Trent Reznor Speaks On Oscars, Lollapalozza & NIN

83rd Annual Academy Awards - Arrivals (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

On winning an Oscar for scoring The Social Network, Trent Reznor said in a recent interview, “I hadn’t worn a tie in years. It was fun to put the snarling-guy-sweating-on-a-mic on the shelf for a while. You think, ‘I’m probably not going to win, but if I do win, I’d better not sound like an idiot.”

“The anxiety builds. Then you realize you haven’t eaten in 12 hours. And the camera’s on you, maybe, at all times. ‘I need to pick my nose, but I can’t risk it.’ Then you hear your name in slow motion. ‘OK, hug my wife. Don’t trip over the cord. Why am I taking steps two at a time? I’m going to slip, but I can’t stop. Oh, my God, there’s Nicole Kidman, she’s nine feet tall. Is the mic on?’ It’s over in a millisecond, and you’re backstage with an Oscar in your hand.”

As for the band How to Destroy Angels, with his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, “Being in a band with my wife, I’m very aware of the multitude of ways that can go wrong. We’re best friends and are interested in the same things, so it’s natural to make music together. Taking my personality out of the spotlight and working in a more supporting role is what’s exciting to me now.”

On what music he plays for his new son, “Mainly just piano: Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, a little Chopin. And recordings of womb sounds and clothes dryers to help him sleep. He will probably love David Lynch films. Right now the nursery sounds like Eraserhead.”

And Nine Inch Nails heading back on the road, “My reason for stopping touring with Nine Inch Nails is that I needed to force my own hand to make myself do something different. NIN is comfortable to me, familiar. I like those songs, I like singing those songs, I like the energy onstage, but it’s not as relevant to me as it was when I was 25. And there’s an unspoken pressure to keep touring – that’s the only way to make a living – but I look at David Bowie’s fearlessness in changing and reinventing himself. That takes courage. The hiatus won’t be forever. The urge to tour again, in some capacity, will break through in the next few years.”

Read the full story at RollingStone.com