How To Destroy Angels
June 3, 2010 5:01 PM Subscribe
How To Destroy Angels, the latest band/project by Trent Reznor has a DMR-free EP available for free download (email address required). You can ask HTDA a question.
NIN official website.
The Space in Between (on youtube). The Space in Between (on vimeo).
ANd if you're old school you can wait for the CD to drop on July 6, 2010.
NIN official website.
The Space in Between (on youtube). The Space in Between (on vimeo).
ANd if you're old school you can wait for the CD to drop on July 6, 2010.
I have to say I have a massive amount of respect for TR and what he's been doing with music distribution over the years. Unfortunately even free isn't enough of an incentive to want to even tickle it with a digital pole of quite epic proportions.
posted by i_cola at 5:10 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by i_cola at 5:10 PM on June 3, 2010
Bonus points to them offering high quality lossless downloads for $2, if you wanted to burn your own CD.
More internet fun: Tumblr Q&A, which is mostly questions about the equipment used.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:10 PM on June 3, 2010
More internet fun: Tumblr Q&A, which is mostly questions about the equipment used.
posted by filthy light thief at 5:10 PM on June 3, 2010
Triple bonus points: the project is named after one of Coil's first single.
posted by infinitywaltz at 5:16 PM on June 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by infinitywaltz at 5:16 PM on June 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
TR lust + the Q&A gearlust: This is doing bad things to my hormones right now, and it's not even finished downloading.
posted by lekvar at 5:18 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by lekvar at 5:18 PM on June 3, 2010
Yeah, I paid $2 for the upgrade. As mentioned in the much earlier Radiohead "In Rainbows" thread, though, this isn't really a fair model to tout, as it's built on a fanbase and relationships built by the old label system back when hardcopy music was the only viable model. I appreciate what Trent is doing here, but I don't know if it's the future -- I think he's got enough latitude to put out an EP as a loss leader, whereas bands that don't have a fair amount of reserve in the bank wouldn't feel comfortable taking that kind of leap.
posted by Shepherd at 5:25 PM on June 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Shepherd at 5:25 PM on June 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
The end result is good - sounds a little bit like 12 Rounds, who were on Reznor's Nothing label way back when.
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:26 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:26 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Via the Trent Reznor Q&A, I found the Dual Primate Console, which is a synthesizer designed to look like a telephone switchboard and sound like Mouse on Mars in a box.
posted by ardgedee at 5:32 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ardgedee at 5:32 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Never understood the Trent Reznor love in supposed indie circles. Fuck You Like an Animal was a massive high-rotation hit here, and he's been popular ever since. Terrible song, lowest common denominator stuff.
And so serious. Like an angry version of Discovery Channel.
Bloodhound Gang > Nine Inch Nails
posted by uncanny hengeman at 5:33 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
And so serious. Like an angry version of Discovery Channel.
Bloodhound Gang > Nine Inch Nails
posted by uncanny hengeman at 5:33 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
Never understood the Trent Reznor love in supposed indie circles. Fuck You Like an Animal was a massive high-rotation hit here, and he's been popular ever since. Terrible song, lowest common denominator stuff.
You probably have to listen to The Downward Spiral in its entirety to get it. About 100 times. When you were 19. In 1995.
posted by empath at 5:41 PM on June 3, 2010 [33 favorites]
You probably have to listen to The Downward Spiral in its entirety to get it. About 100 times. When you were 19. In 1995.
posted by empath at 5:41 PM on June 3, 2010 [33 favorites]
Is "NIN's not indie" the new "NIN's not industrial"?
posted by empath at 5:43 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by empath at 5:43 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
I was 14 for TDS. No longer a rabid fanboy, but I still follow his career to watch his evolution.
posted by Decimask at 5:44 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by Decimask at 5:44 PM on June 3, 2010
You probably have to listen to The Downward Spiral in its entirety to get it. About 100 times. When you were 19. In 1995.
Or dreamed of one day having your very own basement to make your very own "Pretty Hate Machine." I'm too old to remember what that year was. I'm so old I can remember when Trent opened up for Peter Murphy and no one knew who the fuck he was (Trent that is).
posted by cjorgensen at 5:46 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Or dreamed of one day having your very own basement to make your very own "Pretty Hate Machine." I'm too old to remember what that year was. I'm so old I can remember when Trent opened up for Peter Murphy and no one knew who the fuck he was (Trent that is).
posted by cjorgensen at 5:46 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Is "NIN's not indie" the new "NIN's not industrial"?
The term "indie," as a description of a genre, refers to a semi-defined group of sound styles, just like "alternative" did back in the mid 90s. How to Destroy Angels, while certain an independent production, is not part of the indie genre. I don't know what "NIN's not industrial" was about (I'd still go with industrial if I had to pick a genre for this EP, though I don't know what response I'd get from actual industrial fans) but I don't think this is the same argument, no.
posted by Caduceus at 5:53 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
The term "indie," as a description of a genre, refers to a semi-defined group of sound styles, just like "alternative" did back in the mid 90s. How to Destroy Angels, while certain an independent production, is not part of the indie genre. I don't know what "NIN's not industrial" was about (I'd still go with industrial if I had to pick a genre for this EP, though I don't know what response I'd get from actual industrial fans) but I don't think this is the same argument, no.
posted by Caduceus at 5:53 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Is "NIN's not indie" the new "NIN's not industrial"?
Funny about that. NIN has always been in the strange place of being too weird to be truly pop (a few huge hits notwithstanding) but not...something enough to be considered truly outside the mainstream. Sort of the Brian De Palma of music.
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:54 PM on June 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
Funny about that. NIN has always been in the strange place of being too weird to be truly pop (a few huge hits notwithstanding) but not...something enough to be considered truly outside the mainstream. Sort of the Brian De Palma of music.
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:54 PM on June 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
Never understood the Trent Reznor love in supposed indie circles. Fuck You Like an Animal was a massive high-rotation hit here
Man, I'm glad I don't have to base my liking of things on how many other people like said things.
posted by Bookhouse at 5:55 PM on June 3, 2010 [11 favorites]
Man, I'm glad I don't have to base my liking of things on how many other people like said things.
posted by Bookhouse at 5:55 PM on June 3, 2010 [11 favorites]
I don't know what "NIN's not industrial" was about (I'd still go with industrial if I had to pick a genre for this EP, though I don't know what response I'd get from actual industrial fans) but I don't think this is the same argument, no.
I think it relates to the extent that "industrial" music has at least two main meanings - there's more experimental stuff like Throbbing Gristle, Coil, SPK, Cabaret Voltaire, etc. on the one hand, and then there's the more hard-dance stuff like Chemlab, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, Wumpscut, etc. Then there are bands that bridge the gap, like Skinny Puppy.
When NIN got huge in the mid-90s, mainstream critics and MTV presenters jumped onto the idea that NIN was industrial. NIN were far and away the most famous "industrial" group, but Reznor wasn't really part of the industrial "scene" specifically, and the sound was far more like Depeche Mode or Peter Murphy than it was like any other industrial music, except maybe Ministry. This ruffled the feathers of the industrial folk, because to them, it was sort of like if The Offspring were far and away the most famous punk group.
This is similar to the business about NIN being indie now. Sure, Reznor's independent as an artist, but his sound is not exactly descended from Hüsker Dü or Pavement. That said, I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe NIN as indie, certain ID3 tags notwithstanding.
NIN doesn't really fit into any one genre all that well.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:06 PM on June 3, 2010 [13 favorites]
I think it relates to the extent that "industrial" music has at least two main meanings - there's more experimental stuff like Throbbing Gristle, Coil, SPK, Cabaret Voltaire, etc. on the one hand, and then there's the more hard-dance stuff like Chemlab, KMFDM, Front Line Assembly, Wumpscut, etc. Then there are bands that bridge the gap, like Skinny Puppy.
When NIN got huge in the mid-90s, mainstream critics and MTV presenters jumped onto the idea that NIN was industrial. NIN were far and away the most famous "industrial" group, but Reznor wasn't really part of the industrial "scene" specifically, and the sound was far more like Depeche Mode or Peter Murphy than it was like any other industrial music, except maybe Ministry. This ruffled the feathers of the industrial folk, because to them, it was sort of like if The Offspring were far and away the most famous punk group.
This is similar to the business about NIN being indie now. Sure, Reznor's independent as an artist, but his sound is not exactly descended from Hüsker Dü or Pavement. That said, I don't think I've ever heard anyone describe NIN as indie, certain ID3 tags notwithstanding.
NIN doesn't really fit into any one genre all that well.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:06 PM on June 3, 2010 [13 favorites]
I don't know what "NIN's not industrial" was about
If you went to goth clubs in the 90s, it would have been explained to you in detail by some sneering, riveted goth every time the DJ played a NIN song.
posted by empath at 6:08 PM on June 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
If you went to goth clubs in the 90s, it would have been explained to you in detail by some sneering, riveted goth every time the DJ played a NIN song.
posted by empath at 6:08 PM on June 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
Man, I'm glad I don't have to base my liking of things on how many other people like said things.
But it's good to try and understand why. On a grander scale, trying to understand people tends to stop fights and wars and stuff. YES THAT'S RIGHT I STOP WARS.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:09 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
But it's good to try and understand why. On a grander scale, trying to understand people tends to stop fights and wars and stuff. YES THAT'S RIGHT I STOP WARS.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:09 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
And so serious. Like an angry version of Discovery Channel.
I like some of Trent's work a lot, and I don't care for some other parts of his oeuvre, but this sneering, hipper-than-thou bullshit thread right here is a lot less interesting than anything Trent's ever recorded.
posted by mhoye at 6:13 PM on June 3, 2010 [7 favorites]
I like some of Trent's work a lot, and I don't care for some other parts of his oeuvre, but this sneering, hipper-than-thou bullshit thread right here is a lot less interesting than anything Trent's ever recorded.
posted by mhoye at 6:13 PM on June 3, 2010 [7 favorites]
But it's good to try and understand why.
You didn't try to understand why. You listened to one song on the radio 15 years ago and came here to tell us how bad it is.
posted by empath at 6:17 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
You didn't try to understand why. You listened to one song on the radio 15 years ago and came here to tell us how bad it is.
posted by empath at 6:17 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
"How To Destroy Angels" is also the name of a Coil album, isn't it?
posted by DecemberBoy at 6:20 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by DecemberBoy at 6:20 PM on June 3, 2010
"How To Destroy Angels" is also the name of a Coil album, isn't it?
It is indeed. Their first album, IIRC.
Incidentally, Coil's The New Backwards, which is the album drawn from the material intended for Reznor's Nothing Records, is awfully nifty. "Careful What You Wish For" is an ace track.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:24 PM on June 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
It is indeed. Their first album, IIRC.
Incidentally, Coil's The New Backwards, which is the album drawn from the material intended for Reznor's Nothing Records, is awfully nifty. "Careful What You Wish For" is an ace track.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:24 PM on June 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
You probably have to listen to The Downward Spiral in its entirety to get it. About 100 times. When you were 19. In 1995.
I was the weird NIN-fan teen who was into the remix EP "Fixed" most of all his stuff, which he probably had less to do with than any other album. Had the T-shirt and everything. Head Like A Hole was awesome, but his albums always made me a little uncomfortable, like "DUDE: YOURE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT STUFF OUT LOUD!"
Te Bloodhound Gang comparison up thread just stirred up some defensiveness in me I didn't think was there; and Stitcherbeast's comment just brought a whole lotta memories flooding back. I hadn't felt the urge to listen to 90s industrial metal since, well, the 90s, and didn't think I wanted to. But fuck it, Bloodhound Gang totally blows, and now I'm gonna go buy something by Ministry and play it real loud just to piss the stupid jocks off. I guess it just goes to show you can take the boy out of the dingdangadongbingbong, but you can't take the dingdangadongbingbong out of the boy.
posted by Kirk Grim at 6:36 PM on June 3, 2010 [8 favorites]
I was the weird NIN-fan teen who was into the remix EP "Fixed" most of all his stuff, which he probably had less to do with than any other album. Had the T-shirt and everything. Head Like A Hole was awesome, but his albums always made me a little uncomfortable, like "DUDE: YOURE NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY THAT STUFF OUT LOUD!"
Te Bloodhound Gang comparison up thread just stirred up some defensiveness in me I didn't think was there; and Stitcherbeast's comment just brought a whole lotta memories flooding back. I hadn't felt the urge to listen to 90s industrial metal since, well, the 90s, and didn't think I wanted to. But fuck it, Bloodhound Gang totally blows, and now I'm gonna go buy something by Ministry and play it real loud just to piss the stupid jocks off. I guess it just goes to show you can take the boy out of the dingdangadongbingbong, but you can't take the dingdangadongbingbong out of the boy.
posted by Kirk Grim at 6:36 PM on June 3, 2010 [8 favorites]
Fuck You Like an Animal
Closer. The name of the fucking song is CLOSER.
This new band's EP is interesting. I think 50% of it is instrumentals? Something like that.
The video for the song is really disturbing in some kind of existential way for me. I have only watched it twice, but that may be enough for me.
When Trent said he was going to put NIN to bed and start doing things with a different direction to them, I had imagined they would sound significantly different from NIN. That doesn't seem to be the case.
I am curious to see if he continues to release videos and perhaps make this into a 6-song mini-movie somehow. That might redeem this for me a bit.
posted by hippybear at 6:41 PM on June 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
Closer. The name of the fucking song is CLOSER.
This new band's EP is interesting. I think 50% of it is instrumentals? Something like that.
The video for the song is really disturbing in some kind of existential way for me. I have only watched it twice, but that may be enough for me.
When Trent said he was going to put NIN to bed and start doing things with a different direction to them, I had imagined they would sound significantly different from NIN. That doesn't seem to be the case.
I am curious to see if he continues to release videos and perhaps make this into a 6-song mini-movie somehow. That might redeem this for me a bit.
posted by hippybear at 6:41 PM on June 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
I was the weird NIN-fan teen who was into the remix EP "Fixed" most of all his stuff, which he probably had less to do with than any other album. Had the T-shirt and everything.
Are we the same person? Fixed is absolutely terrific. NIN remix albums were always top shelf (what with the Coil and the Foetus and all), but that one had the most awesome per square inch of any of them. The "Happiness in Slavery" remix is killer, as were "Gave Up" and "Screaming Slave." (That's half the EP right there, come to think of it.)
I literally also had that shirt. Thought I was the most sophisticated 16-year-old on the planet for owning a Fixed shirt. May not have been correct, but at least it made me happy.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:41 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Are we the same person? Fixed is absolutely terrific. NIN remix albums were always top shelf (what with the Coil and the Foetus and all), but that one had the most awesome per square inch of any of them. The "Happiness in Slavery" remix is killer, as were "Gave Up" and "Screaming Slave." (That's half the EP right there, come to think of it.)
I literally also had that shirt. Thought I was the most sophisticated 16-year-old on the planet for owning a Fixed shirt. May not have been correct, but at least it made me happy.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:41 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Closer. The name of the fucking song is CLOSER.
No, no, the name of the song is Fuck Lobster.
posted by cortex at 6:42 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
No, no, the name of the song is Fuck Lobster.
posted by cortex at 6:42 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
I'm not aware that NIN ever tried to fit into a category. Reznor has simply been making music that satisfies his urges. Take it or leave it, but don't bitch about what critics call it. Sheesh.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:43 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:43 PM on June 3, 2010
Listen to the early NIN demos — they're nearly rap. Not in the "yeah I don't have a lot of money so the production is going to be rather spare" fashion, either. The industrial label landed on Reznor because he was edgy and had something electronic going on. Pretty Hate Machine wasn't even at the level of Ministry's Twitch or anything. The album is still fun, and I think he grew into the label a bit by the Broken EP, but he's industrial the way Marilyn Manson is goth, which is to say not. Although, if you want to piss off goths, feel free to say it — just remember that they could be carrying damn near anything in those lunchboxes.
I haven't kept up with his latest stuff. I waited so long to get burned by The Fragile that I have been hesitant to even listen. I'll bet some language has a neat and unpronounceable phrase for "I fear disappointment from this thing once enjoyed; I would rather live with the potential of happiness than unwrap the package and experience reality."
posted by adipocere at 6:45 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I haven't kept up with his latest stuff. I waited so long to get burned by The Fragile that I have been hesitant to even listen. I'll bet some language has a neat and unpronounceable phrase for "I fear disappointment from this thing once enjoyed; I would rather live with the potential of happiness than unwrap the package and experience reality."
posted by adipocere at 6:45 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
You didn't try to understand why. You listened to one song on the radio 15 years ago and came here to tell us how bad it is.
Come come.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:45 PM on June 3, 2010
Come come.
posted by uncanny hengeman at 6:45 PM on June 3, 2010
Fine, cortex. You want to play that game? Come Closer Together.
posted by hippybear at 6:46 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 6:46 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
Closer. The name of the fucking song is CLOSER.
Yeah, and just to elaborate on why the song is good: The album as a whole is kind of a riff on Sartre's Nausea. It's about someone who has lost belief in everything -- institutions, religion, society, love, and so on. 'Closer' is about trying to destroy his need for meaning by giving into animalistic urges and relinquishing any connection to humanity, kind of trying to reach for divinity through depravity.
The fact that frat boys like to sing along to the chorus is a side effect of the idiocy of frat boys, and not any fault of the song itself.
posted by empath at 6:51 PM on June 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
Yeah, and just to elaborate on why the song is good: The album as a whole is kind of a riff on Sartre's Nausea. It's about someone who has lost belief in everything -- institutions, religion, society, love, and so on. 'Closer' is about trying to destroy his need for meaning by giving into animalistic urges and relinquishing any connection to humanity, kind of trying to reach for divinity through depravity.
The fact that frat boys like to sing along to the chorus is a side effect of the idiocy of frat boys, and not any fault of the song itself.
posted by empath at 6:51 PM on June 3, 2010 [9 favorites]
I waited so long to get burned by The Fragile that I have been hesitant to even listen.
You felt burned by The Fragile? Oh goodness. Wrongy McWrongerton, you are. I've never heard such an ambitious, multi-layered modern album using leitmotif in such an aggressive and adventurous way. It's a tad too long, but wow, it never fails to utterly devastate me during a listen. I can't wait for the 5.1 surround version they're threatening to put out by the end of 2010.
The later albums? They're an interesting adventure. With Teeth is a long exploration of Trent getting off cocaine. Year Zero is pretty brilliant, a concept album with each song being told from the viewpoint of a different person in a dystopian future where the US has become a "Born Again Nation". Ghosts is odd but I love it. And The Slip was recorded with a band rather than Trent doing all the studio work himself. If you have to choose just one of those, I'd suggest Year Zero. But none of them sound like "old NIN" so if that's what you crave, don't bother.
posted by hippybear at 6:51 PM on June 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
You felt burned by The Fragile? Oh goodness. Wrongy McWrongerton, you are. I've never heard such an ambitious, multi-layered modern album using leitmotif in such an aggressive and adventurous way. It's a tad too long, but wow, it never fails to utterly devastate me during a listen. I can't wait for the 5.1 surround version they're threatening to put out by the end of 2010.
The later albums? They're an interesting adventure. With Teeth is a long exploration of Trent getting off cocaine. Year Zero is pretty brilliant, a concept album with each song being told from the viewpoint of a different person in a dystopian future where the US has become a "Born Again Nation". Ghosts is odd but I love it. And The Slip was recorded with a band rather than Trent doing all the studio work himself. If you have to choose just one of those, I'd suggest Year Zero. But none of them sound like "old NIN" so if that's what you crave, don't bother.
posted by hippybear at 6:51 PM on June 3, 2010 [5 favorites]
empath: I don't think you'll find any argument from me about whether The Downward Spiral is brilliant. It's stunning. And widely misunderstood.
posted by hippybear at 6:53 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by hippybear at 6:53 PM on June 3, 2010
Although, if you want to piss off goths, feel free to say it — just remember that they could be carrying damn near anything in those lunchboxes.
This remark is especially funny in light of the Marilyn Manson song Lunchbox.
Also, the best NIN mashup is still The Ghost That Feeds.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:54 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
This remark is especially funny in light of the Marilyn Manson song Lunchbox.
Also, the best NIN mashup is still The Ghost That Feeds.
posted by Sticherbeast at 6:54 PM on June 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
The Fragile struck me as insincere, I don't know why. Downward Spiral and Broken seemed very raw and emotional, and The Fragile just felt phony and immature. Like, 'my audience wants me to be miserable so here is your dose of misery'.
posted by empath at 6:56 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by empath at 6:56 PM on June 3, 2010
Thanks for posting this, would have slipped under my radar otherwise. I knew he'd been working on some stuff with his wife(?) and I was interested to see how it would turn out, but wasn't following his site or anything.
I'm two tracks in, and it very much reminds me of the stuff he was doing immediately post-Fragile. A series of repetitions on a simple beat, adding complexity but only building into static. I think he's feeling his age, and his music is about that more than anything else.
posted by voltairemodern at 6:57 PM on June 3, 2010
I'm two tracks in, and it very much reminds me of the stuff he was doing immediately post-Fragile. A series of repetitions on a simple beat, adding complexity but only building into static. I think he's feeling his age, and his music is about that more than anything else.
posted by voltairemodern at 6:57 PM on June 3, 2010
Also, it sounds like what I imagine a mashup of NIN and Golden Palaminos would sound like.
posted by voltairemodern at 7:03 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by voltairemodern at 7:03 PM on June 3, 2010
You probably have to listen to The Downward Spiral in its entirety to get it. About 100 times. When you were 19. In 1995.
No, no, I was 21.
Three years earlier, oooh, remember how mad all the non-freak fans were when Broken came out and it was all noisy to their popmusic ears and we were like RRRAWR this is great!
posted by desuetude at 7:03 PM on June 3, 2010
No, no, I was 21.
Three years earlier, oooh, remember how mad all the non-freak fans were when Broken came out and it was all noisy to their popmusic ears and we were like RRRAWR this is great!
posted by desuetude at 7:03 PM on June 3, 2010
the best NIN mashup is still The Ghost That Feeds
I'm pretty fond of You Know These Boots Are Getting Smaller, which is the second track in this mashup collection by ToToM.
posted by hippybear at 7:04 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
I'm pretty fond of You Know These Boots Are Getting Smaller, which is the second track in this mashup collection by ToToM.
posted by hippybear at 7:04 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
The Fragile struck me as insincere, I don't know why. Downward Spiral and Broken seemed very raw and emotional, and The Fragile just felt phony and immature. Like, 'my audience wants me to be miserable so here is your dose of misery'.
While I like the album quite a bit, I do hear what you're saying here. I think the whole era of NIN from The Fragile to With Teeth suffered from technical showboating over the raw emotion of his earlier stuff. There are still some excellent tracks on those albums, though - there's just a good deal of bloat and a general feeling that Reznor had wired himself directly into the mixing board, not interacting with anyone else. You never really got anything as teen-operatic as "Closer", "Wish," or "Head Like A Hole," except maybe on The Fragile with "The Great Beyond" and on With Teeth with (very un-NIN-like) "All The Love In The World."
That said, I think that the experiments of Year Zero and Ghosts have paid off in spades. His sound is more "adult", which is usually a code word for "boring," but I think it's still damn nifty.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:04 PM on June 3, 2010
While I like the album quite a bit, I do hear what you're saying here. I think the whole era of NIN from The Fragile to With Teeth suffered from technical showboating over the raw emotion of his earlier stuff. There are still some excellent tracks on those albums, though - there's just a good deal of bloat and a general feeling that Reznor had wired himself directly into the mixing board, not interacting with anyone else. You never really got anything as teen-operatic as "Closer", "Wish," or "Head Like A Hole," except maybe on The Fragile with "The Great Beyond" and on With Teeth with (very un-NIN-like) "All The Love In The World."
That said, I think that the experiments of Year Zero and Ghosts have paid off in spades. His sound is more "adult", which is usually a code word for "boring," but I think it's still damn nifty.
posted by Sticherbeast at 7:04 PM on June 3, 2010
And that led me to remember about this excellent video "mashup" between NASA and NIN.
posted by hippybear at 7:20 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 7:20 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Apparently Trent is continuing his tradition of releasing multi-tracks for remixing, and has already uploaded the stems for the first and last HDTA tracks to remix.nin.com.
posted by hippybear at 7:27 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by hippybear at 7:27 PM on June 3, 2010
Trent Reznor -- SPIN magazine Feb. 1990
posted by Hammond Rye at 7:29 PM on June 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Hammond Rye at 7:29 PM on June 3, 2010 [2 favorites]
I remember treating the rehearsal/studio shots from the NIN website in the post Fragile pre With Teeth era like shots of the Sistine Chapel. No lie, if I had had the printer and the framing I would have framed some of them. Don't know why, something about the music + tech geek lust + artsy fartsy = win.
posted by cavalier at 7:31 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by cavalier at 7:31 PM on June 3, 2010
NIN may not be indie, but How to Destroy Angels considers themselves so - the mp3 metadata has the genre as Indie.
posted by ish__ at 7:36 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by ish__ at 7:36 PM on June 3, 2010
My impression of the progression is this: if you grew up with your formative teenaged years with a quasi-industrial-metal-goth soundtrack, it becomes very hard to have the same associations with the music. I probably first heard NIN when I was 14 or so, and then I was fifteen and fifteen-sixteen is when things got confusing and hard and what the hell and here was a nice bleak soundtrack for me to lay in bed listening to when I couldn't figure out who I was or what I was. And so the earlier albums are tied up in heavy emotional responses.
Then he disappeared for a while. I met other bands. I hung out with some losers and some winners and came out of it better. Then Trent came back, had an album, we all kind of chewed on it a bit, and then he disappeared again.
At this point, a new association starts being made: the Kurt Vonnegut/Salinger sort of association. He's locked away doing his thing, or not, and wasn't that a nice part of our lives, it's nice when albums/music comes out, but we won't rely on this.
I'm willing to give it a try, but the newer stuff - no matter who it was done with - isn't going to stick the way stuff did when I needed the music, back when I was younger.
(Also, I've only listened to the first track, but I'm not getting this whole vocals drowned out by the music thing. I mean, it has to be intentional, but that's one of the things that always pisses me off in small live gigs.)
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 7:36 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
Then he disappeared for a while. I met other bands. I hung out with some losers and some winners and came out of it better. Then Trent came back, had an album, we all kind of chewed on it a bit, and then he disappeared again.
At this point, a new association starts being made: the Kurt Vonnegut/Salinger sort of association. He's locked away doing his thing, or not, and wasn't that a nice part of our lives, it's nice when albums/music comes out, but we won't rely on this.
I'm willing to give it a try, but the newer stuff - no matter who it was done with - isn't going to stick the way stuff did when I needed the music, back when I was younger.
(Also, I've only listened to the first track, but I'm not getting this whole vocals drowned out by the music thing. I mean, it has to be intentional, but that's one of the things that always pisses me off in small live gigs.)
posted by Weighted Companion Cube at 7:36 PM on June 3, 2010 [3 favorites]
I was the weird NIN-fan teen who was into the remix EP "Fixed" most of all his stuff, which he probably had less to do with than any other album. Had the T-shirt and everything.
Are we the same person? Fixed is absolutely terrific.
ha! are you two my ex boyfriend? He loved fixed the most too - he once was playing that song on fixed that sounds like it's skipping, but the cd actually skipped at that point. It went on for a really long time, and he was digging it so much that it took him like 20 minutes to notice.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 8:09 PM on June 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
Are we the same person? Fixed is absolutely terrific.
ha! are you two my ex boyfriend? He loved fixed the most too - he once was playing that song on fixed that sounds like it's skipping, but the cd actually skipped at that point. It went on for a really long time, and he was digging it so much that it took him like 20 minutes to notice.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 8:09 PM on June 3, 2010 [4 favorites]
TRENT REZNOR'S VOLVO OF DESPAIR
I never understood the Achewood love in supposed "webcomic" circles.
posted by Evilspork at 8:16 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I never understood the Achewood love in supposed "webcomic" circles.
posted by Evilspork at 8:16 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
(Also, I've only listened to the first track, but I'm not getting this whole vocals drowned out by the music thing. I mean, it has to be intentional, but that's one of the things that always pisses me off in small live gigs.)
Yeah, I can't understand more than one out of four words she says. Except when it's the same word over and over again, like big parts of track 3. Those I pick up eventually.
posted by Caduceus at 8:26 PM on June 3, 2010
Yeah, I can't understand more than one out of four words she says. Except when it's the same word over and over again, like big parts of track 3. Those I pick up eventually.
posted by Caduceus at 8:26 PM on June 3, 2010
I never understood the Achewood love in supposed "webcomic" circles.
I have never even so much as chuckled at Achewood. It's less funny than Marmaduke.
posted by empath at 8:41 PM on June 3, 2010
I have never even so much as chuckled at Achewood. It's less funny than Marmaduke.
posted by empath at 8:41 PM on June 3, 2010
That Trent fellow can operate the pants off a Macintosh, but he can't write lyrics that matter to anyone over the age of 19 to save his life.
I got heavily into him again just recently, and it dawned on me how epic his music is and how childish and mundane his words are. All the "it's Sartre" stuff is just ret-con.
posted by littlerobothead at 8:43 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I got heavily into him again just recently, and it dawned on me how epic his music is and how childish and mundane his words are. All the "it's Sartre" stuff is just ret-con.
posted by littlerobothead at 8:43 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm so old I can remember when Trent opened up for Peter Murphy and no one knew who the fuck he was (Trent that is).
And then I saw NIN in 2006, where Peter Murphy / Bauhaus opened for NIN, and no one knew who Peter Murphy was... (OK, not strictly the case, but there were a lot of kids there who didnt know Bauhaus at all). That definitely made me feel old.
posted by wildcrdj at 9:00 PM on June 3, 2010
And then I saw NIN in 2006, where Peter Murphy / Bauhaus opened for NIN, and no one knew who Peter Murphy was... (OK, not strictly the case, but there were a lot of kids there who didnt know Bauhaus at all). That definitely made me feel old.
posted by wildcrdj at 9:00 PM on June 3, 2010
That Trent fellow can operate the pants off a Macintosh, but he can't write lyrics that matter to anyone over the age of 19 to save his life.
HOLE SOUL LIES LIES BETTER BETTER GYYYAAAHHHHH (as my friend Tom likes to say)
I like Broken a lot, and it's all because of the music -- when the songs get all long and slow, I just tune out. That NIN only seems to reappear here and there, and it's really the only one I'm into (though I like a lot of Pretty Hate Machine, too).
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:00 PM on June 3, 2010
HOLE SOUL LIES LIES BETTER BETTER GYYYAAAHHHHH (as my friend Tom likes to say)
I like Broken a lot, and it's all because of the music -- when the songs get all long and slow, I just tune out. That NIN only seems to reappear here and there, and it's really the only one I'm into (though I like a lot of Pretty Hate Machine, too).
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:00 PM on June 3, 2010
All the "it's Sartre" stuff is just ret-con.
I really don't think so. He may have not been intentionally referencing Nausea or Sartre, but Downward Spiral does cover the same territory. It's a pretty tightly plotted piece of fiction, imo, and it's coherent philosophically.
posted by empath at 9:03 PM on June 3, 2010
I really don't think so. He may have not been intentionally referencing Nausea or Sartre, but Downward Spiral does cover the same territory. It's a pretty tightly plotted piece of fiction, imo, and it's coherent philosophically.
posted by empath at 9:03 PM on June 3, 2010
Are we the same person?
I too had the Fixed shirt, blue backwards-n and all. My friend bought it for me from I don't know where, probably out of guilt for telling me I wouldn't like Fixed because it wasn't what I was expecting out of NIN but I loved it. It is a really great, kind of annihilating set of songs.
posted by m0nm0n at 9:15 PM on June 3, 2010
I too had the Fixed shirt, blue backwards-n and all. My friend bought it for me from I don't know where, probably out of guilt for telling me I wouldn't like Fixed because it wasn't what I was expecting out of NIN but I loved it. It is a really great, kind of annihilating set of songs.
posted by m0nm0n at 9:15 PM on June 3, 2010
I downloaded it and listened to it earlier today. It wasn't bad, but it didn't do anything for me. Maybe I'll go back to it in a couple of weeks and try it again. It always makes me sad when an album by someone whose work I want to enjoy turns out to be not my cuppa.
posted by immlass at 9:26 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by immlass at 9:26 PM on June 3, 2010
All the genre GRAR in this thread reminds me that, as a recording artist you're doing something right if people keep setting the genre field of your mp3s as "other".
posted by davejay at 9:37 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by davejay at 9:37 PM on June 3, 2010
Thanks for the link to the Coil vid, Stitcherbeast. I am intrigued.
posted by Decimask at 9:42 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by Decimask at 9:42 PM on June 3, 2010
I must say, the video of NIN w/ Gary Numan performing Cars (previously) was one of my favorite videos of the year, but this stuff just sounds like Ray of Light or Music (both Madonna) to me. Good for TR for doing whatever the hell he feels like doing, and, as Filthy Light Thief says, offering the lossless for $2, but I think I've heard this one before.
posted by Lukenlogs at 9:44 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by Lukenlogs at 9:44 PM on June 3, 2010
I never understood the Achewood love in supposed "webcomic" circles.
I never got it either and was actively grumpy towards it (really? why this I don't even-) until like earlier this week I was sick and some thread lead me to more Achewood and I started to read the archives and it grows on you, like a fungus, it's a very particular voice and uh, taste. By the end I was a complete fan but I can't tell you why exactly.
posted by The Whelk at 9:45 PM on June 3, 2010
Sort of the Brian De Palma of music.
It's a good analogy. Much as some De Palma films got me to watch other more "respectable" or "indie" films, Reznor turned me on to a lot of stuff that got me into industrial, IDM and experimental electronic music. I did journalism for a while. Made my own music. For all of that I'll be eternally grateful to him, so who cares about haters?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:48 PM on June 3, 2010
It's a good analogy. Much as some De Palma films got me to watch other more "respectable" or "indie" films, Reznor turned me on to a lot of stuff that got me into industrial, IDM and experimental electronic music. I did journalism for a while. Made my own music. For all of that I'll be eternally grateful to him, so who cares about haters?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:48 PM on June 3, 2010
Triple bonus points: the project is named after one of Coil's first single.
Really? I thought it was a riff off of Evangelion. It could be Trent Reznor's anime project.
Then again, in all seriousness, within a month there's going to be a couple dozen or more Eva anime music videos on Youtube using this music. Those who don't want to bother downloading the songs now can probably catch them then.
posted by happyroach at 9:52 PM on June 3, 2010
Really? I thought it was a riff off of Evangelion. It could be Trent Reznor's anime project.
Then again, in all seriousness, within a month there's going to be a couple dozen or more Eva anime music videos on Youtube using this music. Those who don't want to bother downloading the songs now can probably catch them then.
posted by happyroach at 9:52 PM on June 3, 2010
Are we the same person? Fixed is absolutely terrific.
Seriously. I remember having a couple different regional releases, distinguishable by the different shades of blue used on the disc, because I was in some sort of frothing completionist collector phase (had 3 versions of Further Down, both the single AND double disc versions of the March of the Pigs and Closer single/EPs, etc etc..). Fixed was always one of my favorites of the remix albums just because of it's obliterating don't-give-a-damn noisiness, and served as a fine gateway to other artists like Foetus and such. Much love!
I never understood the Achewood love in supposed "webcomic" circles.
Oh, that's just because you are a terrible un-person. Don't worry, with a little work the mysteries will reveal themselves and you will be drenched in hilarity from end to end!
posted by FatherDagon at 9:57 PM on June 3, 2010
Seriously. I remember having a couple different regional releases, distinguishable by the different shades of blue used on the disc, because I was in some sort of frothing completionist collector phase (had 3 versions of Further Down, both the single AND double disc versions of the March of the Pigs and Closer single/EPs, etc etc..). Fixed was always one of my favorites of the remix albums just because of it's obliterating don't-give-a-damn noisiness, and served as a fine gateway to other artists like Foetus and such. Much love!
I never understood the Achewood love in supposed "webcomic" circles.
Oh, that's just because you are a terrible un-person. Don't worry, with a little work the mysteries will reveal themselves and you will be drenched in hilarity from end to end!
posted by FatherDagon at 9:57 PM on June 3, 2010
I don't care about NIN one way or t'other; I just logged in to say that John Balance et al made my life better over the course of two decades and to thank Sticherbeast for the link to that badass video.
posted by everichon at 10:02 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by everichon at 10:02 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
Disappointed! Where do I go to find out how to destroy angels?
posted by Kskomsvold at 10:19 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Kskomsvold at 10:19 PM on June 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
"Flash Required" - Man, wrong fight at the wrong time, says droid user in the middle of Nowheresville,VA. Let me buy the damn FLAC, already.
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:07 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by Slap*Happy at 11:07 PM on June 3, 2010
cjorgensen: “I'm so old I can remember when Trent opened up for Peter Murphy and no one knew who the fuck he was (Trent that is).”
wildcrdj: “And then I saw NIN in 2006, where Peter Murphy / Bauhaus opened for NIN, and no one knew who Peter Murphy was... (OK, not strictly the case, but there were a lot of kids there who didnt know Bauhaus at all). That definitely made me feel old.”
Peter Murphy isn't fit to wipe Trent Reznor's ass. And I've never even liked Nine Inch Nails.
posted by koeselitz at 11:56 PM on June 3, 2010
wildcrdj: “And then I saw NIN in 2006, where Peter Murphy / Bauhaus opened for NIN, and no one knew who Peter Murphy was... (OK, not strictly the case, but there were a lot of kids there who didnt know Bauhaus at all). That definitely made me feel old.”
Peter Murphy isn't fit to wipe Trent Reznor's ass. And I've never even liked Nine Inch Nails.
posted by koeselitz at 11:56 PM on June 3, 2010
At least Trent sings about stuff that he thinks is important.
posted by koeselitz at 11:57 PM on June 3, 2010
posted by koeselitz at 11:57 PM on June 3, 2010
And on a related note, Trent is doing the soundtrack for the 3rd Tetsuo movie. Linkage.
It is epic.
posted by daq at 12:44 AM on June 4, 2010
It is epic.
posted by daq at 12:44 AM on June 4, 2010
Also:
"I'm not aware that NIN ever tried to fit into a category. Reznor has simply been making music that satisfies his urges. Take it or leave it, but don't bitch about what critics call it. Sheesh.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:43 PM on June 3 [+] [!]"
Hence why Trent Reznor's projects are often referred to quite seriously as Industrial, because it fits the definition set forth by Throbbing Gristle and Industrial Records as the definition of Industrial Music. Music made because the artist is not hearing it elsewhere so they make it for themselves. If it becomes popular or successful, oops, nifty, but not the end goal.
Of course, then the label of Industrial was used to describe way, way, way more bands than those who originally started from this premise, and the whole thing fell apart by 1989, around the time that Pretty Hate Machine was released.
And yes, I'm in an Industrial band, and I listen regularly to Industrial Music. I'm also a DJ and I gave up on categorizing music about 5 years ago because it became a pissing contest for people with too much time on their hands and too little actual talent or ability to write some.
posted by daq at 12:51 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
"I'm not aware that NIN ever tried to fit into a category. Reznor has simply been making music that satisfies his urges. Take it or leave it, but don't bitch about what critics call it. Sheesh.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:43 PM on June 3 [+] [!]"
Hence why Trent Reznor's projects are often referred to quite seriously as Industrial, because it fits the definition set forth by Throbbing Gristle and Industrial Records as the definition of Industrial Music. Music made because the artist is not hearing it elsewhere so they make it for themselves. If it becomes popular or successful, oops, nifty, but not the end goal.
Of course, then the label of Industrial was used to describe way, way, way more bands than those who originally started from this premise, and the whole thing fell apart by 1989, around the time that Pretty Hate Machine was released.
And yes, I'm in an Industrial band, and I listen regularly to Industrial Music. I'm also a DJ and I gave up on categorizing music about 5 years ago because it became a pissing contest for people with too much time on their hands and too little actual talent or ability to write some.
posted by daq at 12:51 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
I came into NIN late. Really late. Like 2004 late. (yes, I am THAT uncool). So I got all this compressed NIN-love between 04 and 06. It's about all I listened to. The other anachronism and I regularly listen to pretty much each album. (yes, we are THAT boring). So I've got no disaffected teen memories infecting each and every listen, yet I still manage to like the lyrics, the sound and the feel.
Mind you, the other anachronism and I have a running argument over Year Zero and With Teeth - I fucking adore Year Zero and he feels rather meh about it, while I'm meh on With Teeth and he loves it to bits. I put it down to my love of post-apocalyptic rock, which he says is nonexistent. Not to mention how screamingly hot TR became (although, it's The Hand That Feeds clip that had me all flustered).
One of my biggest regrets about the way baby anachronism was born is that I didn't get to listen to Ghosts. I had it in three different formats and ready to go but it all happened too quickly for me to even grab my bag. I couldn't listen to it for the first six months or so because I'd get all sad and angsty.
posted by geek anachronism at 5:38 AM on June 4, 2010
Mind you, the other anachronism and I have a running argument over Year Zero and With Teeth - I fucking adore Year Zero and he feels rather meh about it, while I'm meh on With Teeth and he loves it to bits. I put it down to my love of post-apocalyptic rock, which he says is nonexistent. Not to mention how screamingly hot TR became (although, it's The Hand That Feeds clip that had me all flustered).
One of my biggest regrets about the way baby anachronism was born is that I didn't get to listen to Ghosts. I had it in three different formats and ready to go but it all happened too quickly for me to even grab my bag. I couldn't listen to it for the first six months or so because I'd get all sad and angsty.
posted by geek anachronism at 5:38 AM on June 4, 2010
The reason goth or "REAL industrial" kids tend to eschew NIN and his music (even before The Fragile ever came out) is because Trent has the frustrating combination of three things that have evaded nearly every other industrial band in existence:
1. building off the sound of old Ministry, Skinny Puppy, etc without sounding like a ripoff of said bands (even though he admits to having 'ripped off' people plenty: "Down In It" is pretty much an upbeat "Dig It" by Skinny Puppy, and "A Warm Place" is Bowie's Crystal Japan. Even Closer is built off of an Iggy Pop sample),
2. Becoming more technically proficient at it than absolutely anyone in the genre; one can hate on "Closer"s lyrics if you must, the engineering alone for that song is insane.
3. Becoming really successful at it. I know that when you're a teenager it's fun to bitch about 'scene cred' or whatever, but VNV Nation or Combichrist are poppier than NIN has ever been, and would be on MTV in a second if they let them.
As for HTDA, It's not terribly new for Trent, but it's got a decent sound; hurry it up and it could be Curve.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 7:25 AM on June 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
1. building off the sound of old Ministry, Skinny Puppy, etc without sounding like a ripoff of said bands (even though he admits to having 'ripped off' people plenty: "Down In It" is pretty much an upbeat "Dig It" by Skinny Puppy, and "A Warm Place" is Bowie's Crystal Japan. Even Closer is built off of an Iggy Pop sample),
2. Becoming more technically proficient at it than absolutely anyone in the genre; one can hate on "Closer"s lyrics if you must, the engineering alone for that song is insane.
3. Becoming really successful at it. I know that when you're a teenager it's fun to bitch about 'scene cred' or whatever, but VNV Nation or Combichrist are poppier than NIN has ever been, and would be on MTV in a second if they let them.
As for HTDA, It's not terribly new for Trent, but it's got a decent sound; hurry it up and it could be Curve.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 7:25 AM on June 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
And on a related note, Trent is doing the soundtrack for the 3rd Tetsuo movie.
I the who what THIRD TETSUO MOVIE?!?
GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME
posted by FatherDagon at 7:29 AM on June 4, 2010
I the who what THIRD TETSUO MOVIE?!?
GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME
posted by FatherDagon at 7:29 AM on June 4, 2010
Just chiming in to agree that the remix albums are definitely some of the best albums. I remember special-ordering the UK import of Further Down The Spiral just to get the live version of Hurt, then finding that the Clouser remixes on that album were better than the songs they remixed (IMO).
Fixed was great too, and I'm pretty sure I owned/listened to it before Broken. I never had a Fixed T-shirt or anything, but i did have a ninbroken bumpersticker on my car, which to my teenage mind, sounded like german for the general state of that vehicle.
posted by mysterpigg at 7:39 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Fixed was great too, and I'm pretty sure I owned/listened to it before Broken. I never had a Fixed T-shirt or anything, but i did have a ninbroken bumpersticker on my car, which to my teenage mind, sounded like german for the general state of that vehicle.
posted by mysterpigg at 7:39 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
I never had a Fixed T-shirt or anything
Psssh. Then I guess you can't be in our gang.
posted by Kirk Grim at 8:39 AM on June 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
Psssh. Then I guess you can't be in our gang.
posted by Kirk Grim at 8:39 AM on June 4, 2010 [2 favorites]
he once was playing that song on fixed that sounds like it's skipping, but the cd actually skipped at that point. It went on for a really long time, and he was digging it so much that it took him like 20 minutes to notice.
This reminds me of my first experience with "Broken". I had a really temperamental CD player in high school (Technics may have been the go to for turntables but their CD players sucked), and brought home "Broken" from the store with it's fancy fold-out cardboard case and awesome graphic design and I was getting SO EXCITED OMG NEW ALBUM as teenagers do. My CD player reads 99 tracks, and I think to myself "that's curious." I press play, and it makes a couple of garbled digital skippy noises and the clock stops running and then starts this really quiet mechanical hissing sound from inside the CD player.
I was all "O I get it, 'Broken', hahaha very funny jackass."
posted by Kirk Grim at 9:01 AM on June 4, 2010
This reminds me of my first experience with "Broken". I had a really temperamental CD player in high school (Technics may have been the go to for turntables but their CD players sucked), and brought home "Broken" from the store with it's fancy fold-out cardboard case and awesome graphic design and I was getting SO EXCITED OMG NEW ALBUM as teenagers do. My CD player reads 99 tracks, and I think to myself "that's curious." I press play, and it makes a couple of garbled digital skippy noises and the clock stops running and then starts this really quiet mechanical hissing sound from inside the CD player.
I was all "O I get it, 'Broken', hahaha very funny jackass."
posted by Kirk Grim at 9:01 AM on June 4, 2010
See, I always liked Broken myself. I miss the days when the guy at the record store would stash a ratty used copy of the UK Closer single (Halo 9) from the latest shipment behind the counter for me. But then my CDs all got robbed in Miami and I suppose that's how you destroy angels, by stealing all their Halos. Or at least that's how you give an angsty girl a reason for her angst.
At any rate, Trent Reznor has synthpop roots and takes his grandpa to tapings of The Price Is Right. I guess he really that idea really stuck with him. Thanks for the news! Will download soon.
posted by inkytea at 9:02 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
At any rate, Trent Reznor has synthpop roots and takes his grandpa to tapings of The Price Is Right. I guess he really that idea really stuck with him. Thanks for the news! Will download soon.
posted by inkytea at 9:02 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Via the Trent Reznor Q&A, I found the Dual Primate Console, which is a synthesizer designed to look like a telephone switchboard and sound like Mouse on Mars in a box.
If you like that, ardgegee, you should really check out the other works of Brian Dewan, who is an amazing musician in his own right.
posted by contraption at 9:07 AM on June 4, 2010
If you like that, ardgegee, you should really check out the other works of Brian Dewan, who is an amazing musician in his own right.
posted by contraption at 9:07 AM on June 4, 2010
I had the Fixed T-shirt too but when I put it on I realized it looked kind of stupid. Like I was a superhero who's symbol was a big lowercase n. And I think it had the word 'Fixed' on the back which made me think of a dog getting it's nuts cut off so I put it in a bag and gave it to the Salvation Army.
posted by Nyarlathotep at 9:24 AM on June 4, 2010
posted by Nyarlathotep at 9:24 AM on June 4, 2010
The title of my favorite Coil piece. Ambient, hypnotic, beautiful, sorta mystical. Great for focusing on work or even some casual quiet meditation. Also a great name for a band. I hope Reznor does right by the song and the great Coil, one of whose members, John Balance, passed away not too long ago falling down a spiral staircase. Strangely enough (they had a album by that name).
posted by Skygazer at 11:16 AM on June 4, 2010
posted by Skygazer at 11:16 AM on June 4, 2010
Loved Broken and Fixed and some of The Downward Spiral. Loved The Fragile most of all though.
Hated With Teeth. Am fairly indifferent to Year Zero because I hated With Teeth so much. Can no longer really get excited about anything Reznor does.
This is kind of how I feel about Bjork, too. That a capella clusterfuck album totally derailed my fan train.
posted by Foosnark at 1:04 PM on June 4, 2010
Hated With Teeth. Am fairly indifferent to Year Zero because I hated With Teeth so much. Can no longer really get excited about anything Reznor does.
This is kind of how I feel about Bjork, too. That a capella clusterfuck album totally derailed my fan train.
posted by Foosnark at 1:04 PM on June 4, 2010
I love the slick, unplugged sound on NIN's little-known bonus disc Still. If nothing else, it helped produce Reznor's masterful live performance of Something I Can Never Have.
posted by anifinder at 1:17 PM on June 4, 2010
posted by anifinder at 1:17 PM on June 4, 2010
And on a related note, Trent is doing the soundtrack for the 3rd Tetsuo movie.
How appropriate. A ritual among my friends was to watch Testuo with the sound off while Broken played.
posted by lekvar at 1:23 PM on June 4, 2010
How appropriate. A ritual among my friends was to watch Testuo with the sound off while Broken played.
posted by lekvar at 1:23 PM on June 4, 2010
I loaned my standalone copy of Still to someone years ago, and never saw it again. Thankfully the version of the live album And All That Could Have Been that I have has Still as a second disc, so I'm not lacking it. It's truly a great part of the NIN catalog.
For those who are looking for live NIN material, I direct you to the releases page of This One Is On Us, which has a list of DVDs and audio which can be downloaded for your viewing and listening pleasure.
Damn, now I have to watch the Lights In The Sky tour again.
posted by hippybear at 1:30 PM on June 4, 2010
For those who are looking for live NIN material, I direct you to the releases page of This One Is On Us, which has a list of DVDs and audio which can be downloaded for your viewing and listening pleasure.
Damn, now I have to watch the Lights In The Sky tour again.
posted by hippybear at 1:30 PM on June 4, 2010
It's sort of a long story, but, voila: The Seattleward Spiral.
posted by cortex at 4:05 PM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by cortex at 4:05 PM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
I had the Fixed T-shirt too but when I put it on I realized it looked kind of stupid. Like I was a superhero who's symbol was a big lowercase n.
I liked it and have it to this day for this very reason. (my given name starts with N)
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 4:14 PM on June 4, 2010
I liked it and have it to this day for this very reason. (my given name starts with N)
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 4:14 PM on June 4, 2010
I've had this sitting on my machine for a couple of days. Someone my porn-monger identity is watching on Furaffinity* has been posting links to the singles, and went "ohmigawd go get this" at the ep download link the day it was out.
I still haven't actually listened to it. I was blown away by the raw nastiness of Pretty Hate Machine when it came out. His later work has been intermittently interesting to me but nothing's hit me with the ragged, overdriven nastiness of PHM; nothing's had that exciting newness.
On the other hand, Further Down the Spiral is what introduced me to Aphex Twin; that led me to SAW2 which was one of those "lie on the floor in the dark with headphones on" albums for me. So I gotta thank Trent for that. But most of his later work is on my mental list of "albums I should give a serious, quiet listening to but keep on skipping when iTunes brings them up until then".
* said porn-monger identity is watching a lot of people, because she watches everyone back; I believe this particular HTDA booster manifests there as a pudgy dragoness who is seriously into voraeophilia. Welcome to the future.
posted by egypturnash at 10:48 PM on June 4, 2010
I still haven't actually listened to it. I was blown away by the raw nastiness of Pretty Hate Machine when it came out. His later work has been intermittently interesting to me but nothing's hit me with the ragged, overdriven nastiness of PHM; nothing's had that exciting newness.
On the other hand, Further Down the Spiral is what introduced me to Aphex Twin; that led me to SAW2 which was one of those "lie on the floor in the dark with headphones on" albums for me. So I gotta thank Trent for that. But most of his later work is on my mental list of "albums I should give a serious, quiet listening to but keep on skipping when iTunes brings them up until then".
* said porn-monger identity is watching a lot of people, because she watches everyone back; I believe this particular HTDA booster manifests there as a pudgy dragoness who is seriously into voraeophilia. Welcome to the future.
posted by egypturnash at 10:48 PM on June 4, 2010
I kind of like it. Reminds me a lot of Downward Spiral era NIN. Having a different vocalist seems to get around the problem I usually have with listening to NIN that I start thinking "aren't you a bit old for all this teenagery whiny stuff and thinking serial killers are cool and shit like that?"
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on June 7, 2010
posted by Artw at 2:32 PM on June 7, 2010
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Good, I htae DMR!
posted by mullingitover at 5:02 PM on June 3, 2010 [4 favorites]