Trent Reznor

Memorable Live Performances: Nine Inch Nails at The Wiltern 2009
Nine Inch Nails @ the Wiltern in LA (9/10/09) | San Francisco Bay Area Concerts

Back in 2009, Nine Inch Nails announced a series of shows to sort of say goodbye for the time being. It was a very bittersweet thing to hear but, as a fan for many many many years, it made sense. Before the shows were announced, Nine Inch Nails spent the summer on the road with Jane’s Addiction (with all the original members). That was origianlly supposed to be the end but, seeing as Nine Inch Nails would be playing at different times and under the backdrop of a sunset many a times, it just didn’t feel quite right for that to be the end. Instead, a series of shows were announced in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to attend 3 of the 4 Los Angeles shows. The final one was at The Wiltern and what a show it was. Over 3 hours (yes, THREE HOURS) of nonstop Nine Inch Nails at it’s absolute finest. The setlist was utterly perfect and beyond emotional. Thankfully too, there were a group of fans in the audience that night filming it all and they put together one of the best live shows I’ve ever been to. Without giving anything away, I highly recommend you taking the time to watch/listen to this show!


Nine Inch Nails- Live At The Wiltern:

Instrumental Songs: Nine Inch Nails- The Mark Has Been Made
Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile - Amazon.com Music

It is no secret that Nine Inch Nails is my favorite band. I’ve spent many many days, nights and years, delving deep into the catalog. When you take a real close listen to a lot of the songs and the order they were placed in on the albums, you really get to feel the vibe. For example, The Fragile (my all time favorite NIN album and favorite album EVER), on disc 2 (better known as the right disc), there is an instrumental song called “The Mark Has Been Made” that is a wonderful almost segue into the next song “Please.” This instrumental is a beast live too. Take a moment and let this one sink into your head!


Nine Inch Nails- The Mark Has Been Made:


Nine Inch Nails- The Mark Has Been Made (LIVE):

Great Music Videos: How To Destroy Angels- The Space In Between
How to Destroy Angels (Mariqueen Maandig, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross) | Angel band, Trent reznor, Good music

This past year has been quite a ride. Through all the craziness though, a couple good things have been able to happen. For example, with all the time and working from home, I’ve been able to delve back into albums I haven’t listened to in a while. And within that, I’ve been able to show my young daughter some really great tunes and videos. One of which is this great video from How To Destroy Angels for the song “The Space In Between.” The video, directed by Rupert Sanders (who is primarily known for creating video game advertisements) is a very dark and interesting video that harks back to the days when videos were great. This is one hell of a great video and should be viewed a lot more!!


How To Destroy Angels- The Space In Between:

Cover Songs: Trent Reznor (David Bowie)- Fantastic Voyage & Fashion
Trent Reznor Covered "Fantastic Voyage" & "Fashion" For David Bowie Tribute Livestream: Watch

A couple days ago there was a huge David Bowie celebration. Tons of artists took part in this by performing Bowie’s songs. A good portion of these performances were accompanied by Mike Garson, David’s longtime piano player. Among the people performing on this night were, Trent Reznor, Billy Corgan, Dave Navarro, Ian Astbury, Gavin Rossdale, Corey Taylor, Taylor Hawkins and so many more. I saw a few of these performances floating around and there were 2 that really stood out to me. It’s no surprise that the ones Trent Reznor performed were my favorite. He picked “Fantastic Voyage” from Bowie’s album, Lodger as well as “Fashion” from Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). He was joined by Mike Garson and Atticus Ross on both songs along with his wife Mariqueen on the latter. Both of these turned out great. I do have to say that Trent’s dance moves during “Fashion” are quite fun to watch.


Fantastic Voyage & Fashion:

Best Guitar Solos: Nine Inch Nails- Ruiner
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral - Amazon.com Music

When you think of guitar solos, Nine Inch Nails is probably not very high on the first ones that come to mind. That is about to change though. On the epic masterpiece of an album that is The Downward Spiral, there is a song on there that has a guitar solo that oozes the pain and anguish that perfectly coincides with the thematic nature of the record. That song is “Ruiner” and it’s one of the most underrated songs on the album. The solo on the song is actually inspired by Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” Trent was interviewed by Guitar World magazine years ago and this is what he had to say about the solo, “Ah yes, the great, Pink Floyd-esque, Seventies-sounding section of the song. That’s just a preset on the Zoom. I think I accidentally called up the wrong patch. I’m not a soloist. I was just laughing when I was playing with this ridiculous sound, recording into the computer saying like, “This is so cheesy,” you know? I later realized that I basically tried to play a “Comfortably Numb”-type solo with this sound. I played the song for Chris, our drummer, and I was thinking, “He’s going to start laughing. It’s silly.” But he goes, “Man, that guitar section was fucking great.” Anyways, this solo when “Ruiner” is played live is stunning.


Nine Inch Nails- Ruiner:


Nine Inch Nails- Ruiner (Live at The Wiltern 2009- FINAL Wave Goodbye Show):


Instrumental Songs: Nine Inch Nails- Just Like You Imagined
NIN - Just Like You Imagined] | The fragile, Nine inch nails, Universal music group

I will never forget the first time I listened to Nine Inch Nails album The Fragile the whole way through. There was something so special about that album. I could and will go into more detail about that album at some point down the road. One of the immediate songs that hit me like a ton of bricks was track number 7 on Disc 1 (or the left side), “Just Like You Imagined.” This instrumental track blew me away. It’s a total encompassing of everything that makes The Fragile so great. The song on the studio recording features David Bowie’s longtime pianist, Michael Garson, who adds some beautiful moments. Live, this song is even better. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing it live a few times and each one of those I was totally in awe at how amazing the song truly is.

Nine Inch Nails- Just Like You Imagined:



Just Like You Imagined (Rehearsal):


Deep Cuts: Nine Inch Nails- That’s What I Get

Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine (LDA, CD) | Discogs

I really love going back through albums at different points in time and connecting with songs that I might have not had that connection with at first. On Nine Inch Nails debut album Pretty Hate Machine, there is one song in particular that stood out on my most recent listen. “That’s What I Get” is that song and the more I listen to it now, I hear so many different things in it. This song has an interesting history too. The song was not originally intended to the be on the album, but was rather meant for b-side material, due to not fitting in lyrically with the rest of the songs. Which makes total sense. This track also harks back to “Down In It” based on the use of the same recognizable melodic synth voice. Also, it sort of feels like a precursor to some of the songs on The Fragile in a strange way. When you listen to it and hone in on the verses musically along with the “hammer” synth bassline, there is some of that on songs like “The Mark Has Been Made,” “The Way Out Is Through.” Either way, this song is a great deep cut in the Nine Inch Nails catalog to sink your teeth into.

Nine Inch Nails- That’s What I Get:

 

That’s What I Get (Live 1990):

 

Soundtrack Only Songs: Nine Inch Nails- Deep from Tomb Raider

Nine Inch Nails – Deep Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Back in 2001, the first Lara Croft Tomb Raider movie with Angelina Jolie came out. There was a lot of hype about the movie and it was pretty meh. The one thing that I really enjoyed about this movie was the soundtrack, in particular, the song “Deep” by Nine Inch Nails. The song has some interesting history. It’s been argued that this was written specifically for the soundtrack while others say it was written during The Fragile era. I tend to agree with the latter. There’s even some speculation that “Deep” has some tie ins with the song “Even Deeper.” The video for the song is quite cool and interesting. The story in the video is told in reverse, with the end of the story beginning the video. Anyways, when you are a big Nine Inch Nails fan like myself, you tend to get excited anytime you hear a NIN song in a movie or trailer. This song is a pretty cool jam and deserves some more attention, so enjoy it!

Nine Inch Nails- Deep:

 

 

Memorable Live Shows: Nine Inch Nails at Woodstock 94

A Look Back at Nine Inch Nails' Career-Defining Woodstock '94 ...

Since there is a plethora of live performances all over the internet, why not start featuring some of the most memorable ones. And what better place to start than with the now legendary performance Nine Inch Nails put on at Woodstock 94. The story of this one is absolutely nuts. One that you should really look into. Their “mud soaked” set is infamous and so damn good. The setlist is truly something awesome as well. It’s one of those shows that I can watch and listen to all the time.

 

Nine Inch Nails- Woodstock 94:

 

Collaborations: Nine Inch Nails with Peter Murphy of Bauhaus

Reptile" live 6.23.06. Trent Reznor, Peter Murphy, Atticus Ross ...

I woke up this morning in a very Nine Inch Nails kind of mood. While going through my routine when that happens (One day I’ll explain what it all entails), I remembered there was a really cool collaboration that occurred in 2006 between Nine Inch Nails and Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy. At the time, Bauhaus was opening for NIN on the second leg of the With Teeth tour. During this time, there were special radio broadcasts they did together. Here are a handful of these wonderful collaborations.

 

Reptile:

 

 

A Strange Kind Of Love:

 

 
Nightclubbing:

 

 

 

Warm Leatherette:

 

 

 

Head Like A Hole:

 

 

Dead Souls:

 

 

Hurt: