Video Of The Week: Nine Inch Nails

As a tribute to Trent Reznor's 50th birthday tomorrow, I decided to feature Nine Inch Nails this week, and to do so with a straightforward video showing nothing but the live band (circa 2005) performing in a practice facility, filmed by Reznor and Rob Sheridan using old VHS cameras and a rundown of the pan-and-scan technique that created pixelization and distortion when rendered to digital.

In this form, NIN consisted of Reznor on vocals (and keyboards and guitar as well, depending on the song), Aaron North on lead/feedback guitars, Jeordie White (a.k.a. Twiggy Ramirez from Marilyn Manson, who has also played with Melissa Auf Der Maur, A Perfect Circle, and members of QOTSA in the Desert Sessions), Jerome Dillon on drums, and Alessandro Cortini (of SONOIO and blinfoldfreak fame) on keyboards and sound effects.

This song, The Hand That Feeds, is a staple of their live shows and a fan favourite, and while it's a decent guitar riff and has all the electronics you'd expect from a NIN track, it isn't as groundbreaking as a lot of their other songs, in my opinion. I'll listen to it when they play it at a show, but I won't be as thrilled as if they'd played The Perfect Drug or Dead Souls (a Joy Division cover).

Top 10s Of The Week

Top 10 Songs:

10. MIND YOUR MANNERS, Pearl Jam (2013)
9. BELLBOTTOMS, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (1994)
8. LIL WAYNE (feat. Ludacris), Eminem (2013)
7.CAME BACK HAUNTED, Nine Inch Nails (2013)
6. HELL BROKE LUCE, Tom Waits (2011)
5. SACRILEGE, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2013)
4. DOOM AND GLOOM, The Rolling Stones (2012)
3. MAGICAL THINKING, The Guest Bedroom (2012)
2. BROKEN PROMISE (feat. Michael Stipe), Placebo (2006)
1. MAJOR DISTRIBUTION (feat. Snoop Dogg and Young Jeezy), 50 Cent (2013)

With my Video Of The Week being Nine Inch Nails, I was inspired to reflect upon the band's past, and see where the new cut lies in the band's cannon...

Top 10 Nine Inch Nails Songs:

10. ME, I'M NOT, Year Zero (2007)
9. HERESY, The Downward Spiral (1994)
8. ECHOPLEX, The Slip (2008)
7. STARFUCKERS, INC., The Fragile (1999)
6. CLOSER, The Downward Spiral (1994)
5. EVERY DAY IS EXACTLY THE SAME, With Teeth (2005)
4. HURT, The Downward Spiral (1994)
3. MARCH OF THE PIGS, The Downward Spiral (1994)
2. HEAD LIKE A HOLE, Pretty Hate Machine (1989)
1. THE PERFECT DRUG, Lost Highway soundtrack (1997)

 Honorable mention: DEAD SOULS (Joy Division cover, from the The Crow soundtrack, 1993)

Sure, CLOSER was overplayed and is now a staple of strip shows everywhere, spliced between Girls, Girls, Girls (Mötley Crüe) and Crazy (Aerosmith), but the fact remains: it's a superbly-written, great song. Also, if you'd have asked me in 1994, HURT would probably have ranked first, but PERFECT DRUG is a perfect mix of everything I love about NIN, and you can't help but think about Johnny Cash's version and figure in any other list, he'll have rendered it justice, too, so it's okay if it slips a tad. Also, while I can listen to Broken (and Fixed) in their entirety, on repeat, all day, there isn't a stand-out track I'd never skip on my Ipod, though HAPPINESS IN SLAVERY and PINION may come close. Still, I was surprised to see a variety of albums featured, though my preference for Spiral is obvious...

Video Of The Week: Nine Inch Nails

This had all the promise and the making of an instant classic, of a timeless piece of art: Trent Reznor resurrecting Nine Inch Nails, returning to a sound more electronic, harking back to prior to The Downward Spiral, closer to the Fixed/Broken EPs, and an artsy black-and-white video directed by none other than David Lynch, one of the most daring, unique, visionary American film directors of the past quarter-century; the pair had previously collaborated on Lynch's amazing Lost Highway, as NIN wrote two songs for the film (The Perfect Drug and the end credits' Driver Down), and Reznor producing the film's soundtrack.

What we're left with is (relatively) standard experimental film fare, vaguely inspired by Luis Buñuel's and Salvador Dali's Un Chien Andalou (the eyes), at other times reminiscent of the works of Kenneth Anger (the subversive and repetitive subject matter), Norman McLaren (the animation, the scratching of the lens), René Clair, Stan Brackhage, Fernand Léger (the repetitive found images of an odd dance/ballet), and maybe even Georges Méliès (the moon-face).

I wouldn't call it ''cliché'', but it's not all that original, either.

But I decided to give it a few days, a few listens.

And this, despite its obvious references to a film grad and screenwriter such as myself, remains the best video I've seen in a (short) while. And to anyone without the experience to see where the inspiration comes from, this could open their eyes to a whole new world of (better) films out there. Which is also great.

And the song itself fits in the NIN pantheon. Very well. It's not as political as Head Like A Hole, not as obviously subversive as Closer (though that song is now a staple at strip clubs and sporting events...), not as heavy as March Of The Pigs nor as angry as Starfuckers, Inc., not as ''inclusive of all the ingredients that make up Nine Inch Nails'' as The Perfect Drug, but it's one of the better songs released this year so far. It grows on you.

And I'd rather have Nine Inch Nails doing the rounds, performing on talk shows, touring, grabbing your attention (and dollars) than modern-day futilities such as Macklemore, Bruno Mars and Will.I.am, or past success revivalists like Chicago and Bon Jovi.



I'll be purchasing the new album, Hesitation Marks, the day of its release - on September 3rd - as I have done since 1992 because, well, NIN is a great band project.

The Return Of Nine Inch Nails

Step right up. March. Push. Crawl right up on your knees.

That's right - Nine Inch Nails is back, with a brand-new line-up, comprised of Adrian Belew of King Crimson among others. Eric Avery of Jane's Addiction fame was slated to join, but had to back down, although long-time member Robin Fincke is back in the fold.

I guess Trent Reznor had some rage and anger left in him after failing to win his second Oscar for the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo soundtrack...

I've seen them live 5 times, and it was always a great show. I missed the last two tours, which were extremely different from anything they'd done before, and for the 1994-2000 period it did seem like it was getting too theatrical, rehearsed, and choreographed, but the energy and the great songs were still there.

With renewed passion and a revamped line-up, I wouldn't be surprised if their upcoming tour was the best live experience of the past 10 and next 5 years.