Trent Reznor Of NIN Tears Apple Apps Process A New One

I absolutely love NIN frontman Trent Reznor, as only a straight guy can love another man. Not only because he makes really good music, but because this guy knows his tech like no other musician (sorry John Mayer). Case in point is when Trent comes off the top rope on Apple and their ridiculous App approval process. Apple recently rejected a NIN application because of “risqué content” , and that sent Reznor over the edge with this NSFW posting on his podcast:

“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!”

As crude as he is…… He has a point. Check out the rest of the statement below:

“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. 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. “

I do find it interesting that Apple doesn’t have a problem with NSFW applications such as Twitter and other questionable apps, not to mention the fact that you can buy explicit lyrics songs on iTunes. Why not just have Adult sections of the app store that you must be over 18 to download instead of rejecting these types of apps? By rejecting them, Apple opens itself up to criticism of hypocrisy, and rightfully so.

Do yourself a favor Apple…. Stop trying to be our Moms!!!

[Gizmodo]

UPDATE: Straight from the twitter account of the man himself, the NIN iPhone app has been approved and will be available sometime later today "unchanged" from the version that Apple found objectionable.
So, it appears that Apple has caved in to the criticism, further illustrating that their approval system is all kinds of messed up. All that aside, I'm just happy it's on it's way. [Twitter]

Trent Reznor Was A "Onik" User

I never got the chance to really check out the site "Onik" before it was taken down, but it sounds like there were quite a few people who liked it. Not just for the obvious reasons for free music, but many people liked the feel of the site and how it had high bit-rate music. Trent Reznor from "Nine inch Nails" was just one of those users who is disappointed to see it gone.

In an interview in New York Magazine, Reznor said that Onik was “world’s greatest record store” because of its content and quality. Said Reznor “iTunes kind of feels like Sam Goody to me. I don’t feel cool when I go there. I’m tired of seeing John Mayer’s face pop up. I feel like I’m being hustled when I visit there, and I don’t think their product is that great. DRM, low bit rate, etc.”

It's interesting that someone who is accomplished in the music industry would feel this way about a site that according to the record industry stops just short of terrorism. I would like to see this site come back in some form, perhapses with a monthly fee for all the music you can download. Having high bit-rate music would be good for all users, not matter where it comes from.

Trent Reznor and Saul Williams Discuss Their New Collaboration, Mourn OiNK [NY Mag via Crunchgear]