I love Nine Inch Nails. I don’t hide this fact. I remember listening to The Downward Spiral as my anthem of teenage angst and anger. I grew up in a tiny town (2,000 people) in a high school of 550. I felt like a freak and a weirdo. Nine Inch Nails was the music I lived on. I’ve had the privilege of seeing Trent Reznor perform live five times. This music is the soundtrack to my life and today I fell into a hole of cover songs so I thought I’d share a few of them with you. There are many, many more online but these all stood out to me.
Going to see Nine Inch Nails live is as close to a religious experience as I’ve felt. The crowd and the emotions and the music washing over me is one of the best feelings in the world. I always come home hoarse, sweaty and exhausted. But feeling so energized and amazing.
Nine Inch Nails and David Bowie performing Hurt
This song gives me chills. Bowie and Reznor’s voice are amazing together.
Johnny Cash covering Hurt
The Best Cover Song Of All Time. Cash takes Reznor’s words and comes to them from a vulnerable place and gives the song a whole new, incredible meaning.
Sevendust covering Hurt
Hurt is an incredible song and it’s nice to see another version of it. This one by stripped down and live on stage.
Linkin Park covering Wish
Wish is a great, if not forgotten song. This is a fun, live cover.
Flyleaf covering Something I Can Never Have
I remember Reznor saying years ago he wanted to work with a female vocalist. It finally came to fruition with How To Destroy Angels. I love Reznor’s music with a female vocalist. This is a great cover of a beautiful song.
Corey Taylor covering Something I Can Never Have
The lead singer of Slipknot’s acoustic take on a haunting track was meant to be performed acoustically. Taylor has an amazing voice.
AFI covering Head Like A Hole
Early NIN sounds like electronic punk. AFI’s cover of this old NIN track fits perfectly.
Kawehi covering Closer
Closer is a song I don’t listen to much because it got so much play when it blew up in the 90s and I got tired of it. It became a party anthem for it’s “I want to fuck you like an animal.” But Kawehi’s cover is a rare and unique take on the track so I included it. The best part of Closer remains the piano at the end.
