_huH_ #5 January 1995

nothing from nothing leaves nothing

It used to be that musicians just wanted to be actors. Now they all want to be record company geeks as well, despite the fact (or because of it) that most of them constantly bitch about said geeks. But while some of those artists (i.e. Madonna) have been playing the record exec. role too well -- signing uninteresting bands with lots oÕ commercial potential (i.e. Candlebox) -- others, such as nine inch nailsÕ Trent Reznor, are taking the opposite route. TheyÕre signing bands that they actually believe in the same way someone once believed in them. And trying not to screw Ôem like theyÕve gotten screwed.

ÒItÕs basically just to provide a shell to other bands to have a concrete environment,Ó says Reznor of his nothing label. ÒAnd also to be aware of how the business part of it works -- which most labels donÕt want artists to know. ThereÕs so much shit in the music business aimed at protecting the label and fucking the artist over. IÕve learned Ôcause IÕve gotten fucked and thereÕs no reason it should be that way. Everybody asumes youÕre gonna fuck them over so they fuck you over first. ItÕs stupid.Ó

The first band on nothing, co-run by Reznor and his manager, John A. Malm Jr., was Marilyn Manson, a cartoonishly violent hard rock band that conjures images of a modern Twisted Sister if singer Dee Snider listened to more Alice Cooper and watched *Friday the 13th* sequels day in and day out. Adapting their names from assorted infamous serial killers, guitarist Daisy Berkowitz (David ÒSon of SamÓ Berkowitz), drummer Sara Lee Lucas (Henry Lee Lucas), keyboardist and horn player Madonna Wayne Gacy (John Wayne Gacy), bassist Twiggy Ramirez (Richard ÒNight StalkerÓ Ramirez), and singer Mr. Manson (Chuckie ÒFun BoyÓ Manson) spew crunchy guitar riffs over solid rhythms, with the added coloring of odd vocal samples. The lyrics are equally tongue-through-cheek: ÒCake and SodomyÓ opens with Mr. Manson declaring, ÒI am the god of fuck,Ó while ÒOrgan GrinderÓ changes that to ÒI am the face of piss and shit and sugar.Ó Their album, _Portrait of an American Family_ (thereÕs also an EP, _Get Your Gunn_, with two album tracks and two unreleased songs) is good, dirty, shock-rock fun; the kind you either get swept up in, or laugh at hysterically.

Stylistically similar to Marilyn Manson, though decidedly less cartoonish, Prick combines dramatically-revved hard rock with nine inch nails-style effects and sampling; imagine if Mr. Manson dropped the horror-core facade and listened to more David Bowie. On its self-titled debut, the group uses a variety of sound effects, from metallic noises to movie score orchestrations, but the core remains Smashing Pumpkins (*Gish*-era)-style heavy rock, with riffs tossed around equally frantic rhythms like a beast on fire.

Acting as a musical blender set on puree, the pioneering (and criminally underappreciated) Pop Will Eat Itself mixes elements of trance, dub, rock, rap, metal, and industrial to form future-sounding pop music; music perfectly suited for S&M techno-trance nights at the community center. Besides its new album _Dos Dedos Mis Amigo_, the group has also combined two of their UK EPs into the _Amalgamation_ EP, which includes two new songs, plus remixes and regular versions of three _Dos Dedos_ tracks.

ÒWeÕre just keeping it small,Ó explains Reznor of the label, which also recently released the soundtrack he produced for Oliver StoneÕs _Natural Born Killers_. ÒThe thing I quickly realized is that it takes a lot of time and I donÕt want it to get to where I donÕt know whatÕs going on. ItÕs nice being able to do this and itÕs fun to put some energy into something other that nine inch nails all the time.Ó -- Paul Semel

Portrait of an American Family: HE223
Get Your Gunn: HE224
Prick: HE225
Dos Dedos Mis Amigo: HE226
Amalgamation: HE227
Natural Born Killers: HE230


			(dash thirty dash)

Copyright 1994 by Ray Gun Publishing, Inc.

This is an exact transcription. All tenses, syntax, punctuation, split compound verbs, unlinked compound adjectives, incorrectly linked adverbial phrases, improperly sexed quotation marks, meaning-changing typographic errors, etc. are typed as printed and are not my own. If I give you one more chance will you shut up and quit whining? -- KT