When you really think about it, David Byrne and Trent Reznor are two very different artists from two very different worlds. Yet they also are very independently-minded artists who are rigorously respected by their peers. So just because Reznor made his name via the industrial metal of Nine Inch Nails and Byrne earned his fame via ’80s pop icons the Talking Heads doesn’t mean they can’t sit down for a friendly chat to discuss their experiences in the music business. That’s actually exactly what happened on Sunday night, when they met up in L.A. to speak about trying to create and distribute music in an increasingly digital world where the traditional record label model may no longer be viable. Byrne was also promoting his new book How Music Works, which is an excellent diagnosis of the music industry as a whole these days. Reznor’s new band How to destroy angels will also be releasing the An omen EP next month via major label Columbia, in case you weren’t already aware of that. In the discussion, Reznor talks a bit about why he felt the need to return to a record label after putting out the last few Nine Inch Nails releases on his own. His main point, I suppose, is that being responsible for your own exposure and marketing as a tiny enterprise brings its own set of challenges that he didn’t want to have to deal with anymore. A good 11 minute chunk of that video with Reznor talking can be watched here. It comes recommended obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t even have mentioned it. But while I’m recommending things, let’s talk about today’s Pick Your Poison. Good tracks today come from Golden Bloom, Iko, Lemonade’s remix of Lindstrom, Markus Mehr, Pearl and the Beard, Sufjan Stevens and Young Dreams. In the Soundcloud section I’m also recommending two Twin Shadow-affiliated songs: one from Chad Valley and the other a remix of Solange’s “Sleep in the Park.”
Arc in Round – Spirit (King Britt Remix)
Calvin Love – Gut Feeling (Devo cover)
Daniel Romano – She Was the World to Me
Dikta – What Are You Waiting For
Golden Bloom – Flying Mountain
Lindstrom – Eg-ged-osis (Lemonade Remix)
Lisa Richards – Beating of the Sun
Markus Mehr – Duck Became Swan
Reuben and the Dark – Shoulderblade
Sufjan Stevens – Ding-a-ling-a-ring-a-ling
SOUNDCLOUD
Chad Valley – I Owe You This (ft. Twin Shadow)
Marika Hackman – Lithium (Nirvana cover)
Solange – Sleep In The Park (Twin Shadow Remodel ft. D’Angelo Lacy)