pretty hate machine:

-Nine Inch Nails second release. "The vibe on Pretty Hate Machine was pretty much

the individual against oppressive forces, but there was a desire to overcome them

and you still had yourself. The premise of this record is a personal statement of what

was in my head at the time. It's a sincere statement."

Down in it - "I took a very experimental approach to it. The original version I did

was about half the speed of the one on the record. And it was a total

rip-off of 'Dig It' by Skinny Puppy; I'll admit that now. But lyrically, I

was experimenting with just kind of train-of-thought, writing down

whatever I thought."

Sanctified - "Sanctified is about a relationship with a cocaine pipe. I knew it

could be interpreted as a relationship with a woman, but it was more

about addiction. Let's just say it was partially fact and partially fiction.

The situation has been remedied."

"When I did Pretty hate Machine I thought it was a pretty bold and I was proud,

and I still am proud of it but it's not where I am now."

broken:

"Pretty Hate Machine was written from the point of view of someone who felt that the

world may suck, but I like myself as a person and I can fight my way out of this shit.

Broken introduced self-loathing, which is not a popular topic with anybody, especially in a

song. I used to like myself and just hate everything around me. Pretty Hate Machine was a

perspective of that, but by Broken, I'd changed. Broken's perspective was that I'd lost

everything-including myself-and that everything was hopeless."

Wish - "The best thing about Wish, is that it's the only song to ever win a

Grammy that says fist fuck in the lyrics."

Suck - "Suck fills a void we didn't have before stylistically. It remains to be seen

if it's an indication of the direction we're heading. It has a different

feel to it because it's a juxtaposition of different styles like a weird

funk loop and blues-metal guitar riffs that wouldn't normally make

sense together. The general theory for the new record is to make

better songs with better hooks, but arranged in a less conventional

manner, and to run some styles together you wouldn't normally think

would work that well. This will probably once again keep us off all

commercial radio. But that's what I want to do."

"When I put Broken out, I thought I'd alienate every one of my fans, and I think

subconsciously I wanted to because I'd just had enough.

For that, I got a Grammy."

the downward spiral:

-Nine Inch Nails eighth release. "To me, Downward Spiral builds to a certain degree of

madness, then it changes. I tried to make something you listen to as a record rather than

'Here's a few hits, here's a few duds.' I guess that's really unfashionable. I like all the

songs, but I can't hear any hit singles. I can't picture them sandwiched between Pearl Jam

and Blind Melon. In these times of CD players, when you can hit a button and you're on the

next track, I'm asking a bit more of the listener."

Closer -"The song is supernegative and superhateful. It's 'I am a piece of shit

and I am declaring that and if you think you want me, here I am.' I

didn't think it would become a frat-party anthem or a titty-dancer

anthem."

Big man with a gun - "The record was nearing completion. I had written those

lyrics pretty quickly and didn't know if I was going to use them or not.

To me, The Downward Spiral builds to a certain degree of madness,

then it changes. That would be the last stage of delirium. So the

original point of Big Man with a Gun was madness. But it was also

making fun of the whole misogynistic gangsta-rap bullshit...From an

artistic point of view, if I'd had a couple more months to look back on

everything, I probably would not have put that song on the record.

Just because I don't think it's that good a song, not because I got

spanked for it."

A warm place - "I wanted to make a little spot in the context of the record where

there was a break in the action. In the midst of the build-up of these

ever-growing, terrible machines, I just wanted to remember that there

is somewhere else, I just wanted people to remember that there is...

somewhere else."

Hurt - "I got dragged into a strip club a few months ago. To my absolute horror,

I realized the DJ was playing Hurt, a song based on my most personal

sentiments, the deepest emotions I have ever had. We were crying

when we made it, it was so intense. I didn't know if I even wanted to

put it on the album. But there we were, and there it was,

and girls were taking their clothes off to it."

"As far as The Downward Spiral goes, all I know is I made a small-scale, potentially ugly

record that reflected how I felt. All I hope is that there are people who'll think, 'Wow, I'm

not the only person who thought those things'. Some of those ugly things are things you

wouldn't want to tell your Mom, your friends or even your lover. But it's no fucking public

service either! It's just what I felt."