When I was watching the trailer for "Terminator: Salvation", I was struck by the fact that it featured Nine Inch Nails' "The Day The World Went Away". Not that that wasn't a great choice but it seems like Trent Reznor's music is more and more the tonal choice for filmmakers and TV editors. "Every Day Was Exactly The Same" was the best part of "Wanted". The opening credit remix of "Closer" for David Fincher's "Se7en" is still haunting and I feel like people have been trying to sound like "The Mark Has Been Made" ever since it was featured in and served as the base for the score of "Man on Fire". The countless cop procedurals on the networks seem to use NIN liberally while the cable shows seem to rely on soundalikes to get the mood.

And while it might be by design, I can't help but think that NIN's low profile is also a sign of what is happening to the music industry. Kenny Loggins's solo career basically lasted between Caddyshack and Caddyshack II and, in those eight years, most of his hits came from movies. The films helped promote his music while his videos flooded MTV and helped the studios get some free advertising.

That simply doesn't happen anymore. Again, it might be by design or it might be that the studios would rather just forego the music element of promotion (especially since MTV doesn't show commercials anymore) and would rather just get the rights for some established Nine Inch Nails songs. Maybe the fact that NIN lives below the pop culture atmosphere, many people don't even realize that the new songs they discovered in the trailer were actually released a decade ago. (And that is a testament to NIN's music; the fact that it is over a decade after they broke through with the Se7en soundtrack, those songs are still setting the tone).

On the other hand, it's kind of depressing. Yes, Explosions in the Sky has started to take over some soundtracks (or at least inspire others) after they did the music for "Friday Night Lights" but almost 15 years after "Se7en", we still seem to be mining the same music, still recycling the same tone. Is it just Hollywood that has hit a rut or is it something deeper. What's frightening is that a film like "Se7en" seems more and more relevant today. If anything, the question might be: how many people would actually agree with the killer and his motives today? I can see Fox News and conservative groups denouncing his actions but saying he had a point (and then blaming the victims).

Now I'm not wishing for the Kenny Loggins good old days that never really were but I can't help but think that it might be nice to see a bit of a tonal shift in the arts. And I think some new artists might want to look at that different perspective because I think the tonal shift is happening one way or another and it's either going to be led by artists or the disposable auteurs that seem to be gaining popularity.