I was listening to Nine Inch Nail's The Downward Spiral last week, and you know, there are some pretty blatant ideas in there. "I want to fuck you like an animal" and "he dreamed a god up and called it Christianity." Pretty pointed references. But, I though, what if you stripped all of those obvious meanings and replaced them with something else? Something that Trent Reznor never intended (yet would likely appreciate). The Downward Spiral came out in 1994. Fast forward 10 years, and I think it accurate (and eerily) describes the 2004 Presidential Election...

• Mr. Self Destruct - Dick Cheney, whispering in George W. Bush's ear.
• Piggy - Excerpt from John Edwards' memor, on John Kerry selecting him as a running mate.
• Heresy - Excerpt from Karl Rove's memoir of the election and wrangling the evangelical vote.
• March of the Pigs - Memo from a Swift Boat Veterans for Truth strategy meeting.
• Closer - Bush's speech at the Republican National Convention.
• Ruiner - The Democratic base to the Bush Administration, collectively.
• The Becoming - The Democratic Party, lamenting the loss of its identity and its inability to gain any traction on issues that should be simple to win on.
• I Do Not Want This - The Democratic base, to Kerry, the day after the election.
• Big Man with a Gun - More excerpts from Rove's memoir, on the aftermath of the election.
• A Warm Place - The numb soundtrack that the world heard the day after the election.
• Eraser - Kerry, conceding mere hours after declaring all votes would be counted.
• Reptile - Bush, referencing the voting population, 50.5% of which is "a mandate."
• The Downward Spiral - The Democratic base's response.
• Hurt - Kerry, addressing the Democratic base after Bush's second inauguration.

I don't have too much time on my hands, I swear.

-pb