Nine Inch Nails

The fragile soul behind NIN scrutinizes a greater existence beyond his own torture with a concept disc that runs like CliffsNotes for 1984 -- ones that have been sealed with rage and stomped through Trent Reznor-patented machinery. In Reznor's mad scientist treatment, sci-fi gets kinky with modern reality and a dystopia ripens in 2022 (Year Zero). An intriguing cacophony of tension-building minimalism, crunching metal hooks, grimy factory beats and paroxysmal distortions, the album is an astute echo of terror, chaos and urgency. Dance, conspire theories and freak your friends out with it.

The best thing to hit YouTube in the past few weeks is Sad Kermit singing Nine Inch Nails'
"Hurt." Everybody's favorite Muppet amphibian strums an acoustic guitar, warbling Trent
Reznor's classic ballad of self-loathing to a montage of scenes illustrating his degradation:
Kermit shooting up, Kermit passed out in a pile of beer cans and pill bottles, Kermit blowing
rails off a copy of The God Delusion near a topless photo of Miss Piggy. By the en... More >