Despite Inconsistencies, Nine Inch Nails Provide Big Impact

It's hard to dislike Trent Reznor: the guy regularly gives away excellent music, goes out of his way to design a visually stunning stage show and even fought through voice problems tonight. While his set got off to a fast start with a hard-hitting combination of "1,000,000" and "Discipline" (both from The Slip) and delivered "Closer" early, Reznor soon settled into some of the complex instrumentals from the Ghosts I-IV album. While the combination of live instrumentation was impressive (when was the last time you saw a rock show with a marimba solo?), the crowd's interest waned, even with the dynamic lighting display matching the music note for note. It wasn't until Reznor hit the back half of his set — lead by insane shout-alongs on "Wish," "Terrible Lie" and "Only" — that the fans really got on board with his particular blend of stadium-sized pathos. During his encore, Reznor mentioned that Nine Inch Nails played the first Lollapalooza 17 years ago, which was a tribute not only to Reznor's tenacity but also the staying power of the fest.

More Lollapalooza Coverage: Rock 'N' Roll Diary

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“The Pretender”

Foo Fighters | 2007

This song wasn't part of the planned track listing for 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, and was put together in a day. "It happened after we recorded a lot of stuff," said Dave Grohl. Yet it ended up as the album opener and the lead single. Grohl called it "a stomping Foo Fighters uptempo song with a little bit of Chuck Berry in it." The singer hinted at the lyrics' political overtones: "Everyone's been f---ed over before and I think a lot of people feel f---ed over right now and they're not getting what they were promised."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter