Don’t Forget the Songs-365: Mach Dos: Day 148
Tues. June 5, 2012
“Sin”
Nine Inch Nails
1990
“♫ You give me
the anger, you give
me the nerve/ carry
out my sentence, will
I get what I
deserve? […] ♫”
“Sin” is the song of the day—only because the birds chirping in unison, outside my office window [subsequently, where I write my daily verse] surprisingly sounds like the opening repetitive wailing sample at the beginning of Pretty Hate Machine’s “Sin.”
“Sin” reminds me of my first NIN show in San Antonio. I had brought some of my grocery store co-workers; I convinced them that NIN was the concert of the year. Trent and his Nails didn’t disappoint. Just to see the expressions of shock turn to delight was worth the price of admission. That night at the Showcase in San Antonio, NIN was more than a show—it was a gathering of Mosh Pit, dancers, head bangers, outcasts—we all became NINfo’s that night. All of us found a space to unleash our frustrations within the incorruptible confines in the alienation rhythms created by Trent Reznor. I particularly loved the fact that my long sleeve white NIN “Sin” shirt glowed in the dark, when the lights went out waiting for Trent and his band to hit the stage.
Who else remembers when NIN’s Pretty Hate Machine came out? 1989, I was just out of high school and I must have owned P.H.M. on every format, vinyl, cassette and CD. I lent and made and burned so many copies that year Nine Inch Nails broke in the mainstream.
Reznor recalls the year his band broke; here’s Trent describing his sonic intentions with first album, when he said— “Pretty Hate Machine was about juxtaposing human imperfections against rigid, sterile, cold arrangements.” Pretty Hate Machine made hard industrial sized riffs— that became the soundtrack of dark seduction.
It’s funny how a song from my mosh pit/industrial music days and nights of mayhem would have inspired a poem. “Sin” shows how much Nine Inch Nails aggro lines still resonates in my life. Thank you, Mother Nature & Creation Goddess— for the— “The chirping of birds sounds like…” and Trent for the “sinful” sounds of inspiration!
Speaking of “Sin” here’s the complete original, rarely seen before uncut video for “Sin”- Enjoy!
Don't Forget The Songs 365 