Llamasoft Presents... NINE INCH NAILS
July 13, 2017 10:18 AM Subscribe
The first video from the new Nine Inch Nails EP has been released, and it has an unexpected ingredient: A hefty helping of urban legend turned Jeff Minter game Polybius.
@llamasoft_ox helping out with the video for the new NIN was one of the most unexpected but most fun bits of work I've had, we really enjoyed it :D
This whole business makes me so weirdly happy. The video really conveys the feel of being really in the zone with a game, and Llamasoft games are of course the zoniest games that ever did zone.
posted by Artw at 10:33 AM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
This whole business makes me so weirdly happy. The video really conveys the feel of being really in the zone with a game, and Llamasoft games are of course the zoniest games that ever did zone.
posted by Artw at 10:33 AM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
As an old-school NTSC 4.53 MHz dot-crawl interlaced-fields kinda guy, this video pleases me.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:08 AM on July 13, 2017
posted by infinitewindow at 11:08 AM on July 13, 2017
Llamasoft Presents... NINE INCH NAILS
It's "THE Nine Inch Nails", thank you.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:35 AM on July 13, 2017 [8 favorites]
It's "THE Nine Inch Nails", thank you.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:35 AM on July 13, 2017 [8 favorites]
Mmm, maybe I get the reference now. We all less than three you, Trent Reznor!
posted by pwnguin at 11:58 AM on July 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by pwnguin at 11:58 AM on July 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Polybius is a slice of 120fps genius on PS4. But hardcore.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:56 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 12:56 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Polybius is insane in VR. In a good way.
posted by auntie-matter at 1:26 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by auntie-matter at 1:26 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is a quality NIN song.
posted by DrAstroZoom at 1:55 PM on July 13, 2017
posted by DrAstroZoom at 1:55 PM on July 13, 2017
Lawksamercy, That blew the cobwebs away.
I stuck my headphones on, put the monitor an inch from my nose, and went for it. Really did feel like dropping out of hyperspace when I had to return to reality.
(And then I got locked in a hotel room and turned into into a Starchild.)
I love the little dabs of some old-skool Numanesque synths pootling away. Scan lines, saturated colours, no-prisoner editing, and yeah, a fine track.
10/10.
(Not sure what to do next. But I'll think of something. A return match with Reznor/Minter? Why yes, why not.)
posted by Devonian at 3:31 PM on July 13, 2017
I stuck my headphones on, put the monitor an inch from my nose, and went for it. Really did feel like dropping out of hyperspace when I had to return to reality.
(And then I got locked in a hotel room and turned into into a Starchild.)
I love the little dabs of some old-skool Numanesque synths pootling away. Scan lines, saturated colours, no-prisoner editing, and yeah, a fine track.
10/10.
(Not sure what to do next. But I'll think of something. A return match with Reznor/Minter? Why yes, why not.)
posted by Devonian at 3:31 PM on July 13, 2017
Trent Reznor is very, very good at what he does.
posted by Spathe Cadet at 4:12 PM on July 13, 2017
posted by Spathe Cadet at 4:12 PM on July 13, 2017
New NIN, now with elements of synthwave/retrowave? That is very awesome.
Hmm, no EP preorder in iTunes, just the single.
Also somehow I completely missed "Not The Actual Events"…
posted by floatboth at 4:17 PM on July 13, 2017
Hmm, no EP preorder in iTunes, just the single.
Also somehow I completely missed "Not The Actual Events"…
posted by floatboth at 4:17 PM on July 13, 2017
Am I less than? Less than what?
i love this chorus because i think it leaves the essential point of the song unsaid:
"Did it fix what was wrong with you?
Are you less than (or equal to)?"
posted by JimBennett at 4:59 PM on July 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
i love this chorus because i think it leaves the essential point of the song unsaid:
"Did it fix what was wrong with you?
Are you less than (or equal to)?"
posted by JimBennett at 4:59 PM on July 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
It's not often that a MeFi post informs me of two things I need to spend money on immediately. Thanks. I think.
posted by bitmage at 6:26 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by bitmage at 6:26 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Here is a link to Trent's Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe where they discuss the EP, including its 11:44 (!!!) final track "The Background World".
posted by JimBennett at 8:01 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by JimBennett at 8:01 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I love the little dabs of some old-skool Numanesque synths pootling away.
I fell down a Gary Numan/Tubeway Army YouTube hole last week and was pleasantly surprised to find that NIN brought Numan out on stage for a couple of songs at a London gig at some point in the recent past, which is interesting as this NIN song sounds very Numan-esque and NIN seems to have rubbed off on Numan, based on this "Re-Cover" of "Are Friends Electric" Numan did.
posted by KingEdRa at 8:20 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
I fell down a Gary Numan/Tubeway Army YouTube hole last week and was pleasantly surprised to find that NIN brought Numan out on stage for a couple of songs at a London gig at some point in the recent past, which is interesting as this NIN song sounds very Numan-esque and NIN seems to have rubbed off on Numan, based on this "Re-Cover" of "Are Friends Electric" Numan did.
posted by KingEdRa at 8:20 PM on July 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
Numan and Reznor have quite a bit of history by now - Numan came on stage at the London Palladium in 2009 and did a couple of numbers, and you don't have to have golden ears to hear the NIN influence in his industrial-metal stuff of late. But then, Numan pops up in some odd places - Afrikaa Bambaataa adding rap and Blondie to Metal is but one example...
posted by Devonian at 11:11 PM on July 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 11:11 PM on July 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
So, at this point I can't tell whether Trent is writing about politics or burning away his own personal addiction demons. This song could easily be both. I do remember that he put out The Hand That Feeds at an equally fraught time in the world.
We had The Fragile, which was basically a man coping with his life disintegrating for reasons. And then years later With Teeth came out, and it was full of commentary about Trent and his addictions and was nearly a narrative album [at least on the same level that Sgt Peppers is a narrative album]. Then NIN goes weird for a while.
Weirdly brilliant that is. Year Zero (and the accompanying ARG) remains one of the more profound experiences of my life. But just taking the album alone, it's entirely outward looking, dystopian, again narrative but entirely political.
And then we get Ghosts, which I think is one of the most amazing things ever to exist. I return to it, and it keeps revealing layers to me. And then The Slip, which is sort of, um... like NIN's first album? The songs feel personal without feeling confessional like on With Teeth.
And then another long silence and.. Hesitation Marks. Probably the most directly narrative and confessional of all the NIN albums. Again, struggling with addiction and its ramifications and wanting desperately for it to go away.
Now, look. I know that Trent has been clean for ages now. But it's still fertile matter for his writing, and Hesitation Marks is so clearly about living in recovery...
Which brings us to Not The Actual Events. Which is an EP about a fantasy about relapse and the temptation of use again and thinking through the consequences of that. A brilliant art project, right down to the Physical Product being something that, if opened, will make a mess everywhere.
And now we have Less Than as a new NIN single. And given what is going on in the world right now and Trent's penchant for writing about his inner struggles, I can't tell if this is about politics or himself.
I guess I'll have to wait until the EP comes out to get context.
Damn, I fucking love NIN.
posted by hippybear at 1:30 AM on July 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
We had The Fragile, which was basically a man coping with his life disintegrating for reasons. And then years later With Teeth came out, and it was full of commentary about Trent and his addictions and was nearly a narrative album [at least on the same level that Sgt Peppers is a narrative album]. Then NIN goes weird for a while.
Weirdly brilliant that is. Year Zero (and the accompanying ARG) remains one of the more profound experiences of my life. But just taking the album alone, it's entirely outward looking, dystopian, again narrative but entirely political.
And then we get Ghosts, which I think is one of the most amazing things ever to exist. I return to it, and it keeps revealing layers to me. And then The Slip, which is sort of, um... like NIN's first album? The songs feel personal without feeling confessional like on With Teeth.
And then another long silence and.. Hesitation Marks. Probably the most directly narrative and confessional of all the NIN albums. Again, struggling with addiction and its ramifications and wanting desperately for it to go away.
Now, look. I know that Trent has been clean for ages now. But it's still fertile matter for his writing, and Hesitation Marks is so clearly about living in recovery...
Which brings us to Not The Actual Events. Which is an EP about a fantasy about relapse and the temptation of use again and thinking through the consequences of that. A brilliant art project, right down to the Physical Product being something that, if opened, will make a mess everywhere.
And now we have Less Than as a new NIN single. And given what is going on in the world right now and Trent's penchant for writing about his inner struggles, I can't tell if this is about politics or himself.
I guess I'll have to wait until the EP comes out to get context.
Damn, I fucking love NIN.
posted by hippybear at 1:30 AM on July 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
Goodness gracious, have you seen the cover for the ADD VIOLENCE album?
nin.com's description is "ADD VIOLENCE FINDS NINE INCH NAILS BECOMING MORE ACCESSIBLE AND IMPENETRABLE AT THE SAME TIME. THE SONIC PALETTE EXPANDS SIGNIFICANTLY FROM NOT THE ACTUAL EVENTS, INCORPORATING ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY INTO THE DARK DISSONANCE. THE NARRATIVE ARC LINKING THE THREE RECORDS BEGINS TO EMERGE THROUGH THE DISASSOCIATED LYRICS AND THE PROVOCATIVE AND CLUE-FILLED COVER ARTWORK AND ACCOMPANYING PHYSICAL COMPONENT, AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE NIN.COM STORE."
I ordered the vinyl of NTAE, not the physical component. I'll do the same for this.
I really need to get a working turntable someday.
posted by hippybear at 1:38 AM on July 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
nin.com's description is "ADD VIOLENCE FINDS NINE INCH NAILS BECOMING MORE ACCESSIBLE AND IMPENETRABLE AT THE SAME TIME. THE SONIC PALETTE EXPANDS SIGNIFICANTLY FROM NOT THE ACTUAL EVENTS, INCORPORATING ELEMENTS OF BEAUTY INTO THE DARK DISSONANCE. THE NARRATIVE ARC LINKING THE THREE RECORDS BEGINS TO EMERGE THROUGH THE DISASSOCIATED LYRICS AND THE PROVOCATIVE AND CLUE-FILLED COVER ARTWORK AND ACCOMPANYING PHYSICAL COMPONENT, AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE NIN.COM STORE."
I ordered the vinyl of NTAE, not the physical component. I'll do the same for this.
I really need to get a working turntable someday.
posted by hippybear at 1:38 AM on July 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
Goddamnit, it looks NIN is doing mystery photos and possibly launching another ARG. I can't do it this time. I just can't. I'm still slightly broken from Year Zero.
posted by hippybear at 1:48 AM on July 14, 2017
posted by hippybear at 1:48 AM on July 14, 2017
And damn, Less Than is a fine song! Listened to it three times in a row and then did NTAE followed by Less Than and... yeah.
posted by hippybear at 1:57 AM on July 14, 2017
posted by hippybear at 1:57 AM on July 14, 2017
New NIN, now with elements of synthwave/retrowave? That is very awesome.
You also missed out on Everything, apparently.
posted by hippybear at 2:09 AM on July 14, 2017
You also missed out on Everything, apparently.
posted by hippybear at 2:09 AM on July 14, 2017
Here's the story on the special version of Polybius for the video.
posted by netowl at 1:00 PM on July 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by netowl at 1:00 PM on July 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
if you can play this in VR you must, it's absolutely incredible and also carefully designed to minimize motion sickness.
posted by vogon_poet at 1:15 PM on July 14, 2017
posted by vogon_poet at 1:15 PM on July 14, 2017
You also missed out on Everything , apparently.
While a member of the genre, it was kind of using the upbeat tone and chorus ironically. A sort of middle finger to a variety of things, including synthwave.
posted by pwnguin at 3:13 PM on July 14, 2017
While a member of the genre, it was kind of using the upbeat tone and chorus ironically. A sort of middle finger to a variety of things, including synthwave.
posted by pwnguin at 3:13 PM on July 14, 2017
Huh. After reading this thread, I was excited to listen to the song. Unfortunately, it didn't really do anything for me. I think I probably loved both Broken and Fixed more than anything else I listened to in the early-to-mid 90s. But eventually NiN just started sounding uninteresting to me and this just seems like more of the same. And I find that Trent's music hasn't aged that well for me -- there's a whole bunch of stuff from the 90s that I listen to now more than I did then, and NiN not at all. And I think that today's various subgenres that can trace part of their lineages back to NiN are much more interesting.
But I don't want to rain on anyone's parade or be all "your favorite band sucks". The stuff that has aged very well for me (for example, I realized the other day that I've been listening to Dark Side of the Moon regularly now for thirty-nine years) gives me a great deal of pleasure -- perhaps more than the music did when it was new to me. The stuff that hasn't aged well, though, is always a disappointment to listen to again, like falling out of love or something. So I sort of envy the folks who are still in love with NiN.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:14 AM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
But I don't want to rain on anyone's parade or be all "your favorite band sucks". The stuff that has aged very well for me (for example, I realized the other day that I've been listening to Dark Side of the Moon regularly now for thirty-nine years) gives me a great deal of pleasure -- perhaps more than the music did when it was new to me. The stuff that hasn't aged well, though, is always a disappointment to listen to again, like falling out of love or something. So I sort of envy the folks who are still in love with NiN.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:14 AM on July 16, 2017 [1 favorite]
Zane and Nine Inch Nails on beats1 [Interview - Audio Only] ~20m
posted by hippybear at 10:13 AM on July 18, 2017
posted by hippybear at 10:13 AM on July 18, 2017
if you bought the ep from nin.com it's available to download now
posted by JimBennett at 6:10 PM on July 19, 2017
posted by JimBennett at 6:10 PM on July 19, 2017
REMEMBER WHEN RECORDS HAD BACK COVERS? NO? MAYBE THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT.
posted by hippybear at 2:51 AM on July 20, 2017
posted by hippybear at 2:51 AM on July 20, 2017
Oh god. If this is another ARG, I can already feel myself getting sucked in.
Send halp.
posted by hippybear at 2:52 AM on July 20, 2017
Send halp.
posted by hippybear at 2:52 AM on July 20, 2017
Honestly this EP is... deceptive. As is the description of it. Just like the description of NTAE.
Trent is fucking with us. And I love it.
posted by hippybear at 2:58 AM on July 20, 2017
Trent is fucking with us. And I love it.
posted by hippybear at 2:58 AM on July 20, 2017
Apparently the folks at Echoing The Sound are trying to connect this to the YZ ARG. I think they're on entirely the wrong path.
Oh jeebus.
posted by hippybear at 3:01 AM on July 20, 2017
Oh jeebus.
posted by hippybear at 3:01 AM on July 20, 2017
Huh. Maybe the ARG is about YZ while the EPs are not.
Interesting.
posted by hippybear at 3:07 AM on July 20, 2017
Interesting.
posted by hippybear at 3:07 AM on July 20, 2017
Also, the last track of the EP is possibly able to warp the very fabric of space and time.
posted by hippybear at 3:07 AM on July 20, 2017
posted by hippybear at 3:07 AM on July 20, 2017
NIN did a show on the 19th (two days ago) which opened with Branches / Bones (from NTAE) and Copy Of A (from HM). And burned it all up as a stage band without gimmicks.
Full setlist here.
Honestly, I know I'm being manipulated, and I'm avoiding the theoretical ARG because I don't have the energy but fuck yes every time I've seen NIN it's been amazing and I will see them again
I really need to back away from this thread. *Sean Spicers into the bushes*
posted by hippybear at 2:31 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
Full setlist here.
Honestly, I know I'm being manipulated, and I'm avoiding the theoretical ARG because I don't have the energy but fuck yes every time I've seen NIN it's been amazing and I will see them again
I really need to back away from this thread. *Sean Spicers into the bushes*
posted by hippybear at 2:31 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by Joey Michaels at 10:29 AM on July 13, 2017