Reznor, Waters, and The Wall

by amy hanauer

What makes an album worth listening to? It should have lyrics that make you think, interesting sounds that make up a song, and passion in the music you're hearing. The downward spiral is the first album in a long time that has all of them. It belongs up there with an album called The Wall. In fact, I feel the two albums fit well with each other.

It's not difficult to see why The Wall and The Final Cut are listed among Trent's influences. Roger Waters has written some of the most powerful lyrics of our time and in many eyes represents the "original" angst man. His lyrics -- from his humble beginnings with songs such as "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" all the way to songs such as "The Final Cut" -- are a huge influence to the music world, and especially his work in The Wall.

Many fans ask how Roger Waters came up with an album like The Wall. The answer lies all the way back in 1977. Pink Floyd was touring in support of their album Animals and playing stadiums. This had been very difficult on the band, and especially on Roger. During the last show in Montreal, Roger became so distraught at the whole idea that he began to torment a fan who had a "space cadet glow." He finally let a great gob of spit fly in the fan's face. Disgusted by his own actions, he went back to his hotel room and tried to analyze what he had done, where he was going, and life in general. He felt he had become "numb" to everything, that the message and his integrity had been lost in the vast crowds of people. It was no longer fun for Roger, and the only way he felt he could express his displeasure was to make a record that explained how he felt. That album was The Wall. Roger felt there was a wall between him and his audience. No longer could he be the artist he wanted to be, and this record was the only way around that.

This concept also exists in the downward spiral, although it's possibly a bit more depressing in the sense that the character eventually attempts suicide. He becomes more and more frustrated with his life due to failing relationships and his inability to find peers who understand him. I don't believe there was an "incident" that sparked Trent to write an album, as there was with Roger. But I do believe the concept of this record arose from life experiences Trent felt he had to get out in some creative way. I'm sure he felt, as Roger did, that he needed to release something that had been building up inside for quite some time.

If one takes a song from The Wall -- "Hey You," for example -- and analyzes a verse from it, you can see the connection in Trent's work:

but it was only fantasy
the wall was too high
as you can see
no matter how he tried
he could not break free
and the worms ate into his brain

i stay inside my bed
i have lived so many lives
all in my head
don't tell me that you care
there really isn't anything now is there

The Wall is about a person and society and their failure to communicate with one another, which leads to the alienation of the main character, Pink. The downward spiral also deals with one person's inability to communicate with others, to articulate his cry for help, which leads to his alienation from the world.

In The Wall, Pink becomes more and more alienated because no one can see him as more than a rock star who is not entitled to feel anything besides what he's been taught. He realizes through songs such as "One of My Turns," "Don't Leave Me Now," and especially "Comfortably Numb" that all around him are the people who have made him most unhappy, and that there is only one way out of this self-made hell: through a wall.

Throughout the downward spiral, the character (mr. self destruct) is calling out for help. He becomes increasingly alienated through self-examination, as noted in the songs "piggy," "I do not want this," "the becoming," "mr. self destruct," and the final song, "hurt." Mr. Self Destruct realizes that the only way out of hellhole of his life is to end it.

Still more evidence exists. The Wall, as with all of Roger Waters' work, uses extensive sampling from various movies. This obviously had a big influence on Trent, for he uses sampling in just about all of his songs. This adds to the "industrial" sound.

Roger used old World War II and John Wayne movies to emphasize his points. For example: In the song "Nobody Home," right after the lyrics, "When I pick up the phone..." you can hear a sample saying "surprise, surprise, surprise" and then the rest of the song, "there's still nobody home..." There is a sarcastic twist in that sample, and that adds to the atmosphere -- that it's not getting any better for Pink, that no one is there for him. Roger has used a barrage of other samples to generate a continuity for the record [such as the children's and teacher's voices on "Another Brick in The Wall (part 2)"], which really give more life to the songs. There is also the effect of an explosion when the Wall comes crashing down. You can feel almost "inside" each song.

Trent also uses samples, but his are more textured, and more subtle. During "the downward spiral," you can hear insects swarming and other samples that are a bit more difficult to figure out. Trent does this to let the effects sink in, which works very well on this track. Subconsciously, the samples have been implanted in your mind, whether you can decipher them all or not.

Of course, the concepts of the albums are somewhat similar. In The Wall, Pink metaphorically bricks himself in due to his surroundings (his harsh schoolmasters, his overbearing mother, the loss of his father to war and of his wife to another man), as well as the fact the he can't deal with being a rock star any more.

In The Wall, Pink eventually realizes that the wall around him was self-made and induced by his circumstances. He had to have the wall broken down for him, so that he could be "exposed by your peers!". Roger also sings in the last song, "Outside the Wall," that "the ones who really love you walk up and down outside the wall...." Which is very true. Roger is basically saying that you must break through your own walls in order to live your life and be the person you want to be.

The resolution of TDS is more vague. We are left with the feeling that perhaps the main character isn't dead from suicide, but we don't know what will happen next. "Hurt" is subject to many interpretations, but I believe that Mr. Self Destruct is looking back on his life and asking himself, and the people around him, "what have i become..." He's saying that the ongoing crises in his life have brought him to the point that he cannot take anymore, and he wants to "go away in the end." He does leave a tiny ray of hope by saying, "if i could start again, a million miles away, i would keep myself, i would find a way." In other words, if perhaps things had worked out differently, he wouldn't wind up in the situation at the end of the album.

People often compare Waters and Reznor in their musical styles. While there are some similarities, there are noticeable differences. Waters seems to write more often about our society at large -- market forces, politicians, among other things. On his last solo album, Amused To Death (1992), he attacked God, the military, and especially television. Although he frequently is "angst-ridden," he tends to be more political. He does write about alienation and the absurdity of life, much like Trent. But Roger's writing is more world-oriented, yet with an individual viewpoint.

Examples of such songs include "Have A Cigar" (about the recording industry), "Money" (about the greed of it all), the entire album Animals (in which Roger lashes out at all of society, labeling them sheep, dogs, and pigs), anything from The Wall (Roger's autobiographical opus), and songs like "The Final Cut," in which Roger bares his soul.

Reznor, on the other hand, is more internal. He focuses on parts of himself and vents his personal frustrations and anger through his music. He is more individualistic, but can write about society (in songs such as "head like a hole," "happiness in slavery," "march of the pigs," etc.).

Roger and Trent tend to be different musically, as well. While they have both used samples in their work, Roger's music has always had a somewhat more orchestrated style. Trent tends to use the "industrial" sound with computers. Roger has always worked with others in a studio. Trent tends to work by himself, and then incorporates the rest of the band.

Trent Reznor has always made music that went beyond normal pop standards. His lyrics have dealt with inner feelings of frustration, alienation, isolation, and angst, and combined with his music create very vivid images. His fans feel a certain connection through his songs, above all because they feel so many emotions -- of love, hate, whatever -- through them.

Why is the downward spiral a great record? That's a complex question. When I listen, I can relate vividly to what Trent is saying. His lyrics are so poignant that they attack (in a great way) all my senses, and I become one with the album. It flows rather nicely and each song is a distinct part of the cohesive whole. It is quite rare that a record could move me so much that I am crying at the end. But the downward spiral is one that does. It leaves me so drained that I won't listen to another album all day. It gives me an outlet for my own emotions. It speaks to me in ways that are indescribable. The songs express how I feel at that time or felt in the past. There aren't many artists who do that, and do it well.

Amy Hanauer (hanauer.2@osu.edu) is a journalism major at Ohio State University.

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