Head Like a Hole

When Trent Reznor unleashed "Head Like a Hole" on the world back in 1989, there wasn't anything else out there that sounded quite like it. Thrashing, metal-inspired guitar parts? We'd heard that. Bleak, brooding lyrics full of self-loathing and allusions to S&M? That was something more unusual. But building it all on top of a rollicking electronic dance beat? That was mind-blowing. This is the darkest upbeat song you'll ever hear.

Money. Power. Sex. Domination. Love. Hate.

Trent Reznor brought all these vital elements of the human experience together in surprising and sometimes uncomfortable ways. (Listening to Nine Inch Nails isn't something you'd usually describe as… pleasant.)

But then, neither exactly is Othello or The Merchant of Venice or Macbeth; plumbing the depths of the human character isn't necessarily fun. But that makes it no less riveting.

In 1990, "Head Like A Hole" peaked at #28 on the US Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Pretty Hate Machine peaked at #75 on the Billboard 200.