Tag: essentials

Song of the Moment CV: Nine Inch Nails’ “The Hand That Feeds”

I can honestly say that 2025 is one of the most memorable years of my life, and one reason is that I replaced a few of my New Year’s resolutions with some things better. One resolution was to delve into a different single music artist per week, and it proved to be difficult, especially since I have a day job and other interests I’d like to pursue after work. So, I replaced that music resolution with listening to a playlist of my favorite songs on Spotify. It turns out that listening to songs I truly love (whether I’m writing, walking, or just chilling) is more enjoyable than absorbing an entire discography in seven days. The latter sounds like a chore rather than entertainment.

With my favorite songs list comes a rekindled appreciation for the industrial rock pioneers, Nine Inch Nails. When I listened to the legendary band’s essential playlist curated by Spotify, I rediscovered the songs I remembered and loved years ago, and then I added them to my list. Since then, according to my Last.fm, my number of listens to the band spiked to 300+ times. That’s an incredible feat, and I believe the statistic will grow in the future because, at this point, I acknowledge (and embrace) both the light and the darkness, and Nine Inch Nails is known for their dark, heavy music.

So, you might ask what my favorite Nine Inch Nails song is as of late. It’s definitely “The Hand That Feeds”, the first single from the fourth studio album With Teeth. Based on my lyrical interpretation, the song is about questioning authority (while questioning oneself in the process), and that politically relevant message is wrapped in a heavy, defiant industrial rock sound that is so hypnotically danceable, and I don’t normally dance to Nine Inch Nails songs. Nowadays, every time I commute, I’d search “That Hand That Feeds” on my list, and then listen to it as I move my feet like I own the street.

The music video of Nine Inch Nails’ “The Hand That Feeds”.

I think I have found my top favorite Nine Inch Nails song in “The Hand That Feeds” for its modern-day relevance and its hypnotizing, groovy industrial rock instrumentals. That’s why it’s my Song of the Moment.

Just how deep do you believe?
Will you bite the hand that feeds?
Will you chew until it bleeds?
Can you get up off your knees?
Are you brave enough to see?
Do you wanna change it?

The chorus of Nine Inch Nails’ “The Hand That Feeds”

Anyway, let me dance again to the song in my favorite cafe. It’s a good thing I’m the only customer here at the moment… oh, shit. People are approaching. I’ll just do an internal dance, if I could call it that.

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Header image: Pedro Figueras of Pexels. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2025.

Updated on December 18, 2025.

30-Minute Warning XLI

All right. What can I write here in under 30 minutes?

Today is so hectic (in a good way). The moment I woke up and went downstairs, I was greeted with a few paperwork. It’s not a pile, but damn. What a way to start my Monday. But I didn’t tackle it right away because I wanted to start the week right, and this week is going to be an important one. I proceeded with my early rituals, and then I started working calmly yet methodically. I was able to finish them an hour after lunch. Good job, self!

Wait. Why did I say that this week is important? That’s because I’m going to see my all-time favorite band, Foo Fighters, live for the second time this week. With that, I need to prepare the essentials before the flight, and I did so after finishing today’s workload. I bought the toiletries, so that’s done with. And since I checked the week’s rainy forecast, I need a raincoat and a small, water-repellent bag… but I didn’t buy either. Not yet. I hope I can assemble the essentials before the actual flight. Nope, not the day before the flight. Nope. I’m not going to do that.

Oh, there’s also the trip to Seoul with my family at the end of October, but I’m not worrying about that yet. Frankly, I’m not that excited about the trip. Yet. But what I’m excited about is wearing layered clothing while walking around a cool country. I will even wear my full Deranged Writer uniform and a sleek, cool attire inspired by one of my favorite television characters, Person of Interest’s John Reese. I’m really stoked for that!

What else? It’s not my birthday yet (December 5), but I’m already working on something that will make my birthday dinner truly special. I couldn’t write about that for now, but I hope it becomes true.

Crap. I’m running out of things to say, but my 30 minutes are not up yet. I can do this.

Oh! I’m already starting to psych myself for the Foo Fighters show this week with a playlist based on the recent setlists from Setlist.fm. One of the things I noticed from those setlists is that they started their shows with “Enough Space”, an exciting gem from The Colour and the Shape. I already blogged about that as a Song of the Moment. Another thing I also noticed is that they played so many tracks from the first Foo Fighters album, which I love. I counted six from that album. I also counted four tracks from Wasting Light, three from There Is Nothing Left to Lose, four from One by One, only two from Medicine at Midnight, only one from In Your Honor, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, and Concrete and Gold each, and four from The Colour and the Shape…

And there you go. Now my 30 minutes are truly up. See you in the next post!

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Header image: Eric Mclean of Pexels. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2025.