He should just start a line of cologne & keep is trap shut. Be seen, not heard. Be a billboard, not a voice. Whore yourself for money, not for attention. Well I mean it’s ok if you take your clothes off to sell Pepsi. That’s the good kind of attention. Bad attention is being like… negative & stuff. Icky! I mean, who cares what ARTISTS THINK anyhow?

Furthermore, I totally agree that you should only offer extended commentary on a subject if you can provide a viable solution. I mean, I have no idea how to solve the problems in Darfur so I have no business mentioning it. Or the AIDS problem in Africa. Or global warming. Also, if you DO comment on the AIDS crisis, you must not love Africa. And if you comment on global warming, you must not love the globe. Or warmth.

You know, this is MOST surprising coming from you, Jason. Maybe Trent’s “brand” is that of a digital outlaw? You, of all people, should understand that he’s strengthening his relationship with his fans through all of this. He’s even building his fan base. I’ve talked to people who have said “I’m only a casual fan of NIN, but I’ll support him because I perceive him to be an man of great integrity.” Genuine (which I believe it to be) or not, that is the ultimate effect.

This guy is your poster boy. But just because you disagree with his opinions (which he’s posting TO HIS OWN FANS on HIS OWN WEBSITE), you lambaste him. Christ, it’s not like the guy is on Entertainment Tonight talking about how our overuse of toilet paper is destroying the rain forests. He posted a 2 line comment on his own blog. Where his own fans come. To read his thoughts. This is great fan relations. He’s interacting, opening up. Including them. Isn’t this a huge part of the new landscape? Isn’t he doing everything 100% RIGHT?

You think he’s biting the hand that fed him all these years. We get it. But don’t the fans, in turn, feed the labels? How many times have their hands been bitten? (Ask Trent’s fans in Australia if you’re looking for a good place to start.) I think that is a cause well worth championing. The truth of the matter is that his message resonates with fans. And that’s why it’s a story. And that’s why journalists are visiting his blog and reposting his thoughts.

Trent = Attention Whore

He left the major label system, and obviously no longer wants to be part of the mainstream world. That’s fine. But why the fuck does he have to keep complaining about it? It’s not like he’s making valid suggestions on how to change the industry. Or like he even wants the industry to change. He’s just doing it for the sake of being anti mainstream. So all the kids who are stealing music (which is pretty much everyone), will think that he’s cool and what they’re doing is right.

On top of that, I dont like it when musicians try to draw more attention to themselves with the statements they make, than with their music. It’s not like Trent has released a great record since The Fragile.. and that one came out 8 years ago!!!

That track has been played to death for years now thanks to the O.C.

Can you go a little more in depth about how you came to that conclusion?

Maybe he should get the fuck over whatever his problems are and just focus on writing great music. But then again, he loves playing the “anti mainstream hero” role way too much to do that. Guess Trent isnt as much about the music as he claims to be.

But I don’t know what business they have being on FBR.

The beauty of FBR has always been how focused their talent pool was. If you like Fall Out Boy, you’re probably going to like the Academy Is. They nailed their niche so well that they could sell records just by signing a band. Gym Class Heros was a stretch, but somehow it worked (then again, FBR fans were basically force fed GCH for the longest time). Lifetime was a stretch, but that was more of a play for cred than anything, I think, which effectively counteracted the GCH push. Phantom Planet, however… they’re going to lose their brand loyalty if they branch out too far.

But I can’t wait for another PP album. And I love that Darren supports Ron Paul. Hell yeah.