TUNE IN TO THE RESISTANCE
USB drives were left in bathrooms at concerts with previously unreleased songs on them, and Web sites gave out clues listing secret locations for “resistance meetings.” Fans who showed up were spirited off in unmarked vans to unannounced free concerts.
The game is set in a vaguely defined dystopian future where things have gone horribly wrong as a result of contemporary government policies (think the Bush Administration and the Patriot Act). Players receive e-mails and links to Web sites sent back in time from 2022 that warn about what happens when, in Reznor’s words, “a culture gets lazy and [does] not question corruption.”
“Art changes the world, changes your perception and how you see things,” Reznor said, “whether you are tuned in or you are a drone affected by the TV you watch.”
Art is Resistance (www.artisresistance.com) is one example of an online group from the future dedicated to preventing the realization of this Orwellian nightmare. The site offers free templates in its tools menu for making stickers, posters and graffiti stencils.
“People need to pay attention and question things,” Reznor said. “That is the key” to avoiding the apocalyptic vision of Year Zero.
Nine Inch Nails is on a grueling schedule and has been touring Europe and Southeast Asia non-stop since May, with minimal gaps between performances. James Chen, an Australia-based Taiwanese promoter, is bringing the band here through his company Straight Music House, which is also putting on this weekend’s Terminal Festival.
“We are taking this tour not really for money,” Chen said, but because it would be “too bad if kids in my country miss [the last chance to see Nine Inch Nails in concert].”
Reviews of the tour indicate that Reznor’s macabre stage mania is still as raw and powerful as ever. Stunning light displays and the artist’s dystopian Goth-industrial auditory journey create a haunting experience that makes you want to dance your way through the shadows and into the future with eyes wide open.
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