Trent Reznor rips Apple, rates smartphone OSes
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 4th 2009 3:56AM
posted May 4th 2009 3:56AM
The story begins last week when Apple rejected an update to the official Nine Inch Nails iPhone application on the grounds of "objectionable content" (read: too many F-bombs). In this case, as it was in the rejected Tweetie update, the offensive content isn't actually part of the application; Apple's concern is with the song "The Downward Spiral" that can be streamed to the updated NIN iPhone App. The stupidity of this is palpable, but the hypocrisy is best described by Trent himself in a forum post over at NIN.com. Steel yourselves: unlike Apple we haven't censored the material -- so if naughty words can hurt you then by all means, don't click through to the full quote after the break. But Mr. Jobs, old pal, if you're listening... Trent may not be Bob Dylan, but he is the voice of the digital music generation.
As posted by Trent himself in response to Apple's rejection eMail:
...I'll voice the same issue I had with Wal-Mart years ago, which is a matter of consistency and hypocrisy. Wal-Mart went on a rampage years ago insisting all music they carry be censored of all profanity and "clean" versions be made for them to carry. Bands (including Nirvana) tripped over themselves editing out words, changing album art, etc to meet Wal-Mart's standards of decency - because Wal-Mart sells a lot of records. NIN refused, and you'll notice a pretty empty NIN section at any Wal-Mart. My reasoning was this: I can understand if you want the moral posturing of not having any "indecent" material for sale - but you could literally turn around 180 degrees from where the NIN record would be and purchase the film "Scarface" completely uncensored, or buy a copy of Grand Theft Auto where you can be rewarded for beating up prostitutes. How does that make sense? You can buy The Downward Fucking Spiral on iTunes, but you can't allow an iPhone app that may have a song with a bad word somewhere in it. Geez, what if someone in the forum in our app says FUCK or CUNT? I suppose that also falls into indecent material. Hey Apple, I just got some SPAM about fucking hot asian teens THROUGH YOUR MAIL PROGRAM. I just saw two guys having explicit anal sex right there in Safari! On my iPhone!Later in the threaded discussion, Trent clarifies his position with this little gem:
Come on Apple, think your policies through and for fuck's sake get your app approval scenario together.
Everyone - let me be clear. I love Apple products and as goofy and out-of-touch as their app approval process / policy is, I will still use them because they work 1000X better than the competition. This is not a debate, it's a fact. The iPhone is THE most elegant, modern smartphone at this point in time and it's perfect for what we want to do with the NIN app - except for the ludicrous approval process, and that's what I want to draw attention to.[Via The iPhone Blog]
Android is cool, but nobody has an Android phone. Blackberry is OK but the hardware is inconsistent and WinMo straight-up sucks balls. If Apple doesn't get it together, we will most certainly make it available to the jailbreak community. I didn't invest in this app to see it languish on the sidelines from an idiotic policy while this tour is in full swing.
Read -- Trent rages against the App Store Machine
Read -- Trent's Smartphone comment
I would hardly describe Reznor as "the voice of the digital music generation."
Don't go around throwing out grandiose titles for the frontman of some mediocrely-known band - he is NOT the spokesman for a generation of digital music junkies; he's simply a singer trying to make a splash without the talent and gift to actually make the aforementioned splash.
When NIN becomes the music that defines a generation, like Hendrix or the Beatles, or contributes some amazing musical theory that revolutionizes the way we listen and enjoy it, then you can consider the title.
If you think he is just a singer, then you don't know anything of what you are talking about. In fact, it is fairly obvious you don't even know what he does and has done.
I have an Android, and it's awesome. Android has sold well over a million units while nowhere near iPhone numbers there's a market there. >1,000,000 isn't "nobody".
I totally agree with Trent's statements. They approved the "Baby Shaker" app a while ago, and only took it down because of parents and rabid moralists sending angry letters.
If they initially allow an app where the main point is to kill a baby, why is it such a big fucking deal that the f-bomb is dropped a few times in an app?
windows mobile is great
too bad everyone shits on it all the time,
Trent you should release your program to WM
and yes WM is a bit harder to learn to use, but it offers way more freedoms then any of the other ones, except maybe android.
but it will still be a good 1-2 years till android can overtake WM in amount of software.
He does know that he could make more money with windows mobile. Conisdering he can sell the app for windows mobile for what ever he wants and update it any time he wants.
Also windows mobile suffers from the same thing that windows pc suffers from. microsoft just makes the os. They dont control what software gets bundled on it and what hardware it goes on.
Hes just trying to get his app approved faster.. of course if he said windows mobile rocks apple would have gotten upset at him.
In the UK, I dont know a single person who has has a dropped call on an iPhone. I have one, and its always worked fine.
I cant believe a basic function such as copy and paste was hyped up so much.
Tell me this... Why does an iPhone think any string of chars 0..9 is a telephone number?? And why cant it recognise addresses (if formatted line by line etc etc). So I can tap the address, and load it into maps.
Bah. WinMo sucks tho, I had a Dell Axim X51 for a while, was nice to use, but that was just before the smartphone madness! Now it gets the reaction, "What, it cant make calls, GTFO"
the dell axim is sweet i still have it and when i Travel i use it to watch movies/music
even on the small battery you can watch 2 movies back to back, i always loved that.
however, the new wm smartphones are the same. If you stip them of all the crap they come with and rebuild it from the start then it can work damn well.
and infact alot better then the axim
eventhough it has a 625mhz cpu, its an older one and not as good as on the new wm smartphones.
there really arent too many good phones other then the omnia, and treo pro. the touch pro is rather annoying with things like no headphone jack, crappy buttons, shitty battery life, and not the best gps even after the roms.
Why did he not add that itunes app also sucks big time, plus all that mess with DRM.
Maybe he should look at webOS for his next app :)
@Gad,
I thought you were right on. It drives me up the wall when people state an opinion about something like beauty or taste and say, "And that's a fact!" Maybe I'm just a stuffy empiricist or something, but I'll take numbers and specs as facts (and even then, those don't say much for functionality), and I'll keep opinions in my "grain of salt" bin.
It's unfortunate he went off on a rant about iPhone vs all the other phones, cuz now that's all the fan boys are talking about. "Oh look it's Mr Trent Fucking Reznor he thinks he's so smart what a douche!"
He does have a point ya know. Apple's approval process is COMPLETE horseshit for too many reasons, the biggest one being insane inconsistency, which is what this is all about. If the original app was approved, all updates should automatically be approved in most cases. If content was added, then I can see they would re-review it - but this is not the case here. You could always stream TDS from the app. The update is just bug fixes from what I know, and maybe a new feature or two. No new content though. It's just total crap that Apple does this.
ugh.. i loved this album and it mysteriously disappeared! damn mp3... now i wish i had a lossless copy around
get some FLAC
I've know for quite some time that Reznor was a douche, I just didn't know he was a tech douche as well.
And this is why I love Mr. TR...
i.... i have an android phone... o.o
Couldn't Apple just initiate (unless they have already) a Mature rating "M" in the app store like they do on music and video games in Brick and mortars?? Seems like a viable solution to me. I dunno..just a thought. The Fart Apps offend me, but was I warned of it's "disgustedness"? OK, just kidding there, it's gross, but doesn't offend..well, until it hits you in the face in real life. :-)
Seriously though he has a great point about the video games and music with offensive language, heel even the spanish to english conversion app will translate alot of swearwords and it's on the app store.....hmmmmmm.......
he's totally righ! but he forgot there's Symbian, ignorant.
Apple never seemed to have too much beef with Explicit content in iTunes store....... What gives? How many lines of code has it got to take to have a toggle for explicit app store content?
A fuckin' toast is in order!!
There's no DRM on itunes purchased music.
ignore the above.
stupid reply system :( :(
Arguments lose all credibility when someone claims you are "rewarded for beating up prostitutes" in GTA. Please familiarize with the examples you choose to cite, Trent.
First, I've been a fan of NIN and Trent for many years.
He has a right to be pissed off. Music and creativity is his career choice. He chose to invest his time and money to promote his music through Apple. Apple is blocking his creativity. It's very simple to understand his point of view. The iPod/iPhone holds market share. It has an app store that offers an avenue to reach more fans in more ways.
The article is about loss of freedom.
Let Trent rant about the short comings in the "other" gadgets that won't do what he needs it to do. He's no worse than the rest of you that stick to your "gadget" of choice.
Apple, you need to get real. One of my favorite artists has an app for the iPod? Fuck! I almost had another reason to toss my "non-apple gadget"!!
Until I heard about this.... Now it's just one more reason NOT to sell my soul to Apple...
The pile gets bigger.
Couldn't give a fuck about Reznor. Sure, the approval process is kind of silly but they're a private company that has no obligation to change their policies for the "voice of the digital music generation (are you fucking kidding me?)." He has every right to complain, but he'll succumb to their policies to go after the audience like a good little monkey.
There is a huge hypocrisy when it comes to apps and songs. Why does an app get banned for an over use of the word fuck but there is absolutely NO problem with profanity, sex, violence etc when it comes to music? It's anything goes in the iTunes music store, but they it's like 1984 over on the App side. Apple apparently thinks it's ok to play moral police with apps... but not with music. My guess is FUCK is fore more offensive in text and type than it is spoken over at the big fruit HQ! Scream FUCK all you want, but holy hell whatever you do, don't type it out!
Not only is his music brilliant, but his approach to the music industry is as well -
http://www.crowdpleasr.com/2009/05/trent-reznor-pioneers-change.html
That's simply stupid for Apple to reject such application. Maybe because it's free and Apple doesn't make a profit off it. If the NIN application cost something then Apple might approve it due to it's massive fan base. Apple might think again considering the revenue they will be able to generate?
Well, after this, it make me think of the SlingPlayer application. It might not be approved because it have the potential to stream "objectionable contents" as well? (If you know what I mean, not that I do it). But, maybe since SlingPlayer App might be charged 10~20 bucks, the Apple approval center might pass it, who knows.
Gives a whole new meaning to "I wanna f**k you like an animal"........
He may not be "the voice of the digital generation" but giving out The Slip as a free download was a smart move.
"Android is cool, but nobody has an Android phone."
--Really? This is news to me, I could've sworn I just finished reading about the G1 being ranked in the top five best selling smartphones in the U.S.
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/05/04/blackberry-curve-83xx-overtakes-iphone-3g-in-us-smartphone-ranki/
"...WinMo straight-up sucks balls."
--At first, this quote didn't surprise me in the least coming from an arrogant ("This is not a debate, its a fact."), ignorant (see 2 lines above) Apple fanboy. But then I started thinking about how Trent Reznor composes his music almost entirely through the use of technology, and this is what confused me.
The fact that someone who actively uses technology can fail to see through the thin veil (oooh, look..its so shiny) that is the myth that the iPhone is the best mobile device on the planet simply because its cool and hip to the truth that it manages greater stability at the severe cost of user control.
Sure, Microsoft could lock down the Windows Mobile OS, making all devices running it use the same home screen, provide for zero customization of the device, and make us use Windows Media Player to manage all device-->pc interactions. Hell, they could even make the upcoming Windows Marketplace the ONLY way to get new apps or features on the device. Instead of all of that, for those that can see beyond their giant iEgo, Windows Mobile provides for tweaking and customizing of pretty much every aspect of feature you can find on the devices running it. I can only speak for myself, but I'd much rather have control over the device connecting me to the rest of the world, especially when I just spent what can be a considerable amount of money on (regardless of which hardware/os you choose).
Then, in one crystallizing moment, my co-worker/supervisor/friend reminded me of something that made that quote, along with the entire article, and his attitude on the topic in general completely clear. Trent Reznor is a technophobe, as evidenced in his music describing fears of a post-apocalyptic matrix-like future where machines rule. I believe this is where the blind faith in Apple comes in. The entire business model of Apple, and more specifically the iPhone, is to cater to those who are afraid of technology and would rather have someone tell them what to do with and how to use their device, luring them in with flashy marketing and external design to compensate for lack-luster internal design. Recently though, these over-protective "features" are coming out of the glossy, cheesily reflective shadow in the form of rejected submissions to the app store getting media coverage.
Got lost in my own thoughts and forgot to finish a sentence.
correction:
*The fact that someone who actively uses technology can fail to see through the thin veil (oooh, look..its so shiny) that is the myth that the iPhone is the best mobile device on the planet simply because its cool and hip to the truth that it manages greater stability at the severe cost of user control absolutely astounded me.*
No, you got lost in your own thoughts and forgot to double-check the cogency of your arguments.
Just because the G1 sold well *in the US* and *in the latest results* in no way means it has a large base. He is comparing it to the iPhone's base, and when you compare the total number of current iPhone users with the current number of Android users, the phrase "no-one has an Android phone" is actually accurate from an informal, rough casual standpoint. He is not saying that Android has literally zero sales. And there is no doubt this situation will change (quickly) when Android is available in many markets and with better handsets - no doubt at all. But for the moment, when comparing bases, it is not an unacceptable thing to say when speaking informally.
We all speak like that, and you do, too. So don't pretend that it undermines his arguments, unless you want to say that all your arguments are undermined because of your own use of informally-correct but not-literally-accurate statements.
I take issue with your claim that Trent is a technophobe. If you, as you did, try and describe the man using his music alone, then the best you could say is that he is a dystopia-phobe. Trent may indeed be afraid of a future where machines rule us, but that does not mean he is afraid of all current technology full stop. He is well-known for his use of technology, actually. You mentioned this, yet still want to call him a "technophobe" ?
You would not have made that error, if you weren't so desperate to make the claim that Apple is only for the technophobes. Technophobes, uSheep (yeah, I get it), would not use any computer - Apple or non-Apple. It is a stupid argument, this idea that Apple computers are only attractive to technophobes, and it fails the simple "hey, define technophobe" test.
And as for your claim that Trent is "arrogant", yes, I agree 100%. I think he is very arrogant. Not that that alters his arguments in any way, but believe me, I'm no fan of Reznor.
god has spoken... must.... buy.... iphone
See this is why apple is coming out with parental controls in iphone 3.0 os. They even stated that way they don't have to block any apps. So EVERY app will be allowed soon. End of story, apple does not suck, people just don't understand the legal ramifications of Apple allowing these apps and not having parental controls.
legal ramifications of apps? Uhh there is a web browser on the phone than you can use to watch hardcore incest or bestiality with a keyword search and 1 click. There are zero "legal ramifications". IT is all public perception. Anyway, iphone, smart phone etc, is a good way to distinguish people who probably aren't worth the air they breathe. Few false positives. GTFOMP
Boo hoo mister nobody wants special treatment.
This isn't news engadget.
I know why they refused the application, here is the truth: Steve Jobs is in fact no other than Marylin Manson! We never knew because of all the makeup...
Sy..symbian..?
NIN sucks and so does Trent Reznor. What an ass. Apple can do whatever the hell they want. It's their company, their policies. if you don't like them, get the hell out.
NIN is garbage to begin with. It's not even music! It's just anger and screaming. Why can't people grow up and listen to music with some class? Like smooth jazz? What's wrong with you?
Trent, stop bitching about companies you wish you had control of and focus on improving your disgusting music taste.