I have to admit, it was a little jarring seeing someone refer to Nine Inch Nails as “old people music” the other day. Because of course I’m old enough to remember when NIN was very new and quite threatening to middle class sensibilities.

But I also agree — NIN music seems aslant our current cultural moment, having little to do with modern concerns. The music is not relevant because it’s talking about different matters from a very different time. It’s embedded in vastly variant assumptions that seem inapplicable or even trivial today. Prudishness resurgent makes a song like “Closer” seem like an alien artifact. Also, “Head Like a Hole” is a debate that became a generally-accepted conclusion among younger people.

So yeah, NIN is “old people music.” It has precious little to do with today. Then, it seemed like the future because it was talking about the present. Now it just feels like ancient history.