Danny Elfman + Trent Reznor Reveal Video for New Song ‘True’
The dark moons have aligned as The Nightmare Before Christmas composer Danny Elfman and Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor have collaborated on a song. The track is titled "True" and there's now a video for the crushing cut that can be seen in the player at the bottom of this post.
Elfman, who made his name in the '80s band Oingo Boingo before diving full on into scoring projects for film and other media, has returned with his first solo record in 37 years. The double album is titled Big Mess and one of the highlights is the new collaboration with Reznor, an artist who has followed a similar path creating darkly beautiful recordings before finding success in the film scoring world.
The musicians collide as many would hope in a melange of industrial percussion, furious feedback and intimate and cinematic piano bits.
“This is the first duet/collaboration I’ve ever done in my life, so to do it with Trent was a real surprise and a treat,” says Elfman. “He’s always been a big inspiration to me, not to mention he has one of my all-time favorite singing voices.”
As for the video, Elfman called upon Aron Johnson to direct, utilizing a mix of warped imagery and VHS-era aesthetics to represent the song. The clip also intertwines some of Sarah Sitkin's archived footage and brand new 3D modeling to essentially serve as a remix of the original video Sitkin had created for the song.
Get a closer look at the video for Elfman's collaboration with Reznor below and check out the "True" lyrics as well. As stated, the song appears on Elfman's new album, Big Mess, which is available here.
Danny Elfman Featuring Trent Reznor, "True" Lyrics
True just like me to think
You need my energy
I just can’t help myself
Why do I live in hell?You need someone just like me
That’s what I need to believe
True or not, it doesn’t matter
I‘ve got no place to goI‘m looking for a broken hand
Something I can understand
Time has not been kind to me(We talk about our destiny—
We talk about our destinations) (X3)
I got no destination
I just got termination
We talk about our harmony
We think about our termination(Guitar Solo)
(We talk about our destiny—
We talk about our destinations) (X2)True just like me to think
I make big plans for change
You don’t need me no more
I’m still looking for the doorIt’s just like me to say I’m sorry
It’s just like me to do it again
It’s just like me to plan tomorrow
It’s just like me to forget what it was
It’s just like me to chart a course
To drift at sea, an empty vessel
I’m right back where I started
I’ve got no destiny(We talk about our destiny—
We talk about our destinations) (X3)
I got no destiny (X3)
We talk about our harmony
We think about our terminationI got no destination