NIN: Came Back To Haunt

Nine Inch Nails have released an album at almost every pivotal part of my life. Now, perhaps I'm reading into this a little too much (note: I definitely am), but Trent Reznor's knack for releasing new work in-sync with my life events is almost otherworldly and the announcement of NIN's new album, Hesitation Marks, this fall coincides with my move and enrollment in art school. This is a time where I'm more stressed than I have been in years, and, as if he knew I needed something new to comfort my soul, there is Reznor with another album to put on repeat and melt my stress away.

One time obviously doesn't match up so well with the statements above so let me run through the other times that Reznor has worked his magic at big moments in my life.

Visiting old Neighborhoods

We each have a band or movie or game that has been iconic of a time or place in our lives. As we grow and move and hit hard times we go back to them and see what it has to say in light of our newfound perspective. They seem timeless, eternal, like they are speaking directly to us.

Well, for me, that most influential band has been Blink-182 (maybe you've heard of them). It may seem a little unlikely that a pop-punk band could impact a life in such vivid ways, but the story of their growth, success, breakup, and reuinion has mirrored many things in my own life. And at very crucial times.