I actually wanted to write a book/bible of my interpretations/prophecies based on NIN. My life, I feel, has been greatly influenced by the work of Trent Reznor. I actually view his influence as a virus/disease that I have been afflicted with. I have various mental illnesses, and have had a pretty fucked up life up until now. I feel, and have felt, that I can relate very closely to Trent's message(s). One thing that agitates me very much is that others refuse to believe that a man I've never conversed with or communicated with could cause so much to occur. Others go so far as to say that I have an "obsession", that I have a serious NIN complex that ruins me. Atleast there are those who acknowledge his influence.
I feel that listening to NIN has greatly expanded my mind, and in some ways, my spritual life. No, I dont worship satan, I dont go around flaunting a gothic/industrial appearence so as to get attention and acceptance, and I don't claim to be fucked up or to have problems for pity or ANY form of attention. That kind of behavior gets deeply "underneath the(my) skin"(halo 7). I despise the mainstream. And I guess while I've mentioned the mainstream, I'll give one of my interpretations of "Head Like a Hole". I think this song may be a message to a form of corporate "big cheese". The lyrics address a "God (of) Money". "Of", as far as I know is only said in live performances. I can view this song from such a perspective and have a firm (but not concrete) belief that it may be Trent's perspective because of his problems with corporate figures in his musical career. He cant even stand the site of one of the workers from TVT. He has expressed in interviews, etc., his anger towards producers and record company execs who see music only as an economic machine built to produce money; those who have aimed at changing his sound so as to make it sell. I wont interpret this song word for word right now, due to lack of time. Ill make it a goal to submit word for word interpretations of mine to this site (of which I greatly esteem)in the future.
At any given time in my life, I can look to times in my past when I had a certain "structure" of interpretations to various NIN lyrics. This is very valuable to me, because it allows me to do many things. I can mark self progress or evolution from one time to another; I can reminisce or remember certain occurances or scenarios in my past from times revolving around the interpretations; I can grasp a feeling of nostalgia from past times; and most importantly, I can arrive at the conclusion that no one thought or interpretation is the "right" one, due to the subjective nature of all consciousness. That final conclusion I feel deserves much focus and is a principle that can and should be applied to the life of anyone. The knowledge that thought is only subjective. It is only a cognitive process that allows us to assimilate knowledge into an understanding or rationalization of a "reality". This can be good for a person in that it can open the mind very much and allow different views/interpretations to be taken into ones existance. However, on the down side, this concept can be extremly harmful, even fatal. To be so nihilistic can cause many things to occur within ones state of being that could do lots of damage. If one fathoms this to a certain level, the revelation that there is no way to know what is TRUE, what is right and wrong, and what is even real at all can take place within the mind. This could leave one to commit suicide due to a complex within the mind, a lack of self worth, or the belief that (self) destruction is a good thing. Many other destructive acts could occur. I call them destructive, while to another they could be seen as acts that are constructive. I myself have lived in such misery at different times during my life. I have been hospitalized on different occasions. I feel alot of my problems were due to this kind of nihilistic view of life, etc. I have miraculously survived attemted suicides. I am glad to have had such experiences in life, simply because I feel they have contributed greatly to the evolution of my life as a human being on this planet. Had I died or done something that would cause me to suffer great consequence today, it may not have been worth it, but that is not the case. I know I am rambling here, but I feel this information/knowledge may be useful to others and that it is also very relavent to NIN. It is difficult to get into such a topic without extending it to some length.
I feel all of the nihilism is greatly relative to NIN for many reasons. I believe that much of Trent Reznors life is based on a nihilistic philosophy. There is the "nothing" label and the entire theme of nothing as related to NIN, which Trent himself has expressed emphatically in his interviews, performances, lyrics, music, etc. He said of "The Downward Spiral" that this was a main theme. Rather than express pure and brash anger, fear, sorrow, rebellion, dissonance, etc., he had the goal of eliminating TRUTH, MORALS, EMOTION, THOUGHT, and LIFE all in one package of NOTHING that could strip away everything one can have, leaving one to feel only despair, depression, confusion, apathy, and/or a loss of hope/faith...IF anything. Keeping in my mind that a rational belief would be that if one is dead, one does, feels, and thinks nothing. However, in the process of eliminating so much from ones life, many forms of emotion must be presented, as they are in "The Downward Spiral."
I have already said that I myself attempted suicide with this belief, because at the time it seemed the only logical solution to the problem of nothing. I don't know if anyone will read this, or that anyone will understand or relate to it if they do, but this is my cry to anyone who may. I don't want people of the same or similar kind to feel alone in this world. Trent has said the same thing of his work. That if someone in the world can be comforted in knowing that they aren't the only one to feel the way they do in listening to his music, then he has in that alone done plenty to satisfy his meeting of his purpose.
I hope that this entry will be read by others such as yourself primarily for this reason. I hope that I may in some way comfort others, or atleast open their minds a little. I am glad this web-site exists, and im not just kissing the creators ass. In my opinion it exceeds all others that I have seen. It is a good source for not only information and fact pertaining to NIN, but also a source for a vital part of NIN, the fans. What they think and feel. How NIN has influenced them. Ill keep coming back, keep up the good work.

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