Controversial Nine Inch Nails opinions

[Senateguard33]

I'm gonna go out there and say once more that The Slip is so horribly underrated + Head Down and The Four of Us Are Dying are among top 10 NIN tracks. fight me

Those are great songs! 1,000,000 and Letting You are the only songs on there that I don't like. In fact I would say those rank amongst the worst NIN songs in the entire catalog. The songs you mentioned and the rest of the album are golden though.

[HWB]

I think I am starting to like Post-Fragile Nine Inch Nails much more than the old one, I barely listen to The Downward Spiral/The Fragile anymore, I am focused now on With_Teeth and onwards and I don't even know why. Maybe I have listened to the old NIN too much or I am finding things in new NIN that I like more, I have more listens to the new NIN compared to old one by a mile..

Those are great songs! 1,000,000 and Letting You are the only songs on there that I don't like. In fact I would say those rank amongst the worst NIN songs in the entire catalog. The songs you mentioned and the rest of the album are golden though.

1,000,000 and Letting You are amazing and for me they are my personal favorite NIN songs, up there for me.

[implanted_microchip]

1,000,000 is one of the most unimaginative songs they've ever made and Letting You's chorus is outshined by its verses and I trust none of you now

[HWB]

1,000,000 is one of the most unimaginative songs they've ever made and Letting You's chorus is outshined by its verses and I trust none of you now

I really disagree, 1,000,000 is steps above from likes of "The Collector", I really like it as an album opener, the drums are fucking on point and the lyrics making a call back to Hurt are very effective, it's fast and agressive, there is something about it that I just love. It perfectly tells you all you need to know about The Slip, it is messy, slippery, yet exciting, agressive.

As for Letting You, I love how messy and messed up it is, very noisy.

[implanted_microchip]

Head Down is a far better encapsulation of both sides of The Slip -- the abrasive, cold first half mixed with the emotional, expansive sound of the second.

If 1,000,000 was a minute shorter I might like it more but it isn't. It's also much more of a traditional "rock" song than a lot of NIN is and that's always been my least-favorite side of the band.

[HWB]

Head Down is definetelly one of-if not the best song on The Slip. I was reminded perhaps too much of "The Line Begins To Blur" by it though.

[neorev]

Love Letting You and Head Down, but do not like 1,000,000 at all. 1,000,000 is quite bland and generic. But for the most part The Slip feels too half finished and thrown together. I wish elements from Ghosts and The Slip were more developed and turned into an album. There's a great NIN album buried in there.

[BRoswell]

I like the rough quality of The Slip. There's an urgency to it that appeals to me.

[Calvatron]

Honestly, i always felt the slip felt way to soft for the kinda thing it was trying to do. I remember seeing 1,000,000 and lights in the sky at webster hall in '09 and thinking they were so awesome that i needed to go back and relisten to the slip. I did, and 1,000,000 lacks all the urgency and hardness that made it great live (it's way to even keeled for a hard song). On the album lights in the sky lacks the intimacy that it had during that performance, way better on the album than 1,000,000 but really just feels a little flat. I think the slip, for such a rough cut production really fails on the performance aspect on the recordings. This really only comes through when played live unlike the way nin records which is atleast half on a computer and often live instruments are recorded seperately instead of by a full band in one room. Like discipline reminds me of the hand that feeds, but without any bite to it.

[sonic_discord]

Demon Seed is undoubtedly the best song on The Slip. 1,000,000 is great live — that's where it truly shines. Letting You reminds me of You Know What You Are? in that it's the obligatory screaming track on the album, but it seems a tad uninspired (I still love it though). Head Down wasn't one of my favorites at first, but it really grew on me with repeated listens. Echoplex is another one of my favorites on The Slip and is another song that was great in a live setting. Corona Radiata is definitely my least favorite on the album, it just doesn't have much going on (many tracks from the TR & AR scores have more happening, despite being background music for a film). The Four of Us are Dying is SO MUCH more interesting for an instrumental. I will also say that Discipline is among the better post-Fragile singles.

[HWB]

Honestly, i always felt the slip felt way to soft for the kinda thing it was trying to do. I remember seeing 1,000,000 and lights in the sky at webster hall in '09 and thinking they were so awesome that i needed to go back and relisten to the slip. I did, and 1,000,000 lacks all the urgency and hardness that made it great live (it's way to even keeled for a hard song). On the album lights in the sky lacks the intimacy that it had during that performance, way better on the album than 1,000,000 but really just feels a little flat. I think the slip, for such a rough cut production really fails on the performance aspect on the recordings. This really only comes through when played live unlike the way nin records which is atleast half on a computer and often live instruments are recorded seperately instead of by a full band in one room. Like discipline reminds me of the hand that feeds, but without any bite to it.

Just listen to these



They have all the bite and hardness the studio version lacks

[Tyson]

I do not like TR's facial hair at all.

[Calvatron]

Just listen to these



They have all the bite and hardness the studio version lacks

Thanks! I forgot all about the dvd that came with the cd version. Best version of the album even if it's only half of it.

[Endlessly]

I dimly recall someone on ETS making the case a while back that The Slip has the makings of a great EP, but suffers a lot from the pacing/song order. They went on to write up an alternate tracklist that mixed it up but also cut one or two songs, and I really did think it worked a lot better. (Unfortunately, I can't recall any of the details...)

[astfgyl]

I dimly recall someone on ETS making the case a while back that The Slip has the makings of a great EP, but suffers a lot from the pacing/song order. They went on to write up an alternate tracklist that mixed it up but also cut one or two songs, and I really did think it worked a lot better. (Unfortunately, I can't recall any of the details...)

It wasn't me, but for my own purposes, I cut out Corona Radiata and LITS, and it is a great EP. Up there with the rest of the catalog at that.

And I actually like those 2 tunes but they drag down the album too much being where they are in the run of things. Vocals are also painfully low on LITS.

I had always seen the order of the album as being a sort of tribute to Bowies' Low in how it is front loaded with relatively catchy things and the more oddball and pensive things making up the second half of it.

[Kulerage]

I had always seen the order of the album as being a sort of tribute to Bowies' Low in how it is front loaded with relatively catchy things and the more oddball and pensive things making up the second half of it.

See I'm not the only one.

[Krazy]

I had always seen the order of the album as being a sort of tribute to Bowies' Low in how it is front loaded with relatively catchy things and the more oddball and pensive things making up the second half of it.

Couldn't that be said for many albums though, particularly "older" vinyl prior to the popularity of CD's and tapes beginning in the mid '80's? (Hence the term "B-sides")

[ltrandazzo]

I don't see why it's so controversial, but Not So Pretty Now is still NIN's best song.

[Krazy]

I don't see why it's so controversial, but Not So Pretty Now is still NIN's best song.

{checks calendar}...

{confirms it's not April 1st}...

o_O

[astfgyl]

Couldn't that be said for many albums though, particularly "older" vinyl prior to the popularity of CD's and tapes beginning in the mid '80's? (Hence the term "B-sides")

Yes that is a fair point you make. Maybe it is more of a tribute to the side A/B nature of old records in general. Low in particular sprang to my mind as TR has been extolling its virtues for a fair few years now, and LITS plus the 2 instrumentals in a row just sort of gives me that buzz.

[eversonpoe]

Couldn't that be said for many albums though, particularly "older" vinyl prior to the popularity of CD's and tapes beginning in the mid '80's? (Hence the term "B-sides")

"b-side" refers to the b-side of 7" single releases. the a-side would be the track you'd buy it for, the b-side would be a bonus track (sometimes an instrumental version of the single, sometimes another song that didn't make the cut to go on the upcoming LP). it has nothing to do with the LP/album format.

Low in particular (and Hereos, to a similar extent) is an example of bowie making drastically different choices for the two halves of the album. rather than distributing the experimental/ambient tracks throughout (as would have been more expected), he and eno chose to have the "pop" songs be the first half of the album, and the other songs be the second half. at the time it was a pretty unique way to present a record.

[Krazy]

"b-side" refers to the b-side of 7" single releases. the a-side would be the track you'd buy it for, the b-side would be a bonus track (sometimes an instrumental version of the single, sometimes another song that didn't make the cut to go on the upcoming LP). it has nothing to do with the LP/album format.

I personally never thought it was exclusive to singles.

Also, quick google search...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-side_and_B-side

"The terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 78, 45, and 33 1/3 rpm phonograph records, whether singles, extended plays (EPs), or long-playing (LP) records. The A-side usually featured the recording that the artist, record producer, or the record company intended to receive the initial promotional effort and then receive radio airplay, hopefully, to become a "hit" record. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that has a history of its own: some artists released B-sides that were considered as strong as the A-side and became hits in their own right."

[eversonpoe]

I personally never thought it was exclusive to singles.

Also, quick google search...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-side_and_B-side

"The terms A-side and B-side refer to the two sides of 78, 45, and 33 1/3 rpm phonograph records, whether singles, extended plays (EPs), or long-playing (LP) records. The A-side usually featured the recording that the artist, record producer, or the record company intended to receive the initial promotional effort and then receive radio airplay, hopefully, to become a "hit" record. The B-side (or "flip-side") is a secondary recording that has a history of its own: some artists released B-sides that were considered as strong as the A-side and became hits in their own right."

the part that i left bolded is ONLY referring to single releases, not the the second sides of LPs. (also, i'm sorry if i'm being pedantic, there's just a big difference between "side B" of a record and a song that is a "b-side")

[MrLobster]

(also, i'm sorry if i'm being pedantic, there's just a big difference between "side B" of a record and a song that is a "b-side")

Very much so. I tend to have a soft spot for b-sides... usually the weirder the better.

[clarktrent]

I wish that people wouldn't worship Trent as a sonic inventor, he took the new and innovative sounds of the underground, mixed them all together, and packaged them into a digestible and accessible manner for mainstream appeal. It's a bit upsetting that Trent (and incredibly important co.) don't get the credit that they deserve for such an amazing feat. Because of this, NIN's music has opened the door and people's ears to more underground and experimental music than any other artist I can think of.

[sheepdean]

I wish that people wouldn't worship Trent as a sonic inventor, he took the new and innovative sounds of the underground, mixed them all together, and packaged them into a digestible and accessible manner for mainstream appeal. It's a bit upsetting that Trent (and incredibly important co.) don't get the credit that they deserve for such an amazing feat. Because of this, NIN's music has opened the door and people's ears to more underground and experimental music than any other artist I can think of.

Are there any sonic inventors? Everyone is standing on the shoulders of giants - except Og, the first neanderthal to hit rock with stick make noise

[clarktrent]

Maybe it's just because of my years of exposure to NIN and knowing every track through and through, but after taking my first serious listens to the post Social Network soundtracks, I can say that they sound so unbelievably fresh compared to NIN's discography. Truthfully, I only had them on my hard drive because they said that they were composed by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, but after listening to them as their own independent tracks, even taking the movies out of my mind, all I could think about was how underappreciated these beautiful works of art are.

We have Ghosts V-VIII folks, and it's 130 tracks and 10 hours long.

[piggy]

Og, the first neanderthal to hit rock with stick make noise

I initially read this as "O.G." (as in original gangsta.) The funniest part is that it still makes sense both ways, LOL!

[mexicoler]

You can probably assume every single way Closer (or any song) could possibly be played has been hashed out in rehearsals and we get the best version at any given moment that the band can do.

It's not as easy as your fantasy imagined live version, so much has to be figured out. There are reasons stuff like TPD never gets played live, they tried it a bunch and just couldn't get it sounding right live.

very true. of course we'd love to see WITT live, but trent's voice can't hack it oh so frequently, and in the middle of every show, amidst a tour. it's pretty challenging to get these songs together.

(although i'd have to make an exception for sunspots. just play the damn song don't tease us with the sanctified medley)

[Pbgut]

Less of an opinion and more of random and slightly morbid speculation: to what extent was Trent's issues with depression in the 90s exaggerated for press, to capitalize on the unusual trend of extremely depressing music selling lots of units or promote the overall "dark" image of NIN? We have a random blog post from Charlie Clouser wondering if Trent really is the guy from the songs, after working with him. We have Trent speaking about his suicidal thoughts or tendencies, but for awhile there it seemed that everyone in rock was talking about that. And if it was (mostly) real or only slightly exaggerated ... do you think he's really OK now?