on elitism.

last friday, instead of traipsing on over to the local minyan, i did something some would consider an affront to religion - i went to a free, nine inch nails listening party. for those of you who don't know, and i'll assume that's a large chunk of you well-adjusted folk, nine inch nails is about to release a new album called year zero. it's more or less a dystopic exploration of a post-evangelical revival america - a perfect musical accompaniment to atwood's the handmaid's tale. read it, if you haven't.

it's utterly terrifying.

at any rate, i thought it was an interesting listen. reznor's definitely incorporated a lot of what he learned while on tour with tv on the radio. more blues and jazz influence, for sure, and i don't necessarily think that's a bad thing, as some nin purists are bemoaning on over-glorified boards all over the internet.

this leads me neatly into my problem with elitism. it's just a logical problem with the people i saw at this listening party, really. for all of their red-streaked hair, tusk-like piercings, and completely impractical combat boots, these people are still consumers. they decry consumerism and american politics as "giving into the man," and reznor's album provides them even more fodder for a group-think, packaged response to the current paradigm. not that i'm maligning reznor or calling him a hypocrite; i think, with his viral marketing campaign, he's trying to undermine the major record labels and is doing a fantastic job, frankly. i'm maligning the crowds that flock to his shows with blind adoration reflected in their monochrome wardrobe and canned rhetoric.

tv on the radio probably said it best at the dallas concert this summer: "i bet most of you don't even know why you wear black." and it's true. if tomorrow reznor or ministry or bauhaus or maynard said that pink was the new black, you can bet that there would be a thunderous clamor at your local hot topic for pink combat boots.