Later, I saw this yellow-tan thing on the rack -- it said "nin the downward spiral." The first time I heard "ruiner," I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. It made me sit back and reflect...the first way Trent's music affected me. I began seriously contemplating where I was, how I'd gotten there, where I wanted to be...all things I'd kept buried for fear of having to answer my own questions.
Trent may not know or care, but he made me ask those questions. As time wore on, I was getting more and more into this nin...and loving every minute of it. I started writing again, because while listening, I was in touch with feelings I thought long shoved down...nin brought them out, and I was compelled to put them on paper. Trent has influenced me to learn more...the obvious is about sequencing and programming music, but it's more than that. I'm not satisfied with just that...I want to know everything, to quote our pouty little anti-hero. Trent can, in my opinion, be held up as a role model, as well. Here's a guy who came out of a horrible business situation to push himself to the top of his field, all the while remaining true to his vision. Not only that, but he helps those who probably wouldn't get a shot with a major label rep breathing down their necks.
Integrity, tolerance, the feeling that my pain and hate are validated...a sense that I'm not alone. These are the things I take away from a nine inch nails record. Is it any wonder he's heralded as a genius? All that and fat beats, nasty guitars, and hellacious sampling -- who could ask for anything more? I sit day in and day out, listening to nin and the other bands I've been exposed to through nin, thinking every time I see a CD end..."and doesn't it make me feel better?"
Know what? It does.
-- Jim Stark