Grammy Awards Speech

“The Hand That Feeds”by Nine Inch Nails

IntroductionThank you. It is a privilege to be here at the

3rd annual Grammy Awards Ceremony. Thank you to Ms. Gottner for hosting this honorary event.

It is my pleasure to nominate “The Hand That Feeds” by Nine Inch Nails for a Grammy Award.

In 1989, Nine Inch Nails, also known as NIN, debuted with the album Pretty Hate Machine, doing something few singer-songwriters had done before: write, arrange, perform, and produce music on his own, hiring musicians for tours.

BeginningsReznor, one of few classically trained

pianists, switched to keyboards as an adolescent and formed a garage band. Throughout the years, his music maintained the edginess of his youth. Reznor incorporates elements of post-punk, hard rock, electronica, and industrial to create danceable music that stresses the alienation and hypocrisy he witnessed in his life. He maintains his creative edge by producing his own CDs and free downloads.

Political Influences & Summary

In 2005, Reznor’s music turned political and though the music is not as complex as former recordings, he compensated by writing overtly political lyrics. According to rock.about.com, he belittles “Americans’ fear of criticizing the Bush administration on the hit single ‘The Hand That Feeds’.” In the song, the speaker not only criticizes people who do what they’re told without thinking and encourages them to question authority and their current beliefs, he realizes that he, too, holds on to his beliefs.

The Speaker and Theme

In “The Hand That Feeds,” Resnor creates a speaker similar to him: one who abhors what he sees as weakness and hypocrisy in religion and blindness in politics. What makes this song so exceptional is the way the college-educated speaker addresses the audience directly, criticizing people who use religion to further their personal agendas. Regardless of whether he speaks to those who fear the government or to people pushing what he sees as harmful agendas, it is evident the speaker condemns the at that time current “crusade” in Iraq: political abuses he sees in the Bush administration.

Sound DevicesThis song’s beauty rests in its consistent

rhyme scheme that, upon listening and reading doesn’t create a sing-song rhythm. The ending verses in the first stanza provide a consistent rhythm: step, line, fine, do, told, cold: an abbcdd end rhyme; the refrain contains true end rhyme until the last line, emphasizing its discordant message. (“Do you want to change it?”) Ideas take on a life of their own yet hold the perfect balance of euphony and cacophony.

More Sound DevicesIn addition, Reznor manipulates other

poetic techniques such as assonance found on the line “Got your chin held high and you feel just fine” enhancing his sarcasm. Also, the alliterative quality of “there’s a price to the paid” combines the hardness of the consonant p with the hardness of the speaker’s words and intentions.

Idiom and Its Extension

Not only has Resnor mastered sound, he also uses figurative language to enhance his message. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds [you]” is a common expression that warns against treating someone badly who has been helpful. He converts this phrase to a question to make us think about times we have treated others poorly who wanted to help; the speaker also fears we will treat him badly. At the same time, he extends the idiom to reveal how people continue the torment others until they have destroyed the helper (“Will you chew until it bleeds?”). He infuses a double meaning when he questions whether people will have the strength to criticize the government.

AllusionTo understand the song’s allusion, I must

define “crusade”: a battle one fights, often based on moral beliefs. While the song addresses current issues in the United States, “crusade” has a religious connotation dating back to the Inquisition. In 13th century Europe, high officials within the Catholic church had tortured and killed individuals whom they suspected of practicing witchcraft but, more importantly, didn’t follow Church doctrine. Reznor intends for us to see this double meaning and attribute Bush’s and his followers’ unjust charade or pretense with the Church’s hypocrisy.

Allusion, cont.Reznor extends this reference by

revealing that the price of this ideological struggle is too high: there is no justification for the deaths that occur as result of this war. He says, too, that those who support the war feed off the suffering. “And behind it all there’s a price to be paid/For the blood/On which we dine/Justified in the name of the holy and the divine.”

Concluding StatementsIt is my delight to nominate the song

“The Hand That Feeds” for a Grammy. Purposeful sound devices, idiom, and allusion along with Reznor’s gritty voice and heavy instrumentals drive home his politically and socially relevant message and reveal that he deserves a first-rate award. Thank you.

ResourcesResnor, Trent. Nine Inch Nails. Artist web page.“Resnor, Trent.” rock.about.com.“Resnor, Trent.” The Rolling Stone Magazine.