Why Nine Inch Nails’ ‘The Downward Spiral’ is More Important than Ever 30 Years On
Album artwork from Nine Inch Nails’ 1994 album, ‘The Downward Spiral’
Oh man, she’s writing about music again.
I grew up in the late-nineties/early-2000’s, meaning I was born just as the peak of the (lazily labeled) “grunge” movement was cresting and falling by the wayside, giving up the ghost and surrendering to an era of star-studded, Y2K pop. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m never mad at listening to some old school Britney (free her!) or Aaliyah (RIP), but my older, then teenage, brothers always lamented about how music just wasn’t the same anymore.
These aren’t bitter old guys, mind you. My brothers were 13, 14, and 15 when I was born (respectively), and they had lived their pre-teen and budding adolescent years listening to The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, and later KoRn, Deftones, and the like. And, when I asked them to show me what they meant, they did.
I’ll never forget being barely seven years old and sneaking into my brothers’ room to watch MTV 2 on the tiny television perched on the incense-burner laden pine entertainment stand, and seeing music videos like “Freak on a Leash” for the first time. As cringey as that likely sounds to most of you, it was a really eye-opening experience for me; opening my *NSYNC-filled eyes to the realization that there was, to use the overused and over-generalized term, an alternative available.
That said, I was more recently, as a now near-30-year-old woman, riding in the car with my husband on a long trip. As we often do to beat back the roadtrip boredom, my husband I began discussing what album we should put on and play through to pass the time. He looked at me and said, “Do you remember Nine Inch Nails? Were you ever into them?” — my mind went, “Oh, yeah. I used to love Trent Reznor,” and the “used to” stuck out.
Why “used to”? Why hadn’t I listened in a while? My husband and I agree to put on an album that was more commercially successful, NIN’s fourth studio album ‘With Teeth,’ and we discussed each track in depth. We talked about how great Trent Reznor is; how effective a lyricist, how unapologetic a person, and I experienced a sudden flash of memory back to an even more iconic album (and time) in NIN’s discography — my brothers’ era’s seminal, end-all-be-all Industrial Rock masterpiece, ‘The Downward Spiral.’
I look at my husband as the final track of ‘With Teeth’ plays out, and ask if we can play ‘TDS’ next. He of course agrees, with an “I love that album” thrown in, and we’re off to the races.
‘The Downward Spiral’ Turns 30, But its Message Hasn’t Aged a Day
The opening track of NIN’s ‘TDS,’ “Mr. Self Destruct,” is a favorite of mine — so I selfishly always revel in the fact that it plays first when doing a proper run-through of this rather hefty album. Trent’s disjointed vocals echo through an odd, liminal space for a few moments, before the synthesizers come roaring through with a stunning, instant force, as if to say “notice me, now.”
That’s really what this entire album says, in a way, which fits the cultural and emotional milieu of not only its time, but of now. Today. Right now. That is, for me and the folks I observe on a daily basis, at least.
The Internet has expanded into a vast wasteland of echoing voices, all clamoring for a brief moment of attention in the oddly crowded-yet-empty virtual space we’ve all created and thus, try and contribute to in our own, unique way. That’s not much different than how someone in their 20’s tends to feel, well, all the time.
Trent Reznor recently posted, via the Nine Inch Nails’ website and various social media channels, about this album, and (to my point about “how people in their 20’s tend to feel”) had this to say:
“SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME LOOKING BACKWARDS FEELS DANGEROUS TO ME, BUT THIS DAY ON THE CALENDAR CAUGHT MY ATTENTION. HAS IT REALLY BEEN THAT LONG, OLD FRIEND?
I JUST SPENT AN HOUR LISTENING TO THIS TIME CAPSULE OF WHAT 28 YEAR OLD ME HAD TO SAY, AND IT STILL EXCITES ME AND BREAKS MY HEART. BE KIND TO YOURSELVES. HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON.“- Trent Reznor
And I believe that sums it up pretty well. A 28-year-old Reznor, the same age as I am at the time of writing this near-novel, felt the need to be heard, the need to voice his hurt, and the need to ask “what’s wrong with me?” in this crushingly beautiful, daring, masterpiece of an album. ‘March of the Pigs’ challenges the comfortable, and comforts the “challenged” with its pointed lyrics and in-your-face thrashing, noisy-yet-melodic uptempo beat. ‘Hurt’ screams to be felt, to be internalized and not just listened to. ‘Heresy’ asks uncomfortable questions, and tries to apply meaning to the chaos. And, of course, ‘Closer’ leans into the desire we all have to crawl out of our own skin (and, somehow, into someone else’s) for a while.
Perhaps some folks can’t relate to these raw and often uncomfortable impulses — but, considering this album’s long-lasting effect on culture and sheer playing power, I think most of us can relate.
So, if you’ve never given NIN a chance, this isn’t a bad place to start (not that ‘Pretty Hate Machine’, its predecessor, isn’t also extremely important) and will set you up for a wild ride full of finding meaning in the chaos that is modern, industrial life — or, will at least attempt to.
Xoxo,
MM.