my hanauer (hanauer.2@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu)

Going to see them live in '94...simply put the best experience this 19-year-old body has ever had. Oh yeah, joining alt.music.nin as well.

olin mcfadden (mcfadden@minerva.athenet.net)

A Thousand Pleasures for $12.

he last knight (daniel.lula@yale.edu)

This is going to sound silly, but I think it's the Australian halo 9. I've already received offers on it going up to $50!

.c. death (synthboy@teleport.com)

A synthesizer. Basically, electronic music has become my life, opening many doors, including interest in computers (which led to my current corporate job), synths (which led me to meeting synthbetties and other cool folks), and the way I live.

irk ellis (dellis@pop.srv.ualberta.ca)

Hmmm...good question. I would have to say pretty hate machine, because it was what started it all for me. Without that record, I don't think I would be listening to NIN today. (I probably wouldn't even really know about Trent...and to think I might be one of those who say "NIN?!...oh yeah. They sing that 'fuck you like an animal' song, right?")

ita melzer (dr75ma@execpc.com)

Probably buying a from-the-masters collection of NIN videos, after nearly a year of gradual collection and personal compiling.

nat hammerstrom (gnat@cs.wisc.edu)

The "happiness in slavery" VIP 12". Very cool remixes that just can't be found anywhere else on any CD. It's things like this that reaffirm my belief in vinyl, a claimed-to-be outdated format except for us DJs.

zzbot (izzbot@eskimo.com)

The CDs, because I listen to them a lot and I feel I've gotten more than what I paid for them in listening entertainment.

ulia tenney (cthulhia@delphi.com)

Attending NinCon. No, really. It made my obsession into a social hobby and gave me a busload of cool new people to play with, who helped boost my confidence enough that I got the courage to dig myself out of the rut I had fallen into. Without the interaction of other fans, this would have never risen above pathetic escapism. (It may not be all that much more than pathetic escapism, but at least you're all along for the ride.)

ulie overturf (overturf@clark.net)

Purchase of two tickets to the Patriot Center show in early summer 1994, because prior to that the only three things I knew about NIN were "head like a hole," "closer," and the "Past the Mission" duet with Tori Amos.

yle moyer (ksmst12+@pitt.edu)

Ask me again in a few months and I'll probably say NinCon. As of now, I have no idea, since I don't really consider them "investments." The most I think I've ever spent on something NIN-related would be for the Bowie/NIN tickets, and I don't know if I'd consider that an "investment." If I had to pick, though, I would say the first NIN concert I went to last November.

isa livingston (procyon@icon.net)

I bought a bootleg. Actually, I had a bootleg of NIN before I owned any of the studio work. It's called Familiar Sting, and it's horrid from a production standpoint. But it did give me an idea of what this material was going to sound like live. NIN live and NIN studio are two different animals. I actually prefer the live sound to the studio performances, probably because the studio work is SO controlled. I like the sound of chaos in the live recordings, because (1) it fits the themes of the music better and (2) there clearly isn't a damn thing Reznor can do about some of that stuff. Like the dissonant sound of something being smashed to pieces, or a microphone cutting out at an odd moment. That may not have been the band's best performance of the material...but it may well have been the best SHOW. NIN is not just an aural experience, but a visual one. I think that the experience begins with the studio work (lest anyone thinks I am running that down, because I am not), but the whole of the ART of NIN comes across clearly in the shows. There is an energy there that comes from performance that is not really present in the studio. I hope that Trent, if he ever does do a live recording, will consider this. I know he hates bootlegs and I can understand why. But the beauty of a bootleg is not in how well it was mastered or recorded, but in what it captured on that one evening. You just can't capture that indefinable something that was present during a performance in the studio.

ike lopez (mlopez@voyager0.stanford.edu)

A NIN/Bowie ticket for a friend. She enjoyed it more than I did, so I think her ticket was worth more than mine.

obin colleen moore (robin@mindspring.com)

Probably the heater shirts. (Granted, it wasn't really my money that went into them, but I DID run around and scout heaters, take pictures, send out orders, and generally invest a great deal of time & trouble in them). Particularly the $20 or so it cost me to FedEx Trent's shirt to New York City. It provided me with the opportunity to actually meet the man (or, rather, for him to decide that he wanted to meet ME), and between Sioux's description of his initial reaction ("WOW! That's so fucking cool!") and hearing the man himself tell me it was "the coolest shirt I've ever seen," I'd have to say it was worth the trouble. Also, don't forget all the other people who bought them and are having fun with them as well. Definitely worth it!

ean galbraith (smgalbra@cousteau.uwaterloo.ca)

The "Fist Me, I'm Trent" shirt (tied with the Reznor heater shirt). NinCon is the coolest NIN related activity I have ever participated in.

*lurker* ;)

I paid $100 (from a "friend," hrmph) for a floor ticket to the NIN club show back in May of '94. I bumped into a roadie who spilled his drink. Long story short...he let me sit in the booth to see the show, talked to me afterward for a while, and was responsible for all my passes and most tickets for the rest of the year. Which led to my making a whole lot of new, cool friends. Especially Maise!

tephanie nahas (nahas@ripco.com)

My trip to New Orleans last February. Saw a great city and a great concert, and hung out with fabulous people.

aylor mclaren (tmclaren@uoguelph.ca)

Best related investment: Prick...proof that even Nothing can sign worthwhile musicians once in a while.

az dhariwal (dharts@hg.uleth.ca)

Halo 7 ("march of the pigs") and the Broken movie.

ily anderson (landerso@acslab.acs.unt.edu)

Driving to Chicago for the weekend to see NIN and Hole.