Trent was such a nice young man in the '80s...

Well, unfortunately for Trent, and hilariously for us, local TV in Cleveland during the 1980s has been preserved for the ages.

So apparently, while Trent was working on Pretty Hate Machine and starting to craft his own gothy image, he paid the bills by playing in bands like the legendary Slam Bamboo.

I know it was the '80s and all, but yowza. Just LOOK at these guys!



Don't worry...Trent isn't the lead singer here. He's hiding in the back, looking shockingly normal. In fact, he looks pretty much the same as he does RIGHT NOW--heavy on the black and leather, short hair...maybe just a bit more feathery than present-day Trent. Still, it's a departure from the hair-sprayed excess of Exotic Birds Trent, and he has a way to go before he develops the godawful dreadlocks of classic PHM Trent. He's not sporting a gold suit or bolo...really, it's a good fashion moment for Trent here. Except for the loafers with white socks:



And lest you think that Slam Bamboo was merely a one-hit wonder, here's their second hit, if you can handle it:



Actually, "Little White Lies" is probably a better song than the first one, but still. As Iris said, "being in bands like this must have given him so much fodder to be pissed at the fucking world about."

Oh, and here's a little interview with the band. The only really notable aspect of it is Trent getting called out by the host as a "nice young man," which he responds to not with a Downward Spiral-esque snarl, but a sheepish "aw shucks" grin from the dork that resides within Trent Reznor. The dork that we know and love.

1,000,000 Miles Away

In other news today, Nine Inch Nails released rehearsal footage of "1,000,000". You can watch the original, larger screen version on NIN.com.

This has totally got me all pumped up again about the summer tour. With all that has been released in this past year from Trent and also including the other 5 hours of behind the scene's footage of "Closer" the NIN world is a little over-saturated right now. Too many things to try an absorb which ends up putting me off. Hence the lack of NIN related posts lately. But this video is great. They sound like they're going to be pretty damned good together. There towards the end it sounds like they might need a bit more work but hey, if you add a hell of a lot of volume and some flashing lights at the show, I'd never notice. Besides, as it's been discussed here many times, live always sounds a bit different so I'm not really complaining. They still seem to be giving it 110% and come August this show is going to be fantastic!

I'm so glad to see Finch back in his place as guitarist and I'm THRILLED he shaved off his goat beard. Still not sure what's going on with the rest of his hair but Finck has always rocked the freak look well. Sideshow Bob...err...the other new guy, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, looks as though he's fitting in. Would you believe me if I told you that guy is actually 39?! Anyone out there know the story of what happened with Richard Fownes?

If you haven't ordered it yet and are interested I believe you still have time to get "The Slip" with DVD. I pre-ordered mine the other day because, well, I pick things up and I am a collector. But now I'm actually really excited to watch it. The flood waters are finally receding here so the Post Man had better deliver!

Edit:
They have now added "Letting You" rehearsal video to NIN.com and holy shit this is FANTASTIC! I wasn't too sold on this one on the album but they rock the shit out of it in the video!

More on all this later...time for work. Hopefully they'll have another video up by the time I get home for lunch.

Edit 2.0:
We have "Echoplex". At least it sounds better live.

Two more videos to go. Wonder what we'll get. I can haz "Discipline"?

George Carlin...

If you haven't heard the news already, George Carlin passed away last night from heart failure. He was 71 and still too young to die if you ask me. Hubby and I were able to watch one of his shows a few years ago in Des Moines. He was fantastic although he was showing some signs of slowing down. I wish I'd had my glasses back then so I could really see him. As it was he was just an angry, blurry, little man on stage.

This is one of my favorite bits from his "You Are All Diseased" HBO special in '99.

How he ever held a job as Mr. Conductor for the TV show "Shining Time Station" is beyond me. I'm thinking it had to be community service for something or the casting director for the show had a great sense of ironic humor.

George, I know you'd hate the cliche sentiments but you'll be greatly missed. Give them hell wherever you are, man.

Come Hell or High Water

Hello there Ladies and Gents. I know I've been absent here as of late but I swear I have a good excuse (this time). I don't know how much you folks follow news of the Midwest but a good portion of my state is either highly saturated or underwater. It's been a bit nerve-wracking watching the waters rise in the local river. This is what one of the roads I regularly use looked like on Friday.


And here it is what it looked like yesterday. You can still kinda make out the top of the same road sign.


But good news is that it looks like we're now at the point where things will start returning to normal. Thank goodness. I've been on 24hour flood watch and helped sandbag on Saturday and I'm just generally worn out with all the fretting about what "could have" happened. My thoughts go out to the others who were hit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Des Moines, and all the other little towns along the way but I need something to take my mind off all that's been going on around here. Something happier. Something like going to see Ladytron tonight in Chicago with Maise and Ro. WhooHoo! Now I need to get my happy ass packing if we're going to make it on time.

Hey Maise...see you in a few hours!

Closer to Closer...

So as some of you may know, new behind-the-scenes footage of the "Closer" video has been unleashed on the Internets by the ETS folks--like a ridiculous amount of footage, 5 hours worth! Iris has been diligently downloading for DAYS now, and soon we will be in possession of all 300 glorious gothy minutes, but for now, the first four minutes can be found on YouTube, thusly:



In case you're not sure whether you should dedicate four minutes of your life to watching this video, allow me to provide color commentary:

0:02--The bald guy appears to be very personable but is still creepy.

0:08--I bet that female crew member LOVES that footage has been released revealing her butt crack. Where exactly is our cameraperson? Under a chair?

0:19--Someone is spray-painting the side of beef behind Trent.

0:39--Mmmm, Trent. Trent at his single most fuckable moment, wearing the single most fuckable leather jacket in the history of leather jackets (sorry, Dan!). OMG, he has such Pantene hair in this video! Does he realize that someone is filming him while hiding under a chair? Will he forget and absentmindedly pick his nose or scratch his balls?

1:08--Another crew member's ass. No crack visible.

1:15--The words "Nine Inch Nails" flash across the screen. Just in case you've forgotten what you're watching.

1:22--OMG, those leather pants are fucking hot too.

1:33--Trent begins to rotate on turntable thing. His arms are crossed uncomfortably behind his back.

1:42--Trent grins like a goof.

1:54--Trent is still spinning...I'd probably eventually barf on this turntable. Speaking of barfing, of which I have a major phobia, Iris and I shared this conversation on the subject:

Maise: I think Trent DID barf while making this video...I hope they don't show that.

Iris: well i can preview it for you and tell you what to avoid if they show it

Maise: Yes, please!

Iris: or if there are sound effects

Maise: I mean, although Trent barfing would be hotter than anyone else barfing, it still would make me very unhappy.

Iris: LOL! that is the most fangirl thing i've EVER heard.

2:07--We get a shot of Trent's boots. I bet those took a long time to lace up.

2:18--Trent is lip-synching. I would have a hard time just lip-synching in front of a bunch of people. I'd probably keep trying to sing along. I very nearly made a stupid Milli Vanilli joke here, but you're lucky I didn't.

2:32--Trent paws at his hair in a tortured manner.

3:08--Trent lip-synching and spinning...

3:13 or 3:14--Trent seems to almost fall off the turntable.

3:19--Trent bends down in dramatic anguish or nausea.

4:03--Trent lip-synching and spinning. Maybe I'm projecting, but he looks like he's over it.

And there you have it folks...only 4 hours and 56 minutes to go! More to come, I'm sure...

Time Flies...

Wow. May is gone and I have no idea where the time went. Seems we're always busy these days. Work has gone into overload, I have some new video games that need to be played, books to be read, and oh yeah...the weather has been gorgeous lately which is great because we've had a ton of yard work to do. The grass doesn't cut itself or so we overheard our neighbors muttering when peering in our overgrown backyard. Whatevs. But I've had a few minutes here and there to look about online for news and entertainment.

For instance in NIN-related news, there was a link that briefly popped up giving us a sneak peek at a new messageboard similar to what was on the Spiral but which seems to still be in the testing phase. Sometimes the link works, sometimes it doesn't. If it's not working you can check out a screen capture I got of Rob fooling around. Let's hope for the ladies sake he's joking about the 2.5 inches. I also received an email tipping me off to a fan made "Lights in the Sky" video that is equal parts creepy and hysterical...well the parts where Trent is singing anyway. The rest is pretty bland.

I also found out Shirley Manson will break into the acting world with a regular role on Fox's "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" TV series. The show is pretty craptacular but I'm hoping my girl can bring something to it to make it bearable. I'm just wondering what the Fox execs are going to do with her Scottish accent. I love her to death but occasionally I have a hell of a time making out what shes saying. Although, really, I don't know that I'd want to hear her any other way. Shirley's been pretty quiet since Garbage went on hiatus in '05 but I did find this recent tidbit where she briefly mentions her solo album that is long overdue in my opinion.

While poking around on YouTube I became enthralled with this year's season of "Britain's Got Talent" and this kid named George Sampson who has a heartwarming back story and who, I just found out yesterday, won it all. The whole routine he did for the finals was fantastic and I love the song remix.

Sure, I've probably seen better dancers like this guy from "So You Think You Can Dance" who is 'effing insane but George is pretty damn good for only being 14. I love the second half when he's dancing in the rain. It just looks so amazing. I've got to figure out how to get that look on paper. Oh and his face at the end of his performance...he knows he hit it right on the money. What a great expression. I hope this kid goes far.

And finally, I'll leave you with this little video I happened across yesterday that has an awesome WTF-factor and also features Wil Wheaton aka "Mushy Shorts". Wil, even in a scruffy beard and a suit you're still adorable. -sigh- I'll pretend not to notice your lovely wife's appearance as the blond presenter in the background. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.

Places Parallel is not responsible for any of the following songs that
inevitably will get stuck in your head and play repeatedly throughout the day.