Quotes from Trent Reznor

The first set of lyrics for the first songs I ever wrote, which are the ones on 'Pretty Hate Machine,' came from private journal entries that I realized I was writing in lyric form.

I have been wildly enthused about gaming since I was younger, and a career path I chose not to go down but did really consider was getting into programming and game design.

My life has been many examples of shortsighted goals that I thought would fix things. You know, if there's something broken inside me, if there's a hole in there, I thought: If I could just write a good song someday, then I'd be OK. You know, if I could just be on stage in front of people I'd never seen before and be validated by them.

I don't have a family. I'd like to have one. I just haven't somehow gotten around to it yet.

'Yeezus, ' I really love it. I think the sound of it is cool.

I think my music's more disturbing than Tupac's - or at least I thought some of the themes of 'The Downward Spiral' were more disturbing on a deeper level - you know, issues about suicide and hating yourself and God and people and everything else.

I'm a lot less precious than I used to be about putting things out, for better or for worse. The result of a public that has a very high consumption rate and turnover rate is people listen to more music but spend less time with individual bits of music.

The music I always liked as a kid was stuff I could bum out to and realize, 'Hey, someone else feels that way, too.' So if someone can do that with my music, it's mission accomplished.

I write most of my songs when I'm in a bad mood.

When Twitter made its way to my radar I looked at it as a curiosity, then started experimenting. I approached that as a place to be less formal and more off-the-cuff, honest and 'human.'

I found that when I was putting my own music out, with my Twitter feed as the pure marketing budget, I'm preaching to the choir.

Live interaction with a crowd is a cathartic, spiritual kind of exchange, and it's intensified at a festival.

Books are better than movies because you design the set the way you want it to look.

Being in a band with my wife, I'm very aware of the multitude of ways that can go wrong. We're best friends and are interested in the same things, so it's natural to make music together.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't think music should be free.

I'll be honest, watching the music industry collapse has been demoralizing and disheartening at times.

I've always been into computers. When I was getting out of high school and forming my identity musically, all of it was really coming into the fold, computers and drum machines. It felt like, you know, I'm in the right place at the right time. I liked the collision.

I think it's just an awkward time right now to be a musician.

Musicians have always adopted Macs.

To me, rock music was never meant to be safe. I think there needs to be an element of intrigue, mystery, subversiveness. Your parents should hate it.

I really try to put myself in uncomfortable situations. Complacency is my enemy.

I feel uncomfortable because I'm insecure about who I am.

I miss how a record label can help spread the word that you have something out.

Sometimes we pee on each other before we go on stage.