The Background World

[sentient]

Well, this was inevitable:


Thoughts?

I'm not into it as it's now a completely different effect. Obviously, Reznor and Ross did the cut/gap for a reason. It's clearer to me, listening to this version, they did it to give the listener a sense that something is forcing the flow of what they were listening to back further into the track to re-listen at a degraded quality. It's almost like throwing a glitch at us as part of the actual song. This here is just a loop for the sake of continuing a musical element into the song which loses that intention I spoke of.

[PhoenixML]

OMG Why did I listen to that video!! Now I NEVER want to hear the original version ever again. I like keeping the beat.

[jmtd]

Yeah the jarring quickly becomes the only anchor in the real version

[exolstice]

The song reminds me of William Basinski's The Disintegration Loops: "The Disintegration Loops is based on Basinski's attempts to salvage earlier recordings made on magnetic tape in the early 1980s by transferring them into digital format. However, the tape had deteriorated to the point that, as it passed by the tape head, the ferrite detached from the plastic backing and fell off. The loops were allowed to play for extended periods as they deteriorated further, with increasing gaps and cracks in the music. These sounds were treated further with a spatializing reverb effect."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Disintegration_Loops

[loopcloses]

I really enjoy keeping the rhythm but I'm inclined to agree that it loses a lot of its effect without the gaps. It loses the experimental element, which is kinda the justification for having seven minutes of a distorting loop in a song to begin with. If the outro were intended to feel musical, they would've just written a three minute musical outro instead.

[Kulerage]

Well, this was inevitable:


Thoughts?

I'm so used to the album version that at first it actually seemed more jarring than the sudden stops, but once it set in I actually prefer this version. Wish I could get a better download of it.

[neorev]

I like it continous as a loop than with the gaps. The gaps ruined it for me. I probably will never listen to the ending as it is, but this I can listen to. I don't understand the gap idea.

[ericy210]

This has been my favorite song on the EP and I only allow myself to listen all the way through- from the first note to the last fuzz of this song. Musically, the gapless is easier to digest and good for casual listening (IMO). However, for me, thee gaps make me feel different. It's almost hypnotic, listening to what changes and falls out after each repetition. It's a bit unnerving, and it fits the overall theme of the two EPs so far.
i look for more than ear candy, and I want to be moved, so gaps do it for me

[richardp]

I like it continous as a loop than with the gaps. The gaps ruined it for me. I probably will never listen to the ending as it is, but this I can listen to. I don't understand the gap idea.

Pretty sure the gap is there for this exact reason. It is suppose to make you feel uncomfortable. Gapless kind of loses the effect for me personally.

[Indefinite_Cure]

I'm pretty sure there are hidden sounds in the mix starting at around the 3:10 mark. Any thoughts?

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Pretty sure the gap is there for this exact reason. It is suppose to make you feel uncomfortable. Gapless kind of loses the effect for me personally.

Personally I love the way that the gaps mess with you as the song goes on, too. They become less prevalent over time but they start feeling so shaky that you can't quite tell whether they're "on time," decelerating, accelerating, or even there at all.

And also the fact that it never reaches FULL blown white noise. It comes closer and closer until the song cuts off and if you're immersed and stuck in the loop, the stop feels like you're being snapped back into reality from somewhere else.

I haven't really ever sat and made a "ranked Nine Inch Nails albums/songs" list, but I'd have no problem putting this in the top 5 NIN songs, hands down. Maybe even top 3.

[Halo Infinity]

Pretty sure the gap is there for this exact reason. It is suppose to make you feel uncomfortable. Gapless kind of loses the effect for me personally.

Z H on YouTube in the comments section of the gapless version also suggested that perhaps the uncomfortable feeling was Trent's way of successfully audibly depicting the "Anxiety" on Add Violence. I really liked that take on it so far.

Personally I love the way that the gaps mess with you as the song goes on, too. They become less prevalent over time but they start feeling so shaky that you can't quite tell whether they're "on time," decelerating, accelerating, or even there at all.

And also the fact that it never reaches FULL blown white noise. It comes closer and closer until the song cuts off and if you're immersed and stuck in the loop, the stop feels like you're being snapped back into reality from somewhere else.

I haven't really ever sat and made a "ranked Nine Inch Nails albums/songs" list, but I'd have no problem putting this in the top 5 NIN songs, hands down. Maybe even top 3.

I'll admit it. I was absolutely hoping for full blown white noise. Something say, similar to the end of Mr Self Destruct or like some parts of the Tetsuo: The Bullet Man theme. And yes, it certainly snapped me out of that mode of anticipating more noise only to hear it stop and repeat itself in the type of way.

But now that I got a different understanding of it, with the "Anxiety" in mind/context, it became much more understandable. I also get that the noise itself was always meant to be unpredictable, but silence can also do the trick, even for a split second. (With silence also sometimes being an actual part of music anyway.)

Since NIN has been referencing "dreaming" and "dreams", it got me to think about sleep paralysis as I did with The Eater of Dreams. The feeling of being snapped back into reality from somewhere else is definitely what that felt like, at least in the case of actually being awake while listening to The Back Ground World. I can only speak for myself, but those sudden pauses actually kind of felt like those split seconds where I was snapped from a lucid dream into sleep paralysis, hearing noises of that nature. "The Background World" being my dreams would then collapse and vanish abruptly under all that noise. (Or reappear should I snap back in or slip into lucidity once again.)

[AndItKeepsRepeating]

and if you're immersed and stuck in the loop, the stop feels like you're being snapped back into reality from somewhere else.

like waking up from a simulation (Year Zero) into what could be referred to as The Background World

man I'm excited for part 3

[Halo Infinity]

[Pbgut]

Other than the original jarring effect, the gap is there to allow that bit of static to pop through eventually (maybe from an expander bringing up the noise as it's increasingly compressed/limited by an effect further down the chain?). It evolves from seeming almost like a discomfiting error to an intentional flaw. I love it (I have generally listened to the whole song when I play it, but I also liked Fixed as a 12 year old, soooo...)

[davefeeder]

Pretty sure the gap is there for this exact reason. It is suppose to make you feel uncomfortable. Gapless kind of loses the effect for me personally.

It really reinforces the theme of anxiety for me.

I find it really jarring, which I assume is the point.

[Vertigo]

Later on it almost becomes gapless because there's so much distortion that it fills the void. If you're doing an edit, it's important to leave some of the later loops in there to show the gap closing and the full degeneration of the track.

[mostlymad]

I've listened to this enough to take over the earworm in my head, Less Than, finally. Though Less Than still crops up more often... It isn't as emotionally intense as it was at first, but that means I get to really hear the song. I have a version for the car. My 11 year old cannot stand the looping, degrading noise, but the first 4 minutes are some of my favorite music ever made, even after this many listens. It's been a long time since I felt this bonded to a song.

[the duder]

I listened to the latest episode of Radiolab called "Breaking News". All I could think of was "The Background World".

[DRanged691]

Can confirm: the last 7ish minutes of The Background World are not something you want to listen to if you're on a plane that is going through turbulence and you happen to be terrified of flying.

[nooneimportant]

I'm starting to wonder about The Background World and it's connection to Year Zero. To me the looped glitch at the end signifies something is going on with that machine, perhaps it's malfunctioning or better yet maybe it's deleting the world that we assume it controls? Zero-Sum's lyrics are basically everyone in the world reacting to The Presence being seen and leading to the apocalypse which I think could very well be the loop at the end of Background World. Just a dumb thought I had.

[baudolino]

still obsessed. calms me down like n...eh Abuld Morgard or TTA.

[mewsick]

I'm starting to wonder about The Background World and it's connection to Year Zero. To me the looped glitch at the end signifies something is going on with that machine, perhaps it's malfunctioning or better yet maybe it's deleting the world that we assume it controls? Zero-Sum's lyrics are basically everyone in the world reacting to The Presence being seen and leading to the apocalypse which I think could very well be the loop at the end of Background World. Just a dumb thought I had.

I like this idea of the machine "breaking" or wearing down, makes sense to me. Not sure about the YZ connection yet. I feel it may be more about his personal reflection (getting old, reflecting on his career, his mortality) . He certainly has touched on those issues a lot in interviews lately, and i believe someone pointed out that it loops 52 times, like hes watching himself degrade with age.

[TheRealNs1]

When I first heard this track I thought "there is no way I'm going to be listening to the end of this song on a regular basis"

I've since listened to this song, ending included, more times than all of NTAE combined.

[Jon]

I'm starting to wonder about The Background World and it's connection to Year Zero. To me the looped glitch at the end signifies something is going on with that machine, perhaps it's malfunctioning or better yet maybe it's deleting the world that we assume it controls?

The Bootstrap Paradox is a theoretical paradox of time travel that occurs when an object or piece of information sent back in time becomes trapped within an infinite cause-effect loop in which the item no longer has a discernible point of origin, and is said to be “uncaused” or “self-created”.

I still like this idea, though obviously it's all speculation at this point.

[Substance242]

"I'm going into you again" - the ENGAGE button?

Also around this point my mind sometimes jumps to "Your greed, self-importance and your arrogance" from YZ The Warning - why, no idea.

[BenAkenobi]

For some time this song felt strangely familiar but i couldn't put a finger as to what... until i listened "The line begins to blur". Softer vocal parts work almost the same way to the point of possible interchangeability. Try it!

[R37R0]

I prefer the version with gaps and with repeated listens I'm starting to feel that this is the best track of the EP. Such a shame it's not likely to get radio play (due to the length)

[jmtd]

I prefer the version with gaps and with repeated listens I'm starting to feel that this is the best track of the EP. Such a shame it's not likely to get radio play (due to the length)

It's the only EP track I've actually heard on the radio at all (BBC 6 Music) - but hey clipped the ending off.

Here it is listed on "5 songs you should hear this week" 2 weeks ago http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/arti...ek-w-e-21-july

[ekrekel]

Play it live with an accelerated decay 15 loop version of the outtro then ramp into Great Destroyer.



vvvvv erhmahgerrd vvvvv ITT