C/D: Adrian Belew

I love that Belew played on so much NIN stuff

Totally

It's interesting, though, that all he really does is provide squiggly noise improvs that Reznor manipulated. (There's a great tale you can track down of Belew refusing to join the band because he didn't want to wear silly stage clothes every night). Funnily enough, people forget that Reznor later enlisted none other than (speak of the devil) Lindsey Buckingham to play on a couple of tracks, too, but Lindsey sort of only did what Belew did, just noodled around some stuff for Reznor to use. I could have sworn I saw an interview with Reznor were he admits that he and Bucky were sort of neighbors, and he wanted him on the record because he thought it would be cool to have him as a friend, but the two really didn't click/.

Though it looks like Bucky played with them at the Grammys?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEfOrECg6jI

That’s like Big Love Buckingham on top of NIN. Weird.

Belew put that post on EVH back up. He basically just said he and a guy he played with went to see VH live and were excited to see him also tapping the fretboard. I didn’t see the criticism but I’m guessing it was some people who thought he was trying to take credit for “Eddie’s innovation.”

Re. Belew blending in, I always remember what Xgau said about him in his 80s Consumer Guide’s “Distinctions Not Cost Effective” section:

“Adrian Belew: a welcome addition to other people’s music.”

I have owned the first Bears album for well over a decade and never listened to it. That changes now. It's pretty cool!!

There's a great tale you can track down of Belew refusing to join the band because he didn't want to wear silly stage clothes every night

wait this is the reason that belew didn't end up joining the touring band in 2013? lmao, i don't really remember modern nin having much in the way of silly stage clothes beyond like, 'wear dark colours'.

When Bowie died, I remember being amazed that a clear copy of the Pretty Pink Rose video just didn’t seem to be out there anymore. How does something with him on lead vocal fall into obscurity like that?!

This is the one that never seems to leave me - something about his “weird” vocal just works. (phone call from the moon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K5ixzIr9n0

> I have owned the first Bears album for well over a decade and never listened to it.

great album! i tried to convince my friends to listen to it when it first came out but they physically doubled over laughing at the cover and wouldn’t bother.

Just saw that Chris Arduser, drummer for the Bears/Raisings/etc., passed about a month ago ...

Yeah I think I saw that on Belew’s FB maybe. Sad.

I pulled The Bears’ S/T record out a few months ago on a longish drive and it still sounds terrific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H678YcwCl4

he's finally explained in more detail what happened with nine inch nails in 2013 - reznor had told him that he wanted to reinvent nine inch nails and that there wasn't any need to learn the songs verbatim, just get to know them, so belew went into the twelve weeks of rehearsals planning to experiment and figure out what his parts should be as the rehearsals went. this approach really didn't fit with the some of the other band members (who were mostly nin veterans) who felt that he wasn't playing the parts right and didn't know the songs properly, and so after seventeen days of rehearsals reznor apologised and cut him from the lineup to placate the other members. a real shame

Eric Avery from Jane’s was also meant to be part of that line-up I think - could’ve been a killer band

yeah, avery withdrew before belew, stating that he just wasn't up for it after having just finished a year-long tour with garbage