February 2012
72 posts
The Perfect Drug (Spacetime Continuum)
There’s this period that seemed to last forever after The Downward Spiral and The Perfect Drug: three years. Then another two years before we would get another album. During this time we’re told Trent is an addict and all types of terrible news.
For me, it was a chance to expand my musical tastes a bit. I was expanding my interests in KMFDM, Sister Machine Gun, Rob Zombie, Powerman 5000, and so...
The Perfect Drug (Nine Inch Nails)
R— went off to college a year before me and we broke up. It was heartbreaking. I was alone again, and sometimes angry about it.
She did give me some great life advice regarding West Point. “You know those JROTC people you complain about all the time? You’ll be around people like that 24 hours a day.”
I still tried to go to West Point, but my heart was never really in it after that. I slacked on...
The Perfect Drug (Plug)
I really wanted to go to a military academy. Really, I wanted to go to the Air Force Academy. West Point was also an option. I worked really hard through high school to keep my grades up enough and had joined a number of activities. Partially because I was bored. There isn’t much to do in El Paso.
In our high school we had seven standard periods. My our senior year I think we could get an off...
The Perfect Drug (Meat Beat Manifesto)
This is the video to the original cut of the song:
If the imagery looks familiar, its because it’s all based on the works of Edward Gorey.
The Perfect Drug
This might just be my favorite Nine Inch Nails song.
It’s another terrific Mark Romanek video, too.
Dead Souls
I liked this song a lot. I didn’t even know it was a cover most of the time I listened to it. I have since heard the original Joy Division version.
I am not a huge Joy Division fan. Mostly this song is notable for me because I loved the name of the band, “Nine Inch Nails: who are these guys?” So, I bought The Downward Spiral. (Or more correctly, I convinced my parents to buy me…)
Self Destruction, Final
The few discs I listened to listened to regularly before I owned a Nine Inch Nails album were Stone Temple Pilots’ Core, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult’s Confessions of a Knife, Queen’s two disc Best Of, and Michael Jackson’s Dangerous.
Before living in Texas, I lived in Japan so most of my knowledge of 80’s pop culture was acquired from the early 2000’s.
Eraser (Denial; Realization)
About the same time I was into Nine Inch Nails I was into a lot of other great music. Mom was the musician in the house and she tended to have a lot of great stuff. Beatles, of course, but also Bowie, The Rolling Stones, and lots of classical. Good classical, too. She even had a few Michael Jackson LPs.
Ruiner (Version)
Another wonderfully reconstructed track. This sounds vaguely like dance music. A lot of time and energy went into making this remade versions of the music. The cynical person might say its an opportunity to sell something similar to bilk the fans. Except the amount of effort spent putting these together, not to mention the costs of original artwork, distribution, etc. probably justified the costs.
At the Heart of it Call
I think if you speed this track up it sounds like a real heart beat. Slowed down, it sounds vaguely like deep woodwinds playing whole notes.
Yeah. I just sped the whole track up for a few minutes in Final Cut. There’s really a whole different song then what you hear on the disc.
Hurt (Live)
I actually fell asleep listening to this song. I feel strangely well-rested.
The Downward Spiral (The Bottom)
My version of this disc has a similar one-fold design to the packaging as Fixed. This disc has been played way more often though.
These tracks were like haunting shadows of the album versions. This one features vocals that switch left and right in a conversation that happens inside my head while I listen to it.
I’m going to listen to this last track and pick this goofy project up again sometime...
Heresy (Version)
For weeks and month afterward people would make allusions to things I said or did that night. At least I was amusing.
The worst was when Ken reminded me that I had called him at 3am to say, “guess what?”
“What?”
“I’M DRUNK!”
“Good for you.”
Click. And that’s apparently how the conversation went. I like to be a happy drunk. It’s a shame I don’t do it more often. I need someone in my life to be...
Self Destruction, Part Three
I have only ever been blackout drunk once. (Maybe twice. That’s the problem with being blackout drunk, am I right?)
The night in question I was so fucking giddy. Then I remember waking up wearing my leather jacket smelling like cigarettes. Which really never came out of the jacket.
The Art of Self Destruction, Part One
Man, it’s been a while since I’ve heard this track on anything resembling decent audio gear. RAWR! That bass deep and wide.
The best thing about Boy Scouts is that it teaches safety and knot-tying. That taut-line hitch became damn handy in so many ways.
Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)
Hot damn! This track really swings.
I also saw a Lords of Acid / Praga Khan double-billed concert at Club 101 once. I remember drinking 20+ vodkas and complaining that they were watered down. I remember the girl I was with had had enough drinks to keep her nice and drunk. At my core I’m a Boy Scout, so I actually refused to let her (get this) even kiss me.
I would regret this later, but looking...
Closer (Internal)
The place I was most likely to be crazy was Club 101. They were generously lax at letting people in without thoroughly carding them. Club 101 played music I liked. Even music I really liked.
On one special occasion I remember seeing My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult. Live! Fuck I was so excited. One of my favorite nights of all time.
The whole place was a converted warehouse, abandoned factory,...
Closer (Precursor)
I mention The Basement because I can remember there was a table that had some playbill or whatever that Trent Reznor signed laminated into the face of the table. That’s the closest I’ve ever been to Trent.
Of course, I had been to The Basement on more than one occasion to see the circus, as it were. I’ve done some crazy things in my life, but none of them at The Basement.
Carl had a job doing...
Closer (Further Away)
Pigs.
Then, rawr!
Totally deconstructed version of the track.
There was this club in El Paso called The Basement that was beneath ground level. The place had a coffin where if you didn’t mind exposure to bed bugs or crabs you could close the lid and have sex. There was even one of those frosted glass walls where people could expose themselves doing all manner of actions in silhouette.
This...
Closer (Deviation)
My favorite mix of Closer. It emphasizes that this is a song about more than just fucking. It’s also got a real sexytime bass line.
It’s also quite a meditative mix. I definitely let my mind wander listening to it. Hard to explain what I was thinking about, though.
March of the Fuckheads
My eyes just rolled writing that headline. The fact that it has two stars in my iTunes library says a lot.
Despite having listened to thousands of hours of Nine Inch Nails, I am actually not a huge fan of Trent Reznor as a person. I have not met him. I’ve “only” seen NIN live four times. All of which were after With Teeth.
I think Trent Reznor is a talented musician. I think he could be...
Memorabila
From late 1994 to 1997 I listened to at least one NIN album per day for around 40 weeks a year. By my crude (and conservative) estimation I have listened to an entire album’s worth of NIN tracks about 2,000 times in my life.
During the height of my obsession, I listened to whole The Downward Spiral album about 700 times.
It really is a good album, though.
Heresy (Blind)
I love this track. It really emphasizes all the good parts of the album version and makes the whole thing stand out.
I got this disc for Christmas. (You’ve got to hand it to my parents for being so brave.) I listened to it on a pair of Sony headphones I eventually wore out. (Sorry Mom!) I remember that same year I got my Mom some perfume. The bottle opened up while wrapped and that entire...
Closer to God
There were numerous singles and a remix EP that accompanied The Downward Spiral. They all had fantastic cover art. The photo of the millipede on the Closer to God / Further Away two disc grosses me out in a good way.
If you’ve ever been close to a millipede, you’ve got to wonder what the hell is with that smell. It’s this vaguely metallic, sticky smell. Growing up in El Paso we had all types of...
Burn
I never really liked this song much. Maybe because it reminds me of Natural Born Killers. A lot of my friends thought I would like the movie. I thought it was ok, but goofy.
Listening to this track again, I like the guitars and the progression. It feels like this is something of a track that might fit between Broken and The Downward Spiral.
Hurt
I’ve never felt like killing myself, but I have felt lonely, desperate, and lived with some form of physical or emotional pain for days, weeks, or months.
It’d be easy to forget all that. Life bombards us with every type of distraction to help us avoid pain. The stronger, braver thing to do is confront yourself head-on.
“What have I become? My sweetest friend.”
The Downward Spiral
People are crazy awesome. Sometimes I ride the subway and think, “well, I could see why God does it.” Imagine a perfect place. These are inevitably boring ideas. The real interesting stuff is going on right here and now.
Heaven is the feeling of God’s grace. It’s not someplace you can get to because you died. You’re either in heaven right now or living in the dark shadow of absence that not...
Reptile
The problem with putting a lot of your self worth in how others see you is that other people are only human. They’ll occasionally disappoint you. No matter how close you are, you’ll disappoint other people.
Eraser
I never really felt like killing myself seriously. Despite that, I don’t own any firearms. I trust myself. I could own one safely. I could sleep with a gun at my side and not feel the urge to hurt myself or others. I view these instruments as crude and mostly ineffective.
The real issues in my life can’t be solved with a gun. People that use guns to harm others — perhaps even people in combat —...
A Warm Place
This is one of those instrumental tracks where you hear Reznor’s Classical training. People overplay that fact. Yes, he learned to play Classical piano. I feel like 80% of all piano instruction is Classical, though. Even if you intend to play rock or pop.
Big Man With a Gun
This song is goofy and thankfully short.
I Do Not Want This
At the time the most tragic thing being a teenager was breaking up with a girl. Mostly because relationships are so tenuous, but also because they’re so special.
Everyone feels alone until you have someone to share it with. Friends, family, and especially our romantic partners help form a team that helps us through our troubles.
I had three big break-ups in High School. T—, M—, and R—. The...
The Becoming
Something about the screechy sounds in this song can really set me on edge. The lyrics are so delusional. Transformation from a weak thing to something better. Man to a machine. Or maybe an idea that transforms into a message.
I’m probably reading too much into it. I feel like there was some back-masking during the “Hiding backwards inside of me, I feel so unafraid. Annie hold a little tighter, I...
Ruiner
This might be NIN’s most dystopian song. It’s odd listening to this with the hindsight of Year Zero and having just heard Head Like a Hole. It’s an interesting critique of our world.
Of course, I guess you have to be totally divorced from the world to come away with this type of perspective.
I’ve always liked the guitar-solo around 3:10.
Closer
This is the song everyone shelled out their money for to buy the album. That Mark Romanek video really illustrated the song perfectly.
Of course, right after saying “God is dead” he now says “you get me closer to God.” Whatever.
A lot of colorful imagery in the lyrics. I also love the musical layering of sounds.
I’ve never had sex to this song, nor any NIN song. Honestly, this song does not...
March of the Pigs
This still sounds like the most “moshy” NIN song. People get hectic when this gets played live.
I’ve fallen behind, so I’m going to talk more about this later.
Heresy
Speaking of really big fuck-yous. No god. Deal with it.
It felt like a really definitive conclusion to the feelings of loss and hurt about losing faith earlier. Good of finally have a love song about it. Sometimes simplest is best.
Piggy
“Nothing can stop me now.”
Like I said. When you take yourself apart the rest of the world suddenly matters less. Everything that you used to look for for approval doesn’t matter nearly as much as the things that you set for yourself.
This song is also a great big fuck you. There is nothing you can take from me which I have not already deprived myself.
Mr. Self Destruct
This sounds totally unlike anything I had ever heard before. It just hit me. So many sounds that weren’t music. Sure, there’s guitars, drums, synths, but then everything sounds unlike itself. Then layer in so much else.
Content of the song is deep and honest unlike anything I could remember, either. The thing that’s happening is inside me and I can’t help it.
I would contrast this to Megadeth’s...
The Downward Spiral
Fuck yeah. Still my favorite album after all these years. I bought this after listening to the NIN cover of Dead Souls on the soundtrack to The Crow.
Most serendipitous find of my life. In an era that brought so much good music I would find this. I really feel like the 1990’s music was some of the best in a generation. We were so lucky.
Screaming Slave...
Maybe NIN was a way to be tough in a world that was — well, shit, still is — beyond any of my influence.
I mean, we learn that the world is full of problems that are beyond our control. So, we learn to deal. We lower the bar to fix just the things we can fix. Or, focus on a priority.
If Broken was about how it feels to be when your life is out of control and you feel your own identity breaking...
Fist Fuck (Remixed By J.G. Thirlwell)
In high school I was the JROTC Battalion Executive Officer, captain of the rifle team, drill team member, lead in a one-act-play, Executive Producer of the video whatever-it-was, among other things.
I hated high school. I hated waiting for life to begin. Despite this, I was a sponge for information, learned a lot, but remained clueless about a lot of the things I think people really learn in high...
Throw This Away (Assembled By T. Reznor And Chris...
This song builds and builds then pays off big.
Happiness In Slavery (Remixed By T. Reznor And...
The award for version of a song that sounds nothing like the original goes to this track.
The I still like the album art for Fixed & Broken they really feel like two parts of a whole and look great right next to each other. Fixed had just one fold: the over over the disc. Broken was packaged really nicely with three folds over the disc. Each fold had some bit of the lyrics or liner notes.
In...
Wish (Remixed By J.G.Thirlwell)
Wish was a favorite song. The remix felt like it touched on what the song was, but totally went off in a different direction.
The irony of having my music doled out for me by my parents so I could use it to retreat from them — along with the rest of the world — didn’t occur to me until much later.
Once, in high school I left this disc playing on the JROTC rifle range when I went off to do...
Gave Up (Remixed By Coil W/Danny Hyde)
The high-pitched background vocal screaming is over-the-top. I love the way this mix goes from guitars, quick-cutting vocals, and deconstructed beats.
People that actually knew music and heard me play this would often say, “you should listen to Coil, great stuff.” I never have. My life has been that narrow.
Actually, I really was that poor. I didn’t have a job until I was 18 and I had to pay...
Fixed
Sure, NIN had a bunch of singles with Pretty Hate Machine, but Fixed was the first “concept remix album”. In many ways Fixed was more my speed: electronic, distorted beyond listenable, and wildly experimental.
Broken was digestible by just about anyone that liked rock. Fixed required a love for electronic production.
Suck
Another song above fucking! Again, a life without any God, so let’s bump nasties. I would scream these lyrics around El Paso.
This type of music is empowering. I’m a kid. No job. No car. No respect. Haven’t really accomplished anything worthwhile. When I got dumped by girls, or couldn’t go out with friends due to lack of money, or general not-spoiled-enough-ed-ness I could always retreat into...
Physical (You’re So)
Just like the cover to Queen’s Get Down Make Love, I’ve never heard the original Adam Ant Physical. From what I have heard of Adam Ant I like his music. Nine Inch Nails loves to cover songs to destroy them into something different… and often better.
Gave Up
By all rights Broken extends Pretty Hate Machine’s theme of dealing with loss but it advances to the anger stage.
Many of my high school friends were into Metal so Broken was an album we might both listen to. At least until…