#2 Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (1994)

Addiction and dependency can come in many forms. There are a lot of ways to get to these places. No matter the cause, the symptoms and results are always similar. So it can be hard to say whether a song’s about being addicted to a drug or a person, a hope or an obsession...

The Downward Spiral is arguably Nine Inch Nails’ masterpiece. The multi-platinum selling album was received with critical acclaim, the band toured relentlessly in support of it, and—most importantly—this album remains as relevant as ever now, over fifteen years after its release.

The Downward Spiral is a concept album about losing yourself completely. With songs about losing faith, denial, falling into addiction, looking for help (and finding none), violence, animosity and–finally–suicide, this record chronicles the most desperate of human emotions. The album is so abrupt and sincere that it’s difficult not to be shaken by its candor. Lyrically and sonically, this record clearly illustrates the depths to which we’re all capable of sinking.

#1 Failure - Fantastic Planet (1996)

Failure's Fantastic Planet is probably one of the most underrated albums of the 1990's. This is an album that lingers on the edge of pop sensibility, and Failure's signature spacey guitar tones have gone on to influence much more popular bands like A Perfect Circle and Queens of the Stone Age. The 17 tracks on this album cover just about every topic you'd want to see a band go over in 1996—often, the lyrics on the album are coherent narratives—and talk about anything from getting high on scrapings from your nails to falling in love with a nurse (who, after all, has everything you need... like pharmacy keys and some pills in a little cup).

That's not to say that Failure is condoning drug use (though they very well may be), but a big part of this album's appeal is in the utterly original imagery the lyrics present. Verses like "Right now we're sick of everything. Tonight we'll bind up our brains again. With eyes pinned, I'll fly around your bed; we'll grow close while our hearts disconnect" offer scenes of addiction so poetic that it's easy to forget how truly monstrous the subject matter is.

"Woke in my warm bed just in time for all the brilliant red lights. They were streaming through my half-shuttered window: Christmas Lights in time with my stuttered brain waves. The doorknob was glowing, all my photographs were rippled and melting. Through the walls I could hear panicked voices, they seemed to say 'Go back to bed. There's no choices.'" These fantastical descriptions in a certain sense give more authority to the lyrics... if the drug's effects are portrayed accurately, it's much easier to take the warnings about addiction seriously.

The album's most successful single, "Stuck On You," feels a bit out of place on the album. It's a delightfully ironic song: The lyrics are about getting hooked on a pop song that gets too much radio play. And, well... it's a pop song that probably got too much radio play.

Drug Week!

I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about music that talks about drugs.