10 Perfect '90s Rock Songs That Everyone Forgets About
4. A Warm Place - Nine Inch Nails
Anyone going through the Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails for the first time is probably going to have a few scars to show for it by the end. Over the course of an hour, Trent Reznor seems to be trying to make songs as disturbing as he can muster, painting the picture of a man that is fed up with his life and ends up driven to suicide by the end of things. You can't appreciate the heavy parts without seeing the other side though, and A Warm Place feels like a soothing balm halfway through the record.
Up until this point, we've seen Mr. Self Destruct go on a rampage unlike any other, going from wanting to sexually dominate someone on Closer to the off putting sounds of Becoming and Big Man With a Gun. This man does have some grip on sanity though, and this is where he starts to flash back to the more innocent parts of his life. With no real lyrics to work with, this entire song is driven off of the atmosphere it creates, almost like you're looking back in time to a moment in his life where he actually felt happy.
It's a welcome change of pace, but not one that Trent wanted to continue down for too terribly long, getting right back into the madness on tracks like Reptile and Eraser. You had better soak up all of the good vibes while you can on this song, because for the rest of the record, we're about to go past the point of no return.