Definitive NIN



When asked what my favorite NIN song or album is I am always torn between what my choice is. There are different eras of NIN that appeal to me deepening on my mood. I like to believe that the albums of the fist half of NIN's existence chronicle the life of Trent and his career as a musician.

The general theme of NIN albums in relation to Reznor goes something like this:

Pretty Hate Machine: - Young and somewhat naive he begins to realize that what has been force fed to him all his life is not all true or right. This is the awakening, the realization that everything has been just a lie. 

Broken: Fed up with the label and the increasing demands of being a rockstar Broken chronicles the breaking point, the beginning of the end. Drugs, sex, agression, violence. Rebellion. Pure chaos. This record is short and to the point. Its a fuck you to everything that has gotten in the way so far.

The Downward Spiral: Once you reach the apex of intensity the only way to go is down. The drugs and stress of the lifestyle have taken their toll. Everything begins to fall apart. This is the realization that you have nowhere to go but down to the depths of your own personal hell.

The Fragile: Destruction, death, and rebirth. When you have hit rock bottom and smashed yourself to pieces, how do you rebuild yourself? How do you pick up and move on when things keep falling apart.  This album is my personal favorite due to the beauty of the tracks and the chaotic broken feel it still has. The Fragile was not well received because it was an ambitious album; Two cd's, half the tracks are instrumental. Even the track listing is ambiguous. Reznor went through various combination of track ordering before he settled on something. Even the discs leave the choice up to you, not disc 1 or 2, just "Left" and "Right." To me this captures the essence of loss and the chaos that follows. I think this album is very powerful and helped me get through alot of tough times.

After these albums there was a break, and after this I consider the remaining NIN albums the "second generation" of NIN. They are a bit up and down, but overall have a different feel to them. Its a discussion for another post sometime.

Tracks to check out:

Head Like A Hole
Sin
Happiness in Slavery
Gave Up
Mr Self Destruct
Ruiner
Somewhat Damaged
The Wretched
Just Like You Imagined
Please
Ripe (with decay)

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