Trent Reznor (b. 1965)

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Biography

Michael Trent Reznor is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He came to prominence as the founder, lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, and primary songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. The band's line-up has constantly changed, with Reznor being its only official member from its creation in 1988 until 2016, when he added English musician and frequent collaborator Atticus Ross as its second permanent member.

In Their Own Words (5)

While I was working on Downward Spiral, I was living in the house where Sharon Tate was killed. Then one day I met her sister. It was a random thing, just a brief encounter. And she said: "Are you exploiting my sister's death by living in her house?" For the first time, the whole thing kind of slapped me in the face. I said, "No, it's just sort of my own interest in American folklore. I'm in this place where a weird part of history occurred." I guess it never really struck me before, but it did then. She lost her sister from a senseless, ignorant situation that I don't want to support. When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, "What if it was my sister?" I thought, "Fuck Charlie Manson." I went home and cried that night. It made me see there's another side to things, you know?

On his residency at 10050 Cielo Drive, as quoted in Rolling Stone (6 March 1997). , 1997

You let me violate you. You let me desecrate you.You let me penetrate you. You let me complicate you.Help me, I broke apart my insides.Help me, I've got no soul to sell.Help me; the only thing that works for me.Help me get away from myself.I want to fuck you like an animal.I want to feel you from the inside.I want to fuck you like an animal.My whole existence is flawed.You get me closer to God.

Closer, from The Downward Spiral (1994). , 1994

I think, fundamentally music is something inherently people love and need and relate to, and a lot of what's out right now feels like McDonalds. It's quick-fix. You kind of have a stomachache afterwards. It's not wholly satisfying. And it's fake. I would hope that the music that inspired me, that got me going, that talked to me, felt like it was coming from some place that had some true emotion and true integrity behind it. I think that can reemerge.

Tribune Interview (29 September 2005). , 2005

I hurt myself todayTo see if I still feel.I focus on the pain,the only thing that's real.

Hurt, from The Downward Spiral (1994). , 1994

God money I'll do anything for you.God money just tell me what you want me to.God money nail me up against the wall.God money don't want everything he wants it all.

Head Like a Hole, from Pretty Hate Machine (1990). , 1990

Timeline

The story of Trent Reznor, told in moments.

Life

Nearly killed himself with drugs and alcohol. Got sober in 2001. Shifted to film scoring. Won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score, for The Social Network (2010) and Soul (2020), both with collaborator Atticus Ross.

What pulled you back from the edge of addiction? Was film scoring a reinvention or a natural evolution? Do two Oscars feel like a different career?

1989 Event

Released Pretty Hate Machine, Nine Inch Nails' debut album. Recorded most of it himself in a studio after hours. The album went platinum on the strength of "Head Like a Hole." Industrial rock went mainstream.

What was it like recording Pretty Hate Machine alone after hours? Did 'Head Like a Hole' feel like a breakthrough? Was industrial rock always the mission?

1994 Event

The Downward Spiral came out. It was recorded at 10050 Cielo Drive, the house where Sharon Tate was murdered. The album sold over four million copies. "Closer" and "Hurt" became defining songs of the decade.

Why record at the house where Sharon Tate was murdered? Was The Downward Spiral as dark to make as it sounds? Did four million copies validate the suffering?