Dispatches | March 01, 2011

Well, me too. Evidently, so does did Trent Reznor.

Trent Reznor fully grunged out.

No, not that Trent Reznor.

Reznor and Atticus Ross accept the Oscar for Best Original Score. Personally, I think he's more intimidating in a tuxedo.

That Trent Reznor. Reznor was a surprise winner to some, even with the success he had at the Golden Globes. Truthfully, the surprise is that someone so famous for transforming American industrial rock gained access to the clean-cut, elitist Oscar stage. You don’t need to be a film or music expert to find the differences between Reznor and, say, Randy Newman – winner of Best Original Song this year. You also don’t need to be an expert to see that Reznor absolutely deserved his Oscar. And the Ross-Reznor musical pairing isn’t finished making their mark on the film world. The duo is working with David Fincher on the score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

So, here’s the question: did James Franco get stoned and host the Oscars? Just kidding – but I’m not the only one asking that question.

Seriously, let’s take a closer look at Reznor’s career. We all already know Nine Inch Nails and, whether industrial rock is your thing or not, I think we can admit that what he did was groundbreaking and took a lot of talent. So, how did he do it? The answer, at least for the band’s fifth album, Year Zero: with a laptop in hotel rooms after rocking out on tour. No, not everyone loved Year Zero, but then again it seems like it’s always hard to please Pitchfork. The larger point here, is that Reznor built this album on the go, on a laptop, mixing sounds and beats outside of a multi-million dollar studio.

When you’re sitting at home, mixing your audio for this year’s competition, just think, I am Trent Reznor. I mean, it gets me through my day.