History YMMV / NineInchNails

** ''With Teeth'' also appears to be gaining more and more popularity nowadays. When it came out, it was considered one of his worst to date. Some fans, however, think it's a good album to introduce others to, and recently, it appears to be earning more credibility and more people are considering one of their favorites now than there were back then.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: If you can get past the melodrama, quite a bit. Most fans admit that lyrics can enter the state of {{narm}} fairly frequently, but state that the music itself more than makes up for it.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: All of his albums have gone through this on some level, particularly more recent ones. Apparently, now that he's gotten clean, is [[BabiesEverAfter married with a kid]], is, in his own words, the happiest he's ever been, and his music isn't as full of {{Angst}} as it once was, Trent's lost his mojo.
* VindicatedByHistory: Fan response to ''The Fragile'' was rather lukewarm despite strong reviews, most likely because it wasn't as heavy as ''The Downward Spiral'' and didn't have a song with a chorus as [[MemeticMutation memetically popular]] as Closer. However, a few years later fans have started to judge it on it's own merits and it's now considered to be Reznor's MagnumOpus.

* YokoOhNo: Trent getting married and having a kid pretty much blew up [[FanDumb some]] fangirls (and ''boys'', as seen [[http://www.theninhotline.com/archives/articles/haha.html here]]. Fans blame his wife for him ending NIN as a touring project (indefinitely, though) despite the fact that he's expressed interest in trying something new ''years'' before even meeting Mariqueen, and create off the wall theories like "they're both on drugs!" among other things. Just go on Website/YouTube and check out one of the songs in their band How to Destroy Angels and read the comments. It gets pretty ridiculous.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Live guitarist Robin Finck has always been the most popular member of the live band, and his return for The Slip was met with happiness from the fans.

* HoYay: Quite a bit.
** Trent has a quite a bit of HoYay *and* FoeYay with protegee Music/MarilynManson, much to the joy of [[YaoiFangirl Slash Fangirls]] everywhere.

*** The fact that Richard's nickname was Piggy also puts several songs on The Downward Spiral in an entirely new light.
** To say nothing of Trent's relationship with his long-time assistant and roommate, Chris Vrenna, who was probably the closest thing NIN ever had to another official member.
*** Plus, [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lovxvnhk1H1qmlr3no1_1280.jpg these]] [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lopxkr0poJ1qm4dano1_1280.jpg pictures]]. That is all.

* YokoOhNo: Trent getting married and having a kid pretty much blew up [[FanDumb some]] fangirls (and ''boys'', as seen [[http://www.theninhotline.com/archives/articles/haha.html here]]. Fans blame his wife for him ending NIN as a touring project (indefinitely, though) despite the fact that he's expressed interest in trying something new ''years'' before even meeting Mariqueen, and create off the wall theories like "they're both on drugs!" among other things. Just go on YouTube and check out one of the songs in their band How to Destroy Angels and read the comments. It gets pretty ridiculous.

*** The fact that Richard's name was Piggy also puts several songs on The Downward Spiral in an entirely new light.

** To say nothing of Trent's relationship with Chris Vrenna, who was probably the closest thing NIN ever had to another official member. He and Trent also lived together for close to a decade. And then there's [[http://nanshe-of-nina.tumblr.com/post/10949231702/chris-vrenna-on-recording-nin-demos this]].

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Live guitarist Robin Finck has always been the most popular member of the live band, and his return for The Slip was pretty much an AndTheFandomRejoiced moment.

* AndTheFandomRejoiced: Pretty Hate Machine's rerelease pretty much caused the entire fandom to explode.

!!Tropes used in [=NIN=] videos:

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: [[NightmareFuel/MusicVideos Some]] [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel/MusicVideos videos]] border the line between this and genuine horror. Notably the one for "Down in It", footage from which was [[http://www.obsolete.com/convulsion/interviews/convulse/1.5.html analyzed by the FBI as possible footage of a "gang killing" before it was revealed what it was]].
** The story of the video was later featured on ''Hard Copy'' who produced [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gV8yQc0m7g this semi-ridiculous feature]] on the story.
* NauseaFuel: "Help me I am in Hell," DEAR GOD.

!!Tropes that generally apply to [=NIN=]:

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: ''Strobe Light'', an album produced by Timbaland, featuring [[Music/{{Coldplay}} Chris Martin]], Music/{{Jay-Z}}, [[Music/{{U2}} Bono]], Music/JustinTimberlake, Sheryl Crow, [[Music/{{Tool}} Maynard James Keenan]], Alicia Keys and Fergie. A sudden departure from his angsty roots. Released online, April 1st, 2009. See it [[http://www.nin.com/strobelight/ here.]]
** Oh, I see what you did there...
** Now I want to see an ''actual'' NIN/Maynard James Keenan collaboration. Mm.
** [[http://www.ninwiki.com/Tapeworm There has been.]]
*** Ain't that closer to {{Vaporware}}?
*** Well, Music/APerfectCircle ended up covering the one track they managed to create before the whole thing went out the window. It's called ''Passive.'' And it is ''awesome''.
*** And MJK released "Potions" (or a version of it, at least) as Puscifer, with co-writing credits to Reznor.
** Is this troper the only one who wants to see a real Jay-Z/NIN collaboration?
*** Not at all. Weirder pairings have happened. Not many, but they're out there.
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: The concept behind the Year Zero album and {{A|lternateRealityGame}}RG: Brutal, fascist American theocracy following biological terrorism, a drug-enhanced fanatical military, drugs in the water supply to subdue the populace and increasingly frequent mind-numbing visions of ghostly, god-like hands descending from the sky known as "The Presence." "Proof" found via scrambled messages from the future scattered across websites and audio and video found on USB keys discovered at concert venues.
** Several of the actual songs would also count, including "The Becoming", The Downward Spiral" and "Eraser".

* TearJerker: Many songs.
** Special mention goes to the Still version of ''Something I Can Never Have''. Trent is actually crying by the last verse, and it becomes rapidly more clear what he's talking about in the song: while the Pretty Hate Machine version was a wangst anthem about failed romance, the Still version is about him reminiscing about his prior life and lamenting his fall into drug addiction. The "something I can never have" in that version is a normal life, free of personal problems, like he used to have.
** Yet; he DID get out of drugs and alcohol, and managed to have a normal life with a wife; so right about now, I'd say Trent's got a moment of awesome, for beating out his earlier beliefs.
*** Pretty much all of Still is cry-yourself-to-sleep music, really.
** Both the Johnny Cash cover of "Hurt", and Trent's original.
** "Zero Sum," which, if you follow the Year Zero timeline, is about the end of the world.
** "In This Twilight" also near the end of that album, fits in that regard as well, doubly so since this was the final song the band performed at their final show in Los Angeles.
** "La Mer." It was written by Trent at the low point of his depression, but it's not angry or angsty- it's just a quiet, resigned near-instrumental with a woman reciting a poem in French in the background.

** ''With Teeth'' also appears to be gaining more and more popularity nowadays. When it came out, it was considered one of his worst to date. Some fans, however, think it's a good album to introduce others to, and recently, it appears to be earning more credibility and more people are considering one of their favorites now than there were back then.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: Their performance at Woodstock 94 is considered to be the highlight of the entire festival and the moment that catapulted Reznor to superstardom.
* CrowningMomentOfFunny: ''Strobe Light'', an album produced by Timbaland, featuring [[Music/{{Coldplay}} Chris Martin]], Music/{{Jay-Z}}, [[Music/{{U2}} Bono]], Music/JustinTimberlake, Sheryl Crow, [[Music/{{Tool}} Maynard James Keenan]], Alicia Keys and Fergie. A sudden departure from his angsty roots. Released online, April 1st, 2009. See it [[http://www.nin.com/strobelight/ here.]]

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Live guitarist Robin Finck has always been the most popular member of the live band, and his return for The Slip was pretty much an AndTheFandomRejoiced moment.
* EpicRiff: "Wish," "March of the Pigs," "Starfuckers Inc.," "My Violent Heart," "The Warning".
* FreudWasRight: Some fans interpret the gun imagery in ''[[ConceptAlbum The Downward Spiral]]'' as this.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel ([[NightmareFuel/MusicVideos Some]] [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel/MusicVideos videos]] border the line between this and genuine horror. Notably the one for "Down in It", footage from which was [[http://www.obsolete.com/convulsion/interviews/convulse/1.5.html analyzed by the FBI as possible footage of a "gang killing" before it was revealed what it was]])

** Just as JohnnyCash's version of "Hurt" is now more famous than the NIN original.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: ''Strobe Light'', an album produced by Timbaland, featuring [[{{Coldplay}} Chris Martin]], [[JayZ Jay-Z]], [[{{U2}} Bono]], JustinTimberlake, Sheryl Crow, [[{{Tool}} Maynard James Keenan]], Alicia Keys and Fergie. A sudden departure from his angsty roots. Released online, April 1st, 2009. See it [[http://www.nin.com/strobelight/ here.]]

*** Well, APerfectCircle ended up covering the one track they managed to create before the whole thing went out the window. It's called ''Passive.'' And it is ''awesome''.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: If you can get past the melodrama, quite a bit. Most fans admit that lyrics can enter the state of [[{{Narm}} narm]] fairly frequently, but state that the music itself more than makes up for it.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: The concept behind the Year Zero album and [[AlternateRealityGame ARG]]: Brutal, fascist American theocracy following biological terrorism, a drug-enhanced fanatical military, drugs in the water supply to subdue the populace and increasingly frequent mind-numbing visions of ghostly, god-like hands descending from the sky known as "The Presence." "Proof" found via scrambled messages from the future scattered across websites and audio and video found on USB keys discovered at concert venues.

** Trent has a quite a bit of HoYay *and* FoeYay with protegee MarilynManson, much to the joy of [[YaoiFangirl Slash Fangirls]] everywhere.

* {{Mondegreen}}: In one interview Trent Reznor wanted to drive home the point that in "Head Like a Hole" he is saying "God/money" and not "Got money?", and in "Down in It", he is saying "I was up above it" and not "Eyes of a puppet."
** There's a photo out there of one of guitarist Aaron North's setlists on the With_Teeth tour, that reads "Down In It, aka Eyes Of A Puppet", along with a few other jokes.

* TearJerker (Many songs)

** Yet; he DID get out of drugs and alcohol, and managed to have a normal life with a wife; so right about now, I'd say Trent's got a crowning moment of awesome, for beating out his earlier beliefs.

** ''With Teeth'' also appears to be gaining more and more popularity nowadays. When it came out, it was considered one of his worst to date. Some fans, however, think it's a good album to introduce others to, and recently, it appears to be earning more credibility and more people are considering one of their favorites now than there were back then.
* YokoOhNo: Trent getting married and having a kid pretty much blew up [[FanDumb some]] fangirls (and ''boys'', as seen [[http://www.theninhotline.com/archives/articles/haha.html here]]. Fans blame his wife for him ending NIN as a touring project (indefinitely, though) despite the fact that he's expressed interest in trying something new ''years'' before even meeting Mariqueen, and create off the wall theories like "they're both on drugs!" among other things. Just go on YouTube and check out one of the songs in their band How to Destroy Angels and read the comments. It gets pretty ridiculous.

* YokoOhNo: Trent getting married and having a kid pretty much blew up [[FanDumb some]] fangirls (and ''boys'', as seen [[http://www.theninhotline.com/archives/articles/haha.html here]]. Fans blame his wife for him ending NIN as a touring project (indefinitely, though) despite the fact that he's expressed interest in trying something new years before even meeting Mariqueen, and create off the wall theories like "they're both on drugs!" among other things. Just go on YouTube and check out one of the songs in their band How to Destroy Angels and read the comments. It gets pretty ridiculous.

** ''With Teeth'' also appears to be gaining more and more popularity nowadays. When it came out, it was considered one of his worst to date. Some fans, however, think it's a good album to introduce others to, and recently, it appears to be earning more credibility and more people are considering one of their favorites now than there were back then.

** "Zero Sum," which, if you follow the Year Zero timeline, is about the end of the world.

* VindicatedByHistory: Fan response to ''The Fragile'' was rather lukewarm despite strong reviews, most likely because it wasn't as heavy as ''The Downward Spiral'' and didn't have a song with a chorus as [[MemeticMutation memetically popular]] as Closer. However, a few years later fans have started to judge it on it's own merits and it's now considered to be Reznor's MagnumOpus.

** To say nothing of Trent's relationship with Chris Vrenna, who was probably the closest thing NIN ever had to another official member. He and Trent also lived together for closer to a decade. And then there's [[http://nanshe-of-nina.tumblr.com/post/10949231702/chris-vrenna-on-recording-nin-demos this]].

* {{Mondegreen}}: In one interview Trent Reznor wanted to drive home the point that in "Head Like a Hole" he is saying "God/money" and not "Got money?", and in "Down in It" he is saying "I was up above it" and not "Eyes of a puppet."
** There's a photo out there of one of guitarist Aaron North's setlists on the With_Teeth tour, that reads "Down In It, aka Eyes Of A Puppet" along with a few other jokes.