‘THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL’ - NINE INCH NAILSRESEARCH: THE MAAMTRASNA MURDERSToday I visited t

‘THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL’ - NINE INCH NAILSRESEARCH: THE MAAMTRASNA MURDERSToday I visited the Maamtrasna murder house in Connemara. I decided to use these images for “A Warm Place”. This is the section of the album where our protagonist gives pause to his violent crusade and delirium to reflect on what he has become. Visiting this place was an incredibly sobering experience for me. My excitement over visiting my first “murder house” was dampened to a somber sinking feeling in my stomach when I realised this pile of rocks was once a home to a family, who I’m sure loved each other and shared many happy memories here. Despite the conditions in which they lived, this was their ‘warm place’. And then one day that was all erased, in an act of senseless violence. The Downward Spiral was released on Interscope Records in 1994. Anyone who has seen Netflix’s ‘The Defiant Ones’ will know the story of Interscope Records, and how they were the target of many political and religious groups blaming them for obscenity for acts on their roster that included not only Nine Inch Nails, but also Trent Reznor’s protégé Marilyn Manson. However, Interscope’s biggest sellers at the time were none other than Death Row Records, who were instigators of what would become the infamous west coast / east cost rivalry that would eventually take the lives of each sides mouth-pieces, Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. Visiting this place gave me a sense of “what exactly am I doing?” I wanted great content, but I didn’t really consider what it was I actually wanted to say by being here. Does this have actual relevance to my project or do I just think it’s “kinda cool”. Trent Reznor claimed for years that it was pure coincidence that he took up residence in 10050 Cielo Drive., a claim he ended up eventually retracting as he admitted that he did know this information and it did influence his decision to purchase the property. Reznor eventually met Sharon Tate’s sister, Debra, during his time in the house, who pulled no punches with him: While I was working on Downward Spiral, I was living in the house where Sharon Tate was killed. Then one day I met her sister. It was a random thing, just a brief encounter. And she said: “Are you exploiting my sister’s death by living in her house?” For the first time the whole thing kind of slapped me in the face. I said, “No, it’s just sort of my own interest in American folklore. I’m in this place where a weird part of history occurred.” I guess it never really struck me before, but it did then. She lost her sister from a senseless, ignorant situation that I don’t want to support. When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, “What if it was my sister?” I thought, “Fuck Charlie Manson.” I don’t want to be looked at as a guy who supports serial-killer bullshit.I went home and cried that night. It made me see there’s another side to things, you know? It’s one thing to go around with your dick swinging in the wind, acting like it doesn’t matter. But when you understand the repercussions that are felt … that’s what sobered me up: realizing that what balances out the appeal of the lawlessness and the lack of morality and that whole thing is the other end of it, the victims who don’t deserve that.The topic of censorship is something that, as an artist, I feel strongly against, under any circumstances. It is a slippery slope that I feel undermines our intelligence as a people and is a step in the direction of Nazi book burning ceremonies and “pray the gay away” camps. That being said, as artists I feel like we are responsible for what we put out in the world and the effect it has on other people. If that effect is negative or misunderstood, it is up to us to either stand by it or deal with the fall out, just as any parent would with their own children, for whom they are responsible. In the end, I was glad I came here.  -- source link

More pics about