Following his memorable induction of The Cure into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, Nine Inch Nail’s Trent Reznor had the honor this year by his induction into the famed institution through a speech done remotely due to the current global pandemic that had sidelined the ceremony initially scheduled at Public Auditorium in Cleveland on May 2nd.
Read Iggy Pop’s Nine Inch Nails induction speech in its entirety below:
“When I first heard about Nine Inch Nails and I heard a little of their music, I thought, “Well, who is this guy?” So I took look and I saw a face straight out of 15th century Spain. I think Trent could have played Zorro. If he’d been alive at the right time, I think he could have been painted by Velasquez or El Greco, and his portrait would probably be painting in the Prado today.
Listening to Nine Inch Nails’ music — which is so often called “industrial” — I actually hear a lot of funk. Just listen to “Closer,” and the foundation could be Stevie Wonder or George Clinton, but on top of that is a focused and relentless process of emotional destruction which paints a portrait of pain, pressure, and dissatisfaction.
It’s the soundtrack to the dark and lonely party that was beginning to play out in America at that period, so I would call it, not industrial, but the sound of industrial and digital ambition.
I went to the Nine Inch Nails show at the Forum in Los Angeles, the one together with David Bowie, and Trent held the center of that room just by being a kind of dark spot, hunched behind the mic. I’ve seen the same thing accomplished in different ways by T. Rex at Wembley, Nirvana at the Pyramid Club, and Bob Dylan in ’65. This is the mark of the master artist, simply to connect.
The controversial and brilliant French novelist Michel Houellebecq, when asked the secret of his success, said, “It’s easy: Just tell the truth.” Listening to Nine Inch Nails feels like hearing the truth, so it get you a little bit closer to God. It is my honor to assist in inducting Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
During his acceptance speech, Reznor thanked his six fellow members inducted with him such as Atticus Ross, Robin Finck, Chris Vrenna, Danny Lohner, Ilan Ruban, and Alessandro Cortini, as well as other “key players,” such as Richard Patrick, Josh Freese, and Jeordie White.
Watch Reznor’s full speech below:
Nine Inch Nails were inducted into this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G., T. Rex and The Doobie Brothers, as well as reknowned managers Jon Landau and Iriving Azoff.
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