Being a famous musician isn’t all about being a douchebag and snorting lots of coke. There’s the added benefit of getting to choose from the best bands around for opening acts on your world tour. Take R.E.M.’s latest tour, promoting the mediocre but satisfying Accelerate (plus one of the greatest back catalogues in music this side of Led Zeppelin). They brought along not one but two NLtS 2007 AOTY finalists: a Johnny Marr-infused Modest Mouse and The FUCKING National.
Trent Reznor is probably just as big as Stipe and Co. and fittingly, is bringing some of the greatest avant-garde and independent acts along for his 2008 NIN tour. Better yet, in addition to the free release of The Slip, he’s giving away an EP sampling his chosen openers plus “Echoplex” from The Slip. It’s called Lights in the Sky and it sports some pretty familiar tracks from pretty familiar bands, but hey, it’s free.
1. To Fix the Gash in Your Head - A Place to Bury Strangers (another AOTY finalist!)
2. We Are Rockstars - Does It Offend You, Yeah? (also touring with Bloc Party)
3. Crimewave (Crystal Castle vs. HEALTH) - Crystal Castles
4. Like New - Deerhunter (oddly tagged as Deer Hunter)
5. Echoplex - Nine Inch Nails
