Pretty hate machine

In 1987, Trent Reznor got a job as a night laborer at The Right Track Studios in Cleveland , Ohio. ^{[2] [3]} The Right Track owner Bart Coster allowed Reznor to use studio equipment during “idle time” ^{[2] [3] [4]} . With the help of synthesizers , drum machines , guitars and sampling, Trent recorded several tracks. A special role in the process was played by the Macintosh Plus computer, which was used by the musician as a sequencer ^[1] .

Teaming up with manager John Malm Jr. , Trent Reznor sent out a demo to several labels, later known as Purest Feeling ^[5] . Quite serious proposals were received from many companies ^[6] , but Reznor preferred TVT Records - a label that at that time specialized in the production of audio books and television jingles . After the conclusion of the contract, Trent continued recording in the studios of Great Britain and the USA already under the direction of the producers of Mark Flood Ellis , Keith LeBlanc , Adrian Sherwood and John Fryer ; some of them Trent Reznor considered his idols ^[7] . Nevertheless, he recorded practically all the instrumental parts himself ^[8] , with the exception of the song “Sanctified”, in which Richard Patrick performed the guitar drone ^{[9] [10]} .

Representatives of TVT Records were dissatisfied with the work due to too heavy sound, which was significantly different from the original demo. Reznor had to rework all the material within 20 days, which caused a discord between the musician and the label's management ^{[7] [11]} .

In a 1991 interview with Select Trent Reznor admitted:

In contrast to the work of other representatives of the industrial scene of that time, Pretty Hate Machine showed a completely different sound - the Nine Inch Nails compositions had the usual couplet-chorus structure and catchy riffs, and not just a repeating electronic beat ^[4] . The tracks were often accompanied by an atmospheric background ; Reznor's vocals, in turn, ranged from a whisper to a scream ^[20] .

The theme of the songs concerned longing, betrayal, society and religion ^{[4] [21]} . Edited by Kerrang! it is noted that the lyrics of the album are filled with “despair and hopelessness” ^[22] . “It was like the first opened diary: it turned out that it had the worst feelings,” Reznor later recalled ^[22] .

Tom Brian, reviewer of the electronic magazine Pitchfork , classified Pretty Hate Machine as a synth-pop album, formed in industrial music of the “ new wave period, not subsequent styles”. According to Brian, Pretty Hate Machine clearly showed “muscular” rhythms, but not in the spirit of metal or post-punk ^[18] . Tom Popson of the Chicago Tribune called Pretty Hate Machine a dance album that draws on the features of industrial dance and resembles a "vibrant techno pop " similar to Depeche Mode ^[20] . PopMatters editor AJ Ramirez called the album "industrial dance music that accidentally slipped under the banner of alternative rock " ^[16] .

Trent Reznor quipped: “ Pretty Hate Machine is the most versatile alternative album ever!” At the same time, he claimed that he wanted to give electronic music some aggression, but at the same time contrasting with Front 242 ^[7] . Speaking of sources of inspiration, Reznor mentioned Skinny Puppy ^{[12] [22]} , Ministry ^[14] , The Human League ^[7] , Devo ^[7] and Prince ^[23] . Also in the Pretty Hate Machine booklet, science fiction writer Clive Barker is mentioned as an ideological inspiration ^[24] . Prince, Jane's Addiction and Public Enemy in the same booklet are designated as artists whose music was used to record the plate in the form of samples ^[24] .

The cover design was done by Gary Talpes and Jeffrey Silverthorne. In the mid-1990s, Trent Reznor, in one of the posts on the Prodigy Internet service, wrote that on the front side of the disk is a photograph of a blade of a vertically located turbine that looks like a rib cage ^[25] .

The 2010 reprint was designed by Rob Sheridan . In an interview with Sleevage.com, he described the lengthy and extremely time-consuming process of restoring the cover photo. Due to the fact that the original photo was lost, Sheridan had to literally “recreate” the image based on the scan of the cover itself, and in order to remove all the flaws, the designer was forced to “play” with a huge number of colors, contrasts and filters ^[26] .

The first concert performances of Nine Inch Nails took place in the fall of 1988, opening for Skinny Puppy as part of their VIVIsectVI tour ^{[3] [14]} . At the end of 1989, the first Pretty Hate Machine promotion took place in North America , during which the main concert lineup was determined: Trent Reznor, Richard Patrick and Chriss Wrenna . From January 1990 to February 1991, Nine Inch Nails acted as the opening act for The Jesus and Mary Chain and Peter Murphy ^{[5] [10] [27]} . During this period, NIN formed its own style of presenting its creativity on stage - musicians behaved aggressively, simultaneously destroying instruments and equipment. The most significant performance for the group took place at the first Lollapalooza festival, after which Nine Inch Nails received recognition in the United States ^{[5] [28]} . The fiasco during the European tour was also a memorable event, when Nine Inch Nails, who were opening acts for Guns N 'Roses , were booed by fans of the latter ^{[5] [10]} .

Available on October 20, 1989, Pretty Hate Machine was a commercial success. The album could only rise to the 75th line of the US national chart ^[29] and 67th position in the British album charts ^[30] , which did not prevent him from gaining popularity first in narrow circles, and then general fame. The popularity of Pretty Hate Machine was largely due to the wide circulation of the singles “ Down in It ”, “ Head Like a Hole ”, “ Sin ” and the accompanying concert tour ^{[10] [31]} .

Despite the rather modest charts, the record could last 115 weeks on the Billboard 200 ^[29] . March 3, 1992, the American Association of record labels, the album was certified as "gold" for 500,000 copies sold in the United States. Three years later, Pretty Hate Machine received a “platinum” certification, thus being among the first independent releases to achieve such a sales volume ^[3] . On May 12, 2003, the album was awarded three times “platinum” status ^[32] .

In 1995, the "silver" certification of the plate was awarded by the British Association of Phonogram Manufacturers ^[33] .

Reprints

After the tour ended, a scandal occurred between Reznor and the head of TVT Records Steve Gottlieb ^[34] . The reason for the argument was mainly related to sound; Gottlieb wanted to see Nine Inch Nails' next studio album look like Pretty Hate Machine , which went against Reznor's intentions. The conflict resulted in the termination of the contract between NIN and TVT ^{[35] [36]} , while Gottlieb retained the distribution rights for Pretty Hate Machine ^[37] . The disc was taken out of print in 1997 and was not issued until the bankruptcy of TVT Records. Ultimately, the license for Pretty Hate Machine was transferred to Rykodisc , which resumed its release in November 2005 ^[38] . In 2006, Reznor expressed a desire to release an extended version of the album, similar to the anniversary reissue of The Downward Spiral . Rykodisc supported this idea, but failed to implement it, citing financial reasons ^[39] .

In 2010, an updated version of the album, prepared by Universal Music Enterprises ^{[40], was released} . In addition to the main songs that were re- mastered , the re-release contained a bonus track “ Get Down, Make Love ” - a cover for the composition of the Queen group ^[9] , which until then was available only as a bead of the single “Sin” ^[41] .

Many representatives of the specialized press praised the record. In a Rolling Stone review, Michael Eiserrad described the Pretty Hate Machine as "industrial-sounding noise over a pop base" and "painful but catchy music"; Trent Reznor considered this the most accurate characterization. ^[50] The editors of Q magazine awarded the album 4 stars out of a possible 5; The review noted Reznor’s ability to “spectrally” analyze contemporary dance music, while remaining “adventurous and accessible” ^[46] . The editor of Select Neil Perry, commenting on his assessment, pointed to the "depravity but obedience" of the record. Ralph Treitor, a Sounds columnist, rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, while dubbing it “first-order musical self-harm” ^[49] .

Tom Popson of the Chicago Tribune was less supportive of Pretty Hate Machine . He considered that the musical part brings some variety to the industrial, but Reznor’s vocals cancel out everything ^[44] . In an article for The New York Times, John Pareles was also not impressed by the album, calling it a parody of Depeche Mode , Soft Cell and New Order ^[51] . A similar opinion was expressed by Mark Jenkins, who wrote in his article Industrial Musicians Turn Up That Noise for The Washington Post that the music of Pretty Hate Machine is high-quality, but banal ^[52] .

In a retrospective review for Allmusic, Steve Huey praised Reznor's work for finding "a point of contact between industrial music and the human voice." Huey summed up his review with the words: " Pretty Hate Machine brought extravagance to the genre where dehumanization was almost always the main theme." After the release of the reissue of the record in 2010, Will Hermes of Rolling Stone called Pretty Hate Machine the first " author's industrial album" ^[47] . American writer and journalist Chuck Palahniuk admitted that Pretty Hate Machine is the only example of honest music that he has ever heard ^[53] . The AV Club reviewer Kyle Ryan was not completely in agreement with colleagues. “Of course, Reznor needed to start somewhere, and the Pretty Hate Machine has its own charms, but there is no guarantee that 20 years later they will listen to him like the successors [next NIN albums],” Ryan said ^{[43 ]} .

Ratings and Lists

Words and music of all songs of Trent Reznor, unless otherwise indicated.