Let me preface this by saying: I hate talking on the phone. I just don't like it. But when somebody here at the station came up to me and said, "Hey, would you be willing to do a phone interview with Trent Reznor?" Uh — yes!

In the course of our conversation, we got to talk about Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails's "Hurt," about Reznor's score for the film The Social Network, and about Reznor's friendship with David Bowie. We got cut off early, and that's unfortunate, but I can say that this is 12 of my favorite minutes I've ever had on the telephone. You can listen to our full chat using the audio player above.

Interview Highlights

On when he's most creative:
"A weird thing happened before I had kids: my functional time of day was trying to get up before the sun comes up, for whatever reason. I find those first few hours my most productive. The day hasn't beaten me down yet."

On meeting Rick Rubin:
"Early on, Rick Rubin introduced himself, and said something along the lines of, 'You know what? I normally hate this kind of music. I don't make it past the sounds. But you've turned me around on this. I didn't get it at first, but now I do.' … That stands out to me, as somebody that meant a lot to me, to hear that."

On being asked if Johnny Cash could cover a Nine Inch Nails song:
"Rick [Rubin] just called me up and said, 'We're doing another record with Johnny, and we'd like to do "Hurt." Are you OK with that?' And I said, 'Of course!' I'm extremely flattered that Johnny Cash, who I consider an unbelievable songwriter would want to cover one of my songs."

On hearing Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt":
"It was very strange hearing his giant voice inhabiting a song I wrote. … To hear those words juxtaposed against the life of this icon, sung so beautifully and emotionally, it was a very conscious reminder of what a beautiful medium music is."

On composing the score for David Fincher's film, The Social Network:
"It became one of the best creative, collaborative experiences I've had in my life. "

On his friendship with David Bowie:
"Knowing he was there was a source of strength and inspiration. … I would look to him in a way as a kind of North Star."

Resources

Nine Inch Nails - official site