Trent Reznor - Building a Pretty Hate Machine

03/12/25 • 20 min

Inside the Milky Way - A Look at Early Alternative Music

In 1989, when Trent Reznor created the groundbreaking Nine Inch Nails album, Pretty Hate Machine, it changed the course of alternative music. The music blended industrial, rock, dance and pop synths, keyboards, and programmed drums, along with emotional lyrics, to create music that would influence artists and genres.

This episode discusses the early years of Trent Reznor, the beginning of Nine Inch Nails, and the revolutionary debut album, Pretty Hate Machine.

This episode discusses the early years of Trent Reznor, the beginning of Nine Inch Nails, and the revolutionary debut album, Pretty Hate Machine.

Previous Episode

Pink Turns Blue - Dark Wave from the Cold War

The band Pink Turns Blue rose from the early years of the German gothic music scene in Berlin, during the Cold War period, to become a pioneer of the dark wave genre.

Their debut album from 1987, If Two World Kiss, is considered a dark wave classic. Pink Turns Blue built on this developing sound for their second album a year later, Meta.

This episode tells the story of the band including formation in the 1980's, the music of the band, and the genre influential two albums of 1987 and 1988.
(Episode was recorded prior to the new album, Black Swan)

Next Episode

The Go-Betweens - Through Lovers Lane

Led by the Australian singer-songwriting and guitarist duo of Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, The Go-Betweens became one of the great, and one of the most underrated bands from the 1980's. Founded in 1977 by Forster and McLennan in Brisbane, Queensland, this indie rock, jangle pop, and alternative band would create six studio albums during the 80's culminating with the classic, 16 Lovers Lane.

This episode will discuss the early years of the band from the debut single, "Lee Remick", through 16 Lovers Lane of 1988.