Nine Inch Nails have been perfecting their live performances throughout their whole 30-year career; Trent Reznor has funnelled creative dedication into the band’s set lists for the live shows. While he’s meticulously organised when it comes to the recording studio – numerous corporate disputes about influence and creative freedom have ensued over the years – Reznor often surprises fans with random songs and delineations from the usual.
Until recently, NIN’s most unexpected act was when they decided to perform the entire Broken EP, seemingly on a whim. However, a NIN gig on Tuesday devolved into even more screaming and head-banging than usual when they finally performed ‘The Perfect Drug’ live for the first time… that is, 21 years after it was released.
‘The Perfect Drug’ was written for and released on the soundtrack to David Lynch’s 1997 neo-noir feature film, Lost Highway. This was Lynch’s first feature since his Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me days, and didn’t smash it out at the box office. Lynch, famous for his brilliant music curating and soundtracking, employed Reznor to create two songs for the film; ‘The Perfect Drug’ and ‘Driver Down’ were recorded, and Reznor went on to produce the soundtrack album.
Despite acclaim for the songs from the NIN fanbase, Reznor and his various live bands refrained from playing ‘The Perfect Drug’, presumably due to the intense labour of playing the piece live. Despite the musical gymnastics being performed onstage, the crowd went absolutely wild – to which Reznor and the rest of the band seemed to bounce off. Surely this is now a set list staple.
