues that vary from small to tiny in comparison to the band’s usual arena settings. On Wednesday, it’s the refurbished Hollywood Palladium; the next night, it’s the Henry Fonda Theater. On Sept. 5, Nails will play the Wiltern Theatre and Sept. 6, the EchoPlex, the downstairs dance hall below the Echo club. The 44-year-old music star said the goal was “a very, very limited run of shows and that each would be special and more fan-orientated and not in cavernous arenas, but places where you actually like to see bands. It seemed like a way for fans to wish us off.”

After the jump, read another portion of TR’s interview with The LA Times and see the full set list from last night’s performance at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL …

The four L.A. concerts follow a similar four-show run in New York and a two-show stop in Chicago. (Nails also will appear Sunday at the Virgin Festival in Toronto.) Reznor said it was appropriate to finish up here, the place he now firmly considers home. “I’m excited about unpacking my suitcase and burning it,” Reznor said, clearly weary after too many months on the road, both with the summer tour with Jane’s and the Nails arena tour that began in 2008. After the final note is played at the EchoPlex, he will turn his attention to his pending nuptials (he is marrying singer Mariqueen Maandig next month) and songwriting, as well as many other pursuits across today’s digital entertainment landscape. He is not giving up music, just the grind of touring and perhaps, he has hinted, taking an emotional break from his older material, much of which serves as a document of his grim days in a dungeon of drugs and booze. In New York, however, at Webster Hall, Reznor and his band (guitarist Robin Finck, bass player Justin Meldal-Johnsen and drummer Ilan Rubin) connected with classic Nails material in an energizing way. The band played the entirety of its 1994 landmark, “The Downward Spiral.” “It was the first time we had ever done that, and it was cool; we didn’t announce it or anything,” Reznor said. “It was incredibly fun to play, and judging from online, people thought that was a pretty special thing to do.” He brought out Peter Murphy of Bauhaus during the New York shows (Murphy actually was lowered into the venue on a cable and, like a dour bat, performed part of the time while suspended upside down), and Reznor promises more guests and surprise sets in Los Angeles. “Every show will be different and unique,” he said.

The full interview HERE is a must read … it gives a bit of a TR retrospective over the course of his career and is very well-written. As anxious as I am to bear witness to the next round of shows, I’m growing more despondent over the finality. Even tho there is the promise of more music in the future and no 100% guarantee that NIN won’t ever tour again, I can’t help but start to feel the loss. I cannot even explain fully how lucky I feel to be able to attend the coming shows here in LA. Plus, I’m really looking forward to my sit down interview with Trent Reznor on the last date of the tour. Here is the set list from last night’s show at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago, IL:

Home
The Beginning Of The End
Survivalism
Heresy
March Of The Pigs
Piggy
Metal
Ruiner
I’m Afraid Of Americans
Burn
Gave Up
La Mer
The Frail
I Do Not Want This
Gone, Still
Right Where It Belongs v2.0
The Way Out Is Through
Wish
Mr Self Destruct
Suck
Echoplex
The Good Soldier
Dead Souls (Joy Division)
Reptile (with Peter Murphy)
Strange Kind Of Love / Bela Lugosi’s Dead (Bauhaus) (with Peter Murphy)
Final Solution (Pere Ubu) (with Peter Murphy)
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Hurt

It turns out that TR almost canceled the show last night since he got suddenly sick. Here is his message to fans that was posted on the official NIN forum today:

Nice to see you enjoyed the show – I did too.
I’ll tell you a secret – we almost canceled because I woke up sick and unable to talk complete with chills, etc. I spent all day sleeping trying to shake it but still felt terrible walking to the stage… then something happened and by the end I felt great. Weird.

By all accounts, TR sounded great last night and no one knew that he was feeling under the weather. I hope he’s feeling better today tho … I cannot wait to hear how tonight’s performance in Toronto goes … and, of course, to see the LA shows this coming week. Remember if you have ideas for questions for my upcoming interview with TR (keeping in mind I want the focus to be on the Wave Goodbye Tour), please send them along or message me on Twitter using the hashtag #ninterview.

[Source, Source]

8/22/09 ny, ny [bowery ballroom] * tickets available exclusively at nin.com nin.com on sale: 7/17 time: 5:00pm est support: the horrors

All of this info will w/ links will be here: http://tour.nin.com/

Holy effing shizz, y’all! This is it … the last of the Nine Inch Nails tourdates (possibly last EVER)! I am deffo planning on attending as many of these tourdates as possible. I’m hoping to go to all of the NYC dates and all of the LA dates. I am SO incredibly excited … make your plans now … hopefully I’ll see you in NY/LA! Woot!!!

[Source]

Getting right to the point, we’re going to play a handful of shows in NYC, Chicago and LA starting August 22nd. They will be informal affairs in medium to small venues with longer set-lists, possible special guests, cool openers and other surprises. Upon reflection, the NIN/JA tour felt like we had to rush through sets due to a limited allotted set length and many shows were in daylight – it just didn’t feel right to end NIN that way. An offer to headline V-Fest in Toronto (being announced soon) set the idea in motion to play some FUN shows to end this up with. If we can get it together we’ll film these shows, too.

Thanks,
Trent

Hot Damn!! This is just … incredible! NIN haven’t played club dates in the US since the early 90’s … these shows are absolutely MUST SEE for any Nine Inch Nails fan. Altho I was extremely fortunate to be able to see NIN play a tiny club in Barcelona, Spain a couple of years ago I have never been able to see them play smaller venues here in the US. At the very least, I plan on attending the NYC and the LA shows. If these shows turn out to be the last NIN shows ever … I absolutely plan to be there to bear witness. Woot!! Actual tourdates and onsale ticket information has yet to be announced … I’ll be sure to pass along that info when it becomes available. Again, I say, WOOT!!

[Source]

Click HERE to stream to the entire Sound Opinions podcast online or click HERE to download an MP3 of the whole show. I listened the the entire show this morning and was most impressed with the tone of the entire conversation. The questions weren’t being asked by fanboys, they were being asked by true music fans which allowed Reznor to talk at legnth about his feelings on the music industry in general and his experiences in particular. He did clarify, again, that the current NIN tour may be the last … forever. While he did say that he will most likely record new music in the future, he suggested that he may do so under another name (saying, it “may or may not be under the name Nine Inch Nails“). TR insists that he does not want to turn into an elderly rocker saying, “I don’t want to become Gene Simmons putting on his demon boots“. Reznor also talked a bit about former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell’s new collaboration with Timbaland and even revealed that his old record company (and Cornell’s current record company) Interscope commissioned a Timbaland remix of the NIN song The Hand That Feeds … which TR describes as “laughably terrible” (ah, but would that we might be allowed to hear this monstrous atrocity some day … box set, perhaps?). While this interview with Trent Reznor may not have the charm that my interview with Trent Reznor has (kidding, kidding), I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it and think that some of you may enjoy it as well … tho, Chris Cornell fans might want to take a pass.

[Source, thanks Anu]

It is the awards show where techies are greeted like rock stars. Described by some as the Oscars of the Web, the Webby Awards pay homage to the best of the Internet. From videos that went viral to the stars who graced them, the 13th annual Webby Awards on Monday night gave online pioneers their due respect in the form of a trophy one recipient described as a “bedspring.” Known for its unorthodox format, the irreverent awards ceremony featured its traditional five-word speeches and videos showcasing the “raw talent” found only online. Seth Meyers of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” hosted the show, and this year’s recipients reflected the diverse Internet audience. Honorees included Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor for artist of the year and The Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington, who won for best political blog. Huffington’s speech was a tad defensive: “I didn’t kill newspapers, OK?” This year’s show unveiled a new category, Webby for Internet famous, to honor those who had created an online following. There were also those whose fame segued from television to the Web, such as Lisa Kudrow, who won for her role as an online therapist in “Web Therapy” and Sarah Silverman for “The Great Schlep” and “I’m F**king Matt Damon.” Tweeting his way to the top of the pack was Biz Stone, who garnered the Webby for breakout of the year as co-creator of the Internet phenom, the micro-blogging site Twitter. There were no upsets among the categories as they had been announced before Monday’s star-studded gala at Wall Street’s Cipriani. But there were some surprises, such as when recipient Richard Buschman uttered his five-word speech: “Erna, will you marry me?” No one was more surprised than Buschman’s fiancée, Erna Bomers, who had been told to come to film the speech so her boyfriend could share it with his co-workers. Actress Cameron Diaz presented a Webby to late-night talk-show host Jimmy Fallon for person of the year. His speech? “Thank God, Conan got promoted.” Of course, Fallon was referring to Conan O’Brien, who moved over to “The Tonight Show,” allowing Fallon to air. And the man whom the Webbys credit for creating the Worldwide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by journalist Charlie Rose. Berners-Lee received the only standing ovation of the evening and wrapped up the hope for the Internet’s future with this statement: “Free. Open. Keep one Web.”

Woot! Congrats to all the winners of this year’s Webby Awards. Nerds Rule!! As you may have gathered, it is customary for acceptace speeches at the Webbys to consist of just 5 words. As I mentioned above, Trent Reznor was honored as the Artist of the Year — after the jump, watch video of his 5-word acceptance speech and check out a few Twitpics posted from the event by my new friends Rob Sheridan and Tamar Levine …