Everything Is Blue In This World

The mind of Trent Reznor is a mysterious thing. After two years of living in the rarefied air of a label-free existence, releasing two stellar albums, completing a tour that was tour de force as much as it was series of concerts, and tapping into the communal world of the Internet far more effectively than any other high-profile musician, Reznor is...hanging things up. Really? That's it? From forefront of the revolution to farewell tour in a few short weeks?

Speculation time: from the number of mentions Reznor has made in his blog about the difficulties he ran into executing the Lights in the Sky tour (including one in the farewell post) - and this from a guy who clearly has no problems communicating only what he wants the public to know - I suspect burnout. It's tough fighting against the inertia of an industry and it has to be even tougher when half of your band decides to part ways. It just seems a shame to go on hiatus (again) when the momentum has really started rolling again.