Can't wait to see what Trent and Atticus wear to the CMAs with Lil Nas X

September 4, 2019 8:39 PM

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross were recently included in a Country Music Association nomination (Spin), which they celebrated by Photoshopping their faces onto an image of Brooks & Dunn (Instagram). They earned the CMA nod from their producer credits, alongside YoungKio, on Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” remix with Billy Ray Cyrus (5 minute "official movie"), as the track samples “34 Ghost IV” (YouTube), a 2008 Nine Inch Nails song from Ghosts (previously; Discogs).
posted by filthy light thief (10 comments total)

Trent and Atticus also just were announced as doing the score for an upcoming Pixar film, Soul.
posted by hippybear at 8:47 PM on September 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

The sample was identified shortly after Lil Nas X signed to Columbia, back in March of this year (Billboard).
posted by filthy light thief at 8:54 PM on September 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

Also, Ghosts is an awesome album which I should re-explore at some point. Each of the 4 parts has it's own theme, and it's interesting to really dig into.

You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

Also, multitracks are available, you know, if you're into that sort of thing.
posted by hippybear at 9:43 PM on September 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Also, the warehouse radio landed on a "this is NOW" music station for a day this last week (hey, variety is needed!), and I actually heard Old Town Road "in the wild". It was good to get away from the station that plays that one song from the latest Star Is Born once an hour. *shudder*
posted by hippybear at 9:45 PM on September 4, 2019 [2 favorites]

Also, also (to hippybear’s also) Ghosts has a lot of the themes that Reznor and Ross used in many of the soundtracks they composed after the release of Ghosts. It’s a fun game for any music nerds to pick out the riffs and themes.
posted by daq at 10:17 PM on September 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

2019: the year that Nine Inch Nails is finally recognized as making dystopian pop music and melancholy country crossover jams that were simply ahead of their time.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:25 PM on September 4, 2019 [5 favorites]

Also, also (to hippybear’s also) Ghosts has a lot of the themes that Reznor and Ross used in many of the soundtracks they composed after the release of Ghosts. It’s a fun game for any music nerds to pick out the riffs and themes.

12 Ghosts II at the end of episode 2 of the Ken Burns Vietnam War doc was especially effective.
posted by kersplunk at 1:21 AM on September 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Garth flips on the light in his closet, solemnly stares at his Chris Gaines wig for a minute
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:40 AM on September 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

Huh, I'd missed the whole Old Town Road / Ghosts thing. Despite having listened to Ghosts a fair amount and the sample clear as day, right at the start of both songs.

The story of the sample is a great contemporary example of gig economy and misunderstood licensing. Lil Nas X bought a beat off of BeatStars for $30, which presumably included rights to re-use the sample he bought. The beat was composed by YoungKio, who knew he was explicitly sampling Ghosts IV and Nine Inch Nails but was not.. careful enough with the licensing from Nine Inch Nails. (Ie: did nothing.) Oddly Ghosts IV is actually released under a Creative Commons license which does allow for sampling and remixing. But it's a BY-NC-SA license, which among other things has a restriction to non-commercial use only. So that doesn't cover the use on BeatStars or the re-use on Old Town Road.

I'm glad everyone settled and there's royalties and credit being paid. Sometimes this kind of thing gets much uglier.
posted by Nelson at 7:29 AM on September 5, 2019 [7 favorites]

Sometimes this kind of thing gets much uglier.

Knowing what I know about Trent and having observed from his behavior about allowing others to create with his material, I'd bet that there was mostly a "hey, give us credit and maybe 1%" or something. Because who doesn't think that Trent doesn't get a kick out of some unknown from a niche internet app got a song to float for so long on top of everything. And to have that based on an obscure instrumental album track that was essentially a fundraising effort to get NIN some finances to exist without a label?

Trent was probably delighted all around, and I hope was happy to settle things with as little a fuss or burden to the rising star as possible. That's how I picture him in my mind, anyway.
posted by hippybear at 3:19 PM on September 7, 2019