Subliminal Messages: On Nine Inch Nails’ “Broken”
I turned my stereo all the way down to barely audible volumes, convinced Trent Reznor’s singing was a subliminal message.
alone
BrokenPretty Hate Machine anticipation
nnine inch nails brokennTninin
Pretty Hate Machinennot
band
BrokenPretty Hate MachineThe Downward SpiralPretty Hate MachineBrokenPHM
Ten
I
McSweeney’sThe Maxx Broken
Was my stereo a mono device? What did that mean, if it was?
Was Maise Reznor’s dog? If I listened close enough, would I be able to hear a dog’s contribution to the album?
The Downward Spiral
I didn’t know at the time, but . . . attn: Steve Gottlieb?
What??
ItI supposed
Satan??heardsubliminal
not
Broken
duhPinkerton
overly
weren’t for me
Broken
twoRush Street
Broken
also
Broken
Who Nevermind
Check Your HeadBlood Sugar Sex Magik
Broken
Broken
The Downward SpiralBroken The Downward Spiral
Aaron Burch is the author of the memoir/literary analysis Stephen King's The Body, the short story collection Backswing, and the novella How to Predict the Weather. He is also the Founding Editor of HOBART. He lives in Ann Arbor, where he teaches at University of Michigan.
Enter your email address to receive notifications for author Aaron Burch
Success!
Confirmation link sent to your email to add you to notification list for author Aaron Burch
More by this author
The Body Has Teeth: On Stephen King and Stand By Me
“If I were writing a book about a movie, it would be Stand By Me.”
More in this series
Americana / Dying of Thirst
“He looked down at us and asked, ‘What the fuck am I doing in Iowa?’”
‘The Americans’ Is a Great Show, But Its Characters of Color Deserve Better
“The show’s characters of color appear rarely, briefly, subordinately, and often end up dead.”
Strange Grief: On The Leftovers and Departure
“The undefined, complicated, unresolved trauma makes us messy—how do we tell our story without an ending?”