Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks

[Friendly Foil]

lololol those drums

[Zephyr_Nova]

I'm just still really weirded out by his lack of evolution as a musician or an artist. It actually makes me respect the newer Skinny Puppy stuff a lot, whether you like their new sound or not, they've evolved as they should have. Trent just seems like he's frozen in time.

 

i think Skinny Puppy's still managed to stay ahead of the curve in a lot of ways. I didn't care much for handover, but TGWOTR and Mythmaker were both really interesting albums.

[beerwolf]

I only get my music news from Pitchfork, and if something gets lower than a 9.9 I don't listen to it.

 

Heheh, sad thing is some people are probably like that. I'm the opposite as I only listen to stuff they score below 5.9

[olo]

So, from what I can deduct from the video, Lynch really doesn't like Trent that much.

[Lane Visitor]

lololol those drums

 

lol are you loling at what i think you are? the fact that those drums sound like a cheap lifeless 909 kit (in a non-fun way) mixed almost completely dry and sterile...they almost dont even sound EQd lol

 

not sure if that really bothers me or just kind of or maybe im being ridiculous and it sounds fine, orrrr maybe im not "getting" in and it's supposed to be brilliant or something?

 

is it possible to grow up as an audiophile/producer/ electronic music aficionado and not endlessly pick apart every mediocre aspect of new releases from my favorite artists i grew up on? do we hold artists we look up to to a standard that's unfair? hard to say... but trent seems to take a lot of shit from his past fans all the time, maybe more than any other artist.

 

still, those drums, ugghhh

Edited July 1, 2013 by Lane Visitor

[Joyrex]

I'm just still really weirded out by his lack of evolution as a musician or an artist. Trent just seems like he's frozen in time.

He's desperately trying to recapture the TDS era with each release, and each release pushes him further and further away from that. Perhaps he's too afraid to evolve, or what hes tried he doesn't like, and thinks he needs to try and evoke the TDS-style again.

 

Trent is like Ash's Pikachu - incredibly powerful, but limited by his lack of evolution.

[Lane Visitor]

 

I'm just still really weirded out by his lack of evolution as a musician or an artist. Trent just seems like he's frozen in time.

He's desperately trying to recapture the TDS era with each release, and each release pushes him further and further away from that. Perhaps he's too afraid to evolve, or what hes tried he doesn't like, and thinks he needs to try and evoke the TDS-style again.

 

Trent is like Ash's Pikachu - incredibly powerful, but limited by his lack of evolution.

 

 

Couldn't agree more JR.. Maybe he's trying musically to hide the fact that he's uhh.. happy? and it just sounds forced and weird. there's no more anger/excitement in his music, which is fine.. but if so, then it's like at least explore other emotions rather than push out as much anger/darkness as possible into an album just because that's what your fanbase expects.

 

i think he was awesome to do ghosts cuz it was ambient/weird/different... with teeth was rad and still pretty raw.. i know trent has the potential to put out some brilliant otherworldy stuff or some more beautiful stuff, creepy/avante garde stuff, challenging, futuristic, fun, groovy, anything.. something other than "now im nothing", "i said goodbye and i came back haunted" type stuff. maybe we all just want trent to stop being dark for a minute? lol

[Lane Visitor]

.. after a while, it seems "dark" stops being "dark" anymore when it's just so expected.. album after album, it starts to just be corny no matter how "dark" it is..

 

this is why afx is such a fucking genious.. because he knew how to keep tricking himself and his fanbase by releasing something absurdly dark like come to daddy or as cold and dissonant as caustic window compliation and then something splendidly beautiful like rdj album or SAW... the more you can show the upbeat/pretty light airy side just as thoroughly, the more your dark side is defined. bowie is a master of this too.

[Joyrex]

 

 

I'm just still really weirded out by his lack of evolution as a musician or an artist. Trent just seems like he's frozen in time.

He's desperately trying to recapture the TDS era with each release, and each release pushes him further and further away from that. Perhaps he's too afraid to evolve, or what hes tried he doesn't like, and thinks he needs to try and evoke the TDS-style again.

 

Trent is like Ash's Pikachu - incredibly powerful, but limited by his lack of evolution.

 

 

Couldn't agree more JR.. Maybe he's trying musically to hide the fact that he's uhh.. happy? and it just sounds forced and weird. there's no more anger/excitement in his music, which is fine.. but if so, then it's like at least explore other emotions rather than push out as much anger/darkness as possible into an album just because that's what your fanbase expects.

 

i think he was awesome to do ghosts cuz it was ambient/weird/different... with teeth was rad and still pretty raw.. i know trent has the potential to put out some brilliant otherworldy stuff or some more beautiful stuff, creepy/avante garde stuff, challenging, futuristic, fun, groovy, anything.. something other than "now im nothing", "i said goodbye and i came back haunted" type stuff. maybe we all just want trent to stop being dark for a minute? lol

 

I think a lot of it too has to do with (most) NIN fans - I'm pretty sure we all got into NIN when we were angsty teens or young adults, and were 'angry' at the world to a degree, and the music resonated with us - now that we've 'grown up' so to speak, the music he's producing today doesn't have that same resonance because we've moved on.

 

What kinda blows that theory away though is his new music (I suppose) isn't resonating with today's angsty youth... or is it? I wonder what the perspective is from someone around that age hearing his newer material, then listening to the TDS-era stuff is.

[Candiru]

I had never heard much NIN, but I listened to the Broken EP recently and loved it. I think Pretty Hate Machine kind of just turned me off.

[Guest disoriental express]

It's obvious that the depth of NIN's music has steadily been on the decline since The Fragile. It's as if the life has been slowly leeched out of until it's all a blur of tracks comprised of generic drums and guitars and yelling (or quiet piano meanderings). It's like hearing someone continue to try to make the same record over and over and becoming increasingly uninspired with every attempt.

 

I mean, look at the evolution between Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral and The Fragile. It's fucking impressive! Then look at the evolution of everything after that... It's just the same thing over and over: a stripped down version of the NIN sound almost like a never ending parody. I guess the creativity just dried up without him even realizing it. Those beats. Oh well.

Edited July 2, 2013 by disoriental express

[Blir]

I listened to The Fragile, Pretty Hate Machine and Broken again to see if it was just nostalgia or they really were as good I remembered and yes, they're great. Even Pretty Hate Machine which I somehow like more than I used to. It's emo synth pop that's derivative of so many industrial and pop groups of the time but so well put together. Even Tront's daft lyrics are saved by his great delivery.

 

Leagues ahead of anything post Fragile.

 

Also why does Only rip off lyrics from Down In It? With Teeth was a fucking abomination. Actually I came across a shitty website I made back in 07 with a review at the bottom of the page I did for With Teeth. http://neuwerld.webs.com/reviews.htm

 

Good review now I look back on it. Think I really captured why the album was so shit.

[Amen Lare]

Never been a NIN fan, but this track was good industrial cheese, sadly he won't go this direction on full release.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu9bm-RJMWM

[oscillik]

I listened to The Fragile, Pretty Hate Machine and Broken again to see if it was just nostalgia or they really were as good I remembered and yes, they're great. Even Pretty Hate Machine which I somehow like more than I used to. It's emo synth pop that's derivative of so many industrial and pop groups of the time but so well put together. Even Tront's daft lyrics are saved by his great delivery.

 

Leagues ahead of anything post Fragile.

 

Also why does Only rip off lyrics from Down In It? With Teeth was a fucking abomination. Actually I came across a shitty website I made back in 07 with a review at the bottom of the page I did for With Teeth. http://neuwerld.webs.com/reviews.htm

 

Good review now I look back on it. Think I really captured why the album was so shit.

totally agree with your accurate review, and the general sentiments from most here that tend to side with the idea that pre The Fragile had a great momentum and evolution, and then everything afterwards was a wet fart.

[Zephyr_Nova]

 

I think a lot of it too has to do with (most) NIN fans - I'm pretty sure we all got into NIN when we were angsty teens or young adults, and were 'angry' at the world to a degree, and the music resonated with us - now that we've 'grown up' so to speak, the music he's producing today doesn't have that same resonance because we've moved on.

Well for me it was definitely a lot more than being an angsty youth, as I swear I had an anger deficiency or something. Despite that though, there were moments on that album where the angst was resonating simply because he sang it with so much conviction, and it's satisfying to hear music from someone who believes what they're saying, even if it is a grossly exaggerated version of it from another's perspective (as it usually is in his case -don't let the "I I I me me me" fool you). At this point it just sounds like someone going through the motions of what worked for them in the past without the inspiration that made their early work great. TDS was a landmark album for me because it opened my eyes to everything production could be but usually wasn't: a creative tool as vital to the music as the musical elements which comprise it. He took production beyond merely complimenting the music and made it a part of the music itself. If you stripped most of his songs away to the bare musical components even his pre "Witha Teetha" compositions are pretty basic and unremarkable, but when it came to using the studio as a musical instrument he was a virtuoso. And one who did a lot of things with it no one else had done or have done since (he did take a lot of cues from Coil, Ministry, Skinny Puppy, etc. obviously, but for Broken, TDS and Fragile he took it to some new heights that only he could have brought it to). Anyway, in short all I'm saying is TDS prertty much is the reason I became interested in production. Up until then I had just thought of composition and performance as the only parts of music that mattered. The production was always "just there" until i heard TDS.

 

 

I had never heard much NIN, but I listened to the Broken EP recently and loved it. I think Pretty Hate Machine kind of just turned me off.

Yeah, I can never really sink my teeth into PHM, though it does demonstrate his knack for writing pop hooks that resonate with the social misfit, Cure style. The songs are so catchy on that album that even when i first heard it i wouldn't want to hear it again for a long time because the songs were immediately remembered after one listen. They were too crafty as pop tunes to keep me intrigued on successive listens. If I'd heard it at the time it was released though it probably would have been fascinating to me due to the way he was dressing those pop tunes up. i think sometimes people forget he's a pop songwriter before anything else, and everything he approaches he approaches from that perspective. Even TDS is a pop album at heart.

Also, definitely listen to TDS.

 

 

It's obvious that the depth of NIN's music has steadily been on the decline since The Fragile. It's as if the life has been slowly leeched out of until it's all a blur of tracks comprised of generic drums and guitars and yelling (or quiet piano meanderings). It's like hearing someone continue to try to make the same record over and over and becoming increasingly uninspired with every attempt.

 

I mean, look at the evolution between Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral and The Fragile. It's fucking impressive! Then look at the evolution of everything after that... It's just the same thing over and over: a stripped down version of the NIN sound almost like a never ending parody. I guess the creativity just dried up without him even realizing it. Those beats. Oh well.

Nail on the head (no pun intended).

 

 

I listened to The Fragile, Pretty Hate Machine and Broken again to see if it was just nostalgia or they really were as good I remembered and yes, they're great. Even Pretty Hate Machine which I somehow like more than I used to. It's emo synth pop that's derivative of so many industrial and pop groups of the time but so well put together. Even Tront's daft lyrics are saved by his great delivery.

 

Leagues ahead of anything post Fragile.

 

Also why does Only rip off lyrics from Down In It? With Teeth was a fucking abomination. Actually I came across a shitty website I made back in 07 with a review at the bottom of the page I did for With Teeth. http://neuwerld.webs.com/reviews.htm

 

Good review now I look back on it. Think I really captured why the album was so shit.

 

True about the first bit, though the delivery on PHM was a bit marred by him having a cold during its recording. You can really hear it in his voice. This probably appeals to a lot of people though because it makes it sound like he's on the bring of crying the whole time, plays on the emotions. I've always found it off putting.

Down In It rips off the music from Skinny Puppy's Dig It in the literal sense, aside from the vocals, so perhaps Only is his weird way of acknowledging that - hey, I know I stole those industrial hooks off SP, but look I can steal the only original aspect of that song from myself!

Also, perfect review of WT.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Zephyr_Nova

[Joyrex]

I think that might be it - TDS lyrics had emotion and dare I say gravitas behind them because Trent was in a dark place at the time, and miserable due to illness, etc. Trent's too damn happy now with his hot wife and roided out physique, and it's reflected in his music. It's like how some of the greatest painters in history (Van Gogh comes to mind) did their best work while being at the lowest point in their lives.

[oscillik]

I'm no brilliant musician, but the best music I made was when I was depressed as fuck.

 

I think I might be a bit more musical soon, tbh, but this isn't the place to talk about that.

[Zephyr_Nova]

Yeah, depression is sadly (ha) a breeding ground for great art. When I've been depressed I've usually lacked the motivation to actually create music, but I find coming out of those periods is most fruitful to me because I have all that prior emotional drudgery to draw from.

[Candiru]

Strife creates some of the best art. Which is why I'm saying Lyndsey Buckingham needs to get all Rumors up in this situation.

[beerwolf]

 

I'm just still really weirded out by his lack of evolution as a musician or an artist. Trent just seems like he's frozen in time.

He's desperately trying to recapture the TDS era with each release, and each release pushes him further and further away from that. Perhaps he's too afraid to evolve, or what hes tried he doesn't like, and thinks he needs to try and evoke the TDS-style again.

 

Trent is like Ash's Pikachu - incredibly powerful, but limited by his lack of evolution.

 

 

With this.

 

NiN is a money spinner and that is all.

[Guest Gravity]

 

I listened to The Fragile, Pretty Hate Machine and Broken again to see if it was just nostalgia or they really were as good I remembered and yes, they're great. Even Pretty Hate Machine which I somehow like more than I used to. It's emo synth pop that's derivative of so many industrial and pop groups of the time but so well put together. Even Tront's daft lyrics are saved by his great delivery.

 

Leagues ahead of anything post Fragile.

 

Also why does Only rip off lyrics from Down In It? With Teeth was a fucking abomination. Actually I came across a shitty website I made back in 07 with a review at the bottom of the page I did for With Teeth. http://neuwerld.webs.com/reviews.htm

 

Good review now I look back on it. Think I really captured why the album was so shit.

totally agree with your accurate review, and the general sentiments from most here that tend to side with the idea that pre The Fragile had a great momentum and evolution, and then everything afterwards was a wet fart.

 

 

I thought Ghosts was pretty good. Not the most fleshed out ideas, but interesting sounds.

[oscillik]

 

 

I listened to The Fragile, Pretty Hate Machine and Broken again to see if it was just nostalgia or they really were as good I remembered and yes, they're great. Even Pretty Hate Machine which I somehow like more than I used to. It's emo synth pop that's derivative of so many industrial and pop groups of the time but so well put together. Even Tront's daft lyrics are saved by his great delivery.

 

Leagues ahead of anything post Fragile.

 

Also why does Only rip off lyrics from Down In It? With Teeth was a fucking abomination. Actually I came across a shitty website I made back in 07 with a review at the bottom of the page I did for With Teeth. http://neuwerld.webs.com/reviews.htm

 

Good review now I look back on it. Think I really captured why the album was so shit.

totally agree with your accurate review, and the general sentiments from most here that tend to side with the idea that pre The Fragile had a great momentum and evolution, and then everything afterwards was a wet fart.

 

 

I thought Ghosts was pretty good. Not the most fleshed out ideas, but interesting sounds.

 

ghosts was alright. nothing astounding though. kind of like Tomorrow's Hype by Boards of Canada, in that respect.

[Guest Gravity]

It's the best thing he's done post-fragile, IMO. I should listen to TGWTDT's soundtrack, probably more in the same vein. On Tomorrow's Harvest, after listening for a few weeks now I find that I enjoy the album a ton but it doesn't tug at me emotionally the way their first 3 do. Certain specific moments do though.

[modey]

I really wish he'd continued in the more mellow, acoustic direction of Still. It was so promising! I remember reading an interview with him pre-Fragile and he said something about scrapping an early version of the album because it sounded like Billy Joel; maybe those tracks were what ended up on Still?

Edited July 3, 2013 by modey

[YO303]

New song, i dont know if to cry or lol, lyric's-wise Trent Reznor is the new Jonatan Davis, or maybe Trent has always been JD but year zero made us forget.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUf-3d3CsAw

Edited July 27, 2013 by Deer