"The reality of what I got myself into is starting to sink in," joked Reznor during an interview this morning (June 24) with Kevin & Bean of L.A. alternative station KROQ (a Radio.com station).

The project began when Reznor, still owing his former label (Interscope Records) a greatest hits album, started writing tracks thinking they would find their way onto that record. But then when "a couple songs led to a couple more songs," he made the realization that an entire album was taking shape�although he wasn't sure if he'd even want to release it when he was finished. He was merely "seizing the moment of inspiration."

He eventually did choose to release it. The album's first single "Came Back Haunted" leaked online June 5, a day ahead of schedule. It premiered that same day.

Reznor divulged that the David Lynch-directed music video will likely be released the end of this week. And despite his description of "weird" and "bizarre," Reznor couldn't be more proud of the clip. When asked what other songs from the album that might be made into videos, Reznor explained, in short, that he's leaving that up to his new record label, Columbia.

"You know this time around, I'm doing something a bit different," he says. Having had an "excellent experience" with Columbia Records, which released his How To Destroy Angels project, he believed continuing with Columbia was a good move for Nine Inch Nails as well. The label, he said, was willing to take the weight off his shoulders and allow him to focus on music, and not the business of music.

Shortly after the tour was announced, King Crimson's Adrian Belew made headlines when he gracefully bowed out of the touring band. Admitting that shifting players had been "disruptive," Reznor explained, "you can spend a lot of time hypothesizing , imagining and projecting what it's gonna be with this chemistry and this recipe of people in a room playing music, and in reality it rarely is that."