Review: Pretty Hate Machine

Pretty Hate Machine

Nine Inch Nails

1989

I think it's pretty obvious what I'm going to do. And why. But just in case it isn't obvious, I'll spell it out. That and because I want to fill up space. To commemorate the return of Nine Inch Nails to touring and the personal anticipation of potentially seeing them live again, I'm going to review their discography. Or at the very least just the main albums. If I were to cover all the Halos and Seeds, and even bootlegs, it'd take me way longer than it'll take me to thoroughly listen to the main albums and then write a review. Not to mention that it'd get very repetitive and maybe even nitpicky. But for the sake of brevity and to keep things from getting stagnant, main albums. The first one being Pretty Hate Machine though my first exposure to Nine Inch Nails was through Johnny Cash. You know how. This was probably the same way it was for most people. But after that, my exposure to NIN came from riding in a car with a friend who was playing a CD mix featuring random tracks from various Nine Inch Nails albums, mostly from The Downward Spiral (which I'll write about later). I asked him who this was because "Hurt" sounded so familiar yet unknown but still mystifying. "It's Nine Inch Nails, dude!" he said, his voice marked with glee. That night he gave me their discography and this is where my review starts.

What can be said about Pretty Hate Machine that hasn't been said already by just about everyone at this point? As the first album by Nine Inch Nails, it is definitely a very strong start and indicator of things to come. Things that I (and fans) would come to know, appreciate, and even love. Visceral, fierce, aggressive, bold are just some of the words that begin to scratch the surface of what makes this album so great. Or what I find to be great. At the time of my first listen, I was instantly captivated by the first track ("Head Like a Hole") and found myself playing that song over and over before proceeding to the rest of the album. The same process went on for the entire album. I guess you could say I got obsessed with this album at some point. Still kind of am to this day because it hit me at point during which I was still growing up and developing and slowly being on my way to the person I will eventually be. Which is probably someone who is angry, or at the very least passionate about something.

The music of Pretty Hate Machine (and Nine Inch Nails in general) has become what many people knew/know/now know/associate/think of when the term industrial (music-wise, obviously) is used. Even though Reznor is less blatantly repetitive than other industrial acts of the time, he does manage to grab and keep your attention through catchy though bleak music more than just raw sounds. If that makes any sort of sense. The fact that the Nine Inch Nails sound has come to define (for some people) or at the very least lend a fresh/different perspective on a particular genre should be noted. It might not have changed the whole genre single-handedly but it definitely made a mark.

It should also be noted that the music and lyrics have this undercurrent of anger, among other things. The fact that there's a lot of anger in this album is one of the reasons I found it so captivating the first time I listened to it and again upon subsequent listens. The lyrics can reach parts of us that we thought didn't exist, were buried, or are at the surface. Angry anthems like the previously-mentioned "Head Like a Hole" and "Terrible Lie", the snarling balladry of "Something I Can Never Have" and "Sanctified", something seething and danceable like "Sin" and "Down in It" dripping with a synth sound that came to be a trademark of sorts for Reznor's body of work. All these things that stand out from other industrial albums of the time only help make this review stumble over itself as it tries to communicate just how good Pretty Hate Machine is.

Reznor single-handedly paints a masterpiece of anger so well and so eloquently through ruinous melodies, savage poetry, and raw emotion. So well in fact that this album can be played at almost any time, regardless of what time you are in your life: angsty 16 year old, 27 year old with a wife and child, 50 year old math teacher, etc. And what you're doing: growing up, winding down, fighting, thinking, chillin', dancing, fucking, or just writing a fawning review of an album that you really like.

10/10

VWD

Lately, I've been thinking about sabotage because every action seems to be an act of sabotage in some strange way. Whether it be a snide remark in passing that somehow manages to sour another person's mood for the day or something more blatant like pouring sugar in the gas tank.

And I wonder why it is that we seem to engage in acts of destruction against others. Willful or otherwise. Glaring or subtle. Is it a lack of control or just a subconscious desire to bring others down? But then, why bring others down? Do we need to bring others down in an effort to march towards equality? That isn't equality at work, just general asshole behavior.

Can we not improve upon ourselves rather than bring others down? And if we surpass them, can we not help them?

That's if your goal is equality of some sort but since sabotage seems to be almost second nature to many people, I'm betting that an egalitarian society will always be beyond our collective reach.

I know I've been a victim of some sort sabotage, just as many of you have been as well. I don't recall if it was ever justified but goddamn, did it hurt knowing what was going on. At first, anyway. After the initial phase, I probably just stopped caring or was distracted by something else. The latter is the more likely reason.

And in the same way, I've been the perpetrator as well. That I really don't actually understand because I've taught myself growing up that I should be honest and treat others the same way I would want to be treated. Seriously, I raised myself to have those beliefs but that's another story for another time. So for me to screw shit up for someone makes no sense and makes me think that perhaps sabotage is in our DNA and collective minds because being ill with the flu or a cold is an inconvenience that could morph into a liability which in turn prevents one from doing the things they must, or the things they enjoy. Yet, we still get sick. (I realize how misinformed this is but I was just trying to fill space.)

I don't like it but I know I've sabotaged others. And they me. It's a shame really because together, people can accomplish more than they would on their own. Especially if people are too busy willfully destroying each other's plans and goals and such.

As Raul Julia (playing Bison) said in Street Fighter:

For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday.

and (more relevantly):

Had you worked together instead of against each other, you might have been successful.

A-muse-ment

Inspiration rarely is here. When it is, it's in rapid bursts. Sporadic. I need a muse. I need to write something creative. Can't just rant all the time. Gotta do something substantial. Do I need a muse? I need a constant source of inspiration. No, I just need to be inspired constantly from various sources. The more the merrier. Or maybe enough to avoid over-saturation and being overwhelmed and floored. Or do I want to be floored? I want a muse? I want to be inspired? This isn't funny, this cry for a single source of inspiration. does this bring amusement? A muse meant a lot. Still does. Still does? Means? Inspiration does what it wants. A muse appears to be fickle. Fuck.

The Chill

When I was younger (before I could buy booze or smokes without being hassled by The Man), I did some pretty stupid things. Frequently. These stupid things sometimes caught the attention of people around me, sometimes strangers and older people. And to be even more specific, the attention of an older black woman who gave me a rather cryptic but very wise bit of advice with just one sentence:

When the thrill is gone, the chill is on.

I recognized the first part from a BB King song. You know the one. But the rest seemed like pure poetry. And magic.

It seemed like poetry and magic because it took me a while to figure out what she might have meant but when I thought I did, it seemed to apply to everything I could think of. From what I can remember, she said the phrase in the same way one would deliver a cautionary tale in reference to drug and general substance abuse. It's kind of an odd thing to infer about a 16 year old but not that odd given the fact that it's the 21st century. Not exactly a century known for being prudish and entirely restrained.

Still, the phrase carries a greater meaning than simply just being a very crafty way of saying "don't do drugs" or "don't poison your body." It serves as a cautionary tale that everything will wither and die or, at the very least falter, stumble, and possibly crash at some point.

Whether this means the end is a completely different matter altogether because unless you're living in the ice age, the chill isn't deadly. And if you are living in the ice age, I would love to know how it is you're accessing the internet and communicating with / receiving information from the 21st century.

The chill could just be painful (or just unpleasant) but not necessarily the end of whatever it is the thrill was a part of.

But that's the beauty of the phrase. It fucks with your head. I know it did a number on my head at first and when I thought about it afterwards. Trying to find the answer to what it could mean consumed my thoughts and attention. And if I may be honest, the exact meaning will forever elude me as I can only take guesses and draw a different meaning each time I revisit this phrase.

Thinking about the seasons is a good examples. The thrill is spring and summer. When they end, autumn and winter set in. The chill.

Or maybe she just came up with something on the spot to fuck with my head in order to get me thinking and maybe make better life choices.

I think it worked.

NIN is back!

In case you haven't heard, Nine Inch Nails will start touring again this year.

I am very excited for this and am preparing my wallet for the serious beating it'll undoubtedly take when it comes time to obtain tickets when the dates are announced. Well, a bigger beating than it normally takes. The beatings are frequent with bills and food. You know: the necessities. I've often joked about how if Trent Reznor decided to bring Nine Inch Nails back for touring, I'd spend the rent money on tickets instead of the bills and you know, the rent. "Sorry, chief, it's Nine Inch Nails!"

What was once a joke is probably going to become a reality. I just hope that it doesn't actually mean I can't pay the rent. That would really suck. But yes, the reason I'm excited for this is probably the same reason as to why I was so excited for the release of Skyfall last year.

Absence.

For a quick tangent and context, prior to "Skyfall" in 2012, the last James Bond movie released was "Quantum of Solace" in 2008. 4 years without a James Bond movie was a little odd but not entirely out of the realm of impossibility: the four year gap between "Die Another Day" and "Casino Royale" and of course, the five year gap between "Licence to Kill" and "GoldenEye". For a fan, these absences and gaps without new material are painful, to speak metaphorically.

The first time I saw Nine Inch Nails play live was in 2008, which was also the first time I ever went to a concert. I had been a big fan of the music up until then and was over the moon when a friend asked if I wanted to go. I immediately said yes and scrambled to gather money for my ticket.

To think back on those days when I couldn't grow a proper mustache or beard and was skinnier brings back fond memories of anticipation, faster heartbeats, and the aftermath of bruised palms and a lost voice. I cheered and shouted so loud I lost my voice that night. I also clapped so goddamn hard my palms were bruised. But it was so much much walking away wearing another NIN shirt on top of the one I was already wearing: a gray Year Zero shirt.

Now, for the absence. Trent Reznor obviously continued to work and be active and while his work in these 4 years was impressive (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), it wasn't enough to fill the hole that was left. Yeah, he's under no obligation to make music for anyone but fans will always clamor for more and mourn the lack of work. Probably because they've come to really appreciate the music or art, or in some cases have made some sort of connection with the music and somehow deduce that that connection has been severed when there is no new material. This doesn't make sense because you can always revisit and listen to the previous albums!

But now that NIN will resume touring and maybe new albums? One can always hope.

To think that I might see them again this year makes me grin like I haven't in quite a while.

I'll definitely be wearing at least one of my NIN shirts.

Shut yer gob

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's people who complain. Don't get me wrong; I complain, too, but I rarely do it. If/when I do complain, it's justified. So, I should be clearer about what I mean.

Ahem.

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's people who complain incessantly and/or for no good reason, and don't really do anything about what they are complaining even though it is well within their power/abilities.

I realize that this already sounds like a complaint, which it probably is but for the time being, you're stuck reading what I have to write. And morbid curiosity keeps you here. And your desire to read whatever nonsense I can think of. Oh and you probably have nothing else to do at the moment so you might as well kill a few minutes until you do find something more productive to do.

But back to the topic of people bitching and not lifting a finger to change their predicament...

Some people complain for the dumbest most trivial things. You're on the internet, so you already have a good idea of what I'm talking about. I should comment, however, that when they complain about, you want to be violent and aggressive about the way they complain and what they complain about. You can also find proof fairly quickly (read: I don't have to provide any link to any particular website detailing what I'm talking about.) Even though this is vague, I'm sure you know what I mean.

There is one statement (and its variations) I always have handy whenever someone around me complains. Around me being someone I already know fairly well. And that is: if you're living in the United States (or any "first world"/"developed" country) you really have no reason to complain about anything.

I tend to expound this to people is because they are healthy, capable, and have access to resources that people would kill or generally risk their lives to get.

If you can, you should. If you can but don't, I don't like you. If you can but don't AND complain, I probably hate you.

This is another reason I don't like complaining: it derails the train of thought.

In the Hall

I took it upon myself
for no reason
to journey to a land
of sand and trees and elves
and water and clouds
and other assorted stuff
from which dreams are made

Before I could,
I embarked on another journey
to see the king,
the knights,
the swords,
the blood stained smiles
and thorns.

They did not interest me.
Crumbling façade of long-gone ingenuity
of vanished days that sink into foggy memories
Drowned by time
and dust.

They did not interest me.

Not as much as her.

The queen.

Her jeweled majesty-
a display of splendor,
drew me in.

Brightly adorned,
she sat upon her throne and-
with every color shown,
called me closer

To something.
An end.
Oh, I don't know.

To think, to feel her thoughts
echo inside my head and
carve into my mind
an image

of something brutal and divine

That which is oft ignored
abused
and cast aside

Misused
mistreated
left bleeding

This poem is no longer worth reading.

Often Go Astray

The reason my motto (or one of the many mottos I live by) is "wing it" is because when I make plans, something tends to happen that derails said plans. This is unfortunate but it happens. The same idea of plans not coming to fruition can apply to just about everyone. What bothers me the most is not always the fact that the plans have been changed or derailed but that I am often powerless in changing the course of the derailing.

This is unfortunate but it happens. The best thing one can do is just march on. Kind of sad having to do so especially if one's plans were very elaborate and passionate (read: poured a lot of yourself into them).

This isn't to say that one shouldn't look forward to the future because you should. The future is often changing and it always brings new opportunities for things. New experiences, new challenges, new ideas, a never-ending supply of newness.

This isn't to say that one shouldn't do things passionately. No! You should always try to be fiercely passionate about your plans and goals and ideas and pursuits.

Often one just has to trust or believe that things will turn out as expected (or for the best) though this is not always be the case, or appear that way. It is difficult to do so but then again difficult things often yield the best rewards, right?

Hmm. I don't really know what else to write. I often say wing it because it's worked out pretty well for me but you aren't me, are you? What works for me might not work for you and vice versa. All I can really say to anyone whose plans don't work out, or whose plans take a very different turn is to keep going. I find that this approach works very well. Especially because it's one that has been handed down to me several times and it's something I would pass on to others.

Hmm.

You won't always be powerless.