57 THE HAND THAT FEEDS

Nine Inch Nails

NIN’s Trent Reznor spent the second half of the 90s locked in a destructive spiral of drugs, depression and self-loathing. His first post-rehab album, 2005’s With Teeth, was more focused and concise than he’d sounded in years, no more so than on its highlight, The Hand That Feeds. At three and a half minutes, it sounded like an update of the NIN of their landmark debut Pretty Hate Machine: a seething dancefloor banger cloaked in distortion and rage. When MTV refused to let them play it at a prestigious awards ceremony, in front of a backdrop of thenPresident George W Bush, Reznor told them to screw themselves. Good to know that some things hadn’t changed. DE From: With Teeth, 2005