Little did I (or Reznor, to hear him tell it nowadays) know that The Downward Spiral would become a grim script for the next several years of his life, as depression, anxiety, addiction and fear spiraled out of control. Years on pins and needles elapsed before another sound emerged from the Empire of Dirt, and when it did, it was 1999's The Fragile, a sprawling and often gorgeous two disc epic that painted, often wordlessly, a massive, oceanic picture of psychological impasse and a deeply troubled inner life so vividly that it was both riveting and impossible to digest. It lacked the hermetically sealed precision of The Downward Spiral, which gave it a courageous vulnerability, especially coming from the world's biggest perfectionist, but in an essential way, it was something of a disappointment to hear the unmistakable sound of a continued downward trajectory.
With all of Reznor's intrepid will turned to desperation, it felt a little wrong to revel in it. For the first time, in Reznor's angst-heavy history, a Nine Inch Nails record was actually depressing. The Fragile didn't thrill me, it worried me. It's one thing to enjoy a destructive narrative, and another to enjoy watching a man eat himself alive. I listened to it a few times, put it away, and skipped the show. Transformation seemed a long way off.
Cut to: 2005. Some issues take time to resolve, apparently, and Reznor's long awaited return from a personal hell is in stores tomorrow. If I had somehow stumbled over a copy of it, and it happened to offer nothing less than the enormous aesthetic satisfaction of a derailed narrative put to rights, a blowhard like me could never resist writing about 10,000 words on the subject, right?
Next up: With Teeth.
Article comments
1 - Bryan
Some very interesting perspectives in here... The performance element has always been a vital part of Nine Inch Nails' power and ability to connect with people beyond those traditionally suited to "that kind" of music, that to have the power roles happening within that Audience/Performer symobiosis broken down is some fascinating stuff.
Even more exciting is the notion that Reznor himself -- obvioiusly no stranger to Master/Slave relationships -- may have been on some level knowingly orchestrating this dynamic. I think there's definitely some evidence for this in his body of work, and the famed precision with which he designs and executes every single element of the presentation of NIN.
Now that Reznor seems to be in a healthier mental state then before, I would gather the parasitic flavor of that performance relationship would not exist in the "With Teeth" era. So what does he have in store next?
2 - Kate
I really enjoyed this article, especially as a lead up to finally hearing his new opus - "With Teeth" (not like he didn't have any BEFORE this). Often artists like Trent are not looked at by the masses as the figures they actually are. They are frequented by culty fans, banging heads and lifestyle copycats that are in it for the emotional rush and the communication that their less than happy lives have a powerful companion. And he has given them all those things and a good show to boot. Like Dylan, Trent's a (techie) "song and dance man." However, those who can lay down something truly unique, with great style and substance, and find a way to keep that up over time and distance by actually GROWING and MORPHING into a better artist and a better self (through the obvious ups and downs of an actual human life)are few and far between. The question is always "do they have it in them to actually jump into the crucible and come back out unscathed?" The weight you give in this piece to his previous work is well worth the read, and entertaining to boot. I can't wait for the next review from you of his new effort. Thanks.
3 - wondering
The Ultimate Object = God? Or, Cock?
4 - steff
Stop using fucked up long confusing words..just get to the fucking point...god....u ppl,i was sitting here reading this huge long babbling lecture sounding like u detest againsed the guy,then at the end u like it?
like seriously...i dont get you!!...ugh your blogs suck the bone!!
ps:Trent is amazing at what he does,and he if extermely gifted ^.^(see now thats getting to the point, not your blog thinger that is making everyone in it look like complete jack offs...like MANSON!)
Steff(the one who gets to the point)
5 - gonzo marx
Steff..it seems as if the sequipedalian tendencies of some writes irks you due to what you perceive as a lack of elucidation and clarity
nonetheless, some find a distinction as well as a rareified sense fo satisfaction from placing persnickity prose in paragraphs
now..go to fucking dictionary.com and look shit up to add to yer feeble branipan before ya open yer pie-hole, twink...
Excelsior!
6 - Jaime
Steff, I thought I made it pretty clear in the first paragraph that this article was totally an appreciation of the way Trent Reznor is awesome at what he does.
Sorry I lost you like that...
7 - Sarah
Hopefully after Steff graduates from junior high school, she will like be able to like comprehend what Jaime is like saying. To me, it didn't seem like Jaime was "sounding like [she] detest againsed the guy" when she spoke of Trent Reznor, but was wondering why she was so fascinated with his music and lyrics.
Steph, if you think this is a "huge long babbling lecture," wait until you get to college (of course, I'm not holding my breath for that).
Sorry, I just have a low tolerance for ppl who cant spell or use punktuation an right in all lowercase and fucking use "fucking" all the fucking time cuz they cant find another fucking word in theyre vocabularry, so I guess I shouldn't spend that much time on the internet, right?
Anyway, in response to Jaime's post, I thought it was very interesting to read a review of this album from her perspective rather than the same-old "it wuz a dark heavy depressing CD that wuz really kool an made me want to slit my rists to feel trents pain" perspective. I'm curious to hear what you think about "With Teeth," so I'll head over to read your post that I just found on that.
8 - Rachel
I agree with u Steff. I thought your comment was very honest, trent reznor is amazing at what he does.