This morning (July 26), Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor took took aim at a variety of pop culture figures in a pair of newly conducted interviews, from low-hanging fruit Donald Trump, to big-name targets like Drake and Nicki Minaj, to some more head-scratching selections, including "asshole" Ashton Kutcher and indie darlings Grizzly Bear.
Of the latter, Reznor spoke at length against the band licensing their 2009 hit "Two Weeks" in a Volkswagen commercial, which aired during Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. In the interview with Vulture, Reznor stated:
Something that's struck me as a significant shift, and I don't know when it started, is when the corporate entity became a benefactor as opposed to a thing musicians shunned. When I hear Grizzly Bear in a Volkswagen commercial, it kind of bums me out. I like Grizzly Bear a lot; I don't want to think of a fucking car when I hear their song. But somewhere along the line it became okay to get in bed with a sponsor. More specifically it became okay for rock bands to talk about.
Speaking with Exclaim!, Grizzly Bear multi-instrumentalist and producer Chris Taylor — who had not yet heard Reznor's remarks — initially responded with a laugh followed by "Well, that would be a pretty old quote."
When informed that the quote was not, in fact, pretty old, he replied, "Oh he just said that today? Well, I'm a big fan of him. That's a bummer to hear. We're not trying to bum anyone out."
Grizzly Bear will release new album Painted Ruins on August 18 via RCA. Nine Inch Nails' newest EP, ADD VIOLENCE, was released digitally on August 7.
Watch the offending commercial below.
Of the latter, Reznor spoke at length against the band licensing their 2009 hit "Two Weeks" in a Volkswagen commercial, which aired during Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. In the interview with Vulture, Reznor stated:
Something that's struck me as a significant shift, and I don't know when it started, is when the corporate entity became a benefactor as opposed to a thing musicians shunned. When I hear Grizzly Bear in a Volkswagen commercial, it kind of bums me out. I like Grizzly Bear a lot; I don't want to think of a fucking car when I hear their song. But somewhere along the line it became okay to get in bed with a sponsor. More specifically it became okay for rock bands to talk about.
Speaking with Exclaim!, Grizzly Bear multi-instrumentalist and producer Chris Taylor — who had not yet heard Reznor's remarks — initially responded with a laugh followed by "Well, that would be a pretty old quote."
When informed that the quote was not, in fact, pretty old, he replied, "Oh he just said that today? Well, I'm a big fan of him. That's a bummer to hear. We're not trying to bum anyone out."
Watch the offending commercial below.