Add Violence

[Skullton]

after his fairly safe-sounding vocal takes on Hesitation Marks (outside of Everything).

lol wut. Everything was the "safest" song hes probably ever done. it's like shitty pop punk.. I get what he was going for from interviews but man did that just not work out.

[implanted_microchip]

lol wut. Everything was the "safest" song hes probably ever done. it's like shitty pop punk.. I get what he was going for from interviews but man did that just not work out.

Look I have zero interest in having the exact same debate about Everything yet again 4 years on, especially in a thread about a totally different release, but all I was saying was that his vocal delivery on it pushed far outside of the box his voice was living in across that album otherwise. For the most part his vocals on Hesitation Marks are pretty typical NIN and that track tried something different and was a real risk to record and include on that record.

Hearing him explore spoken word and falsetto so much on Add Violence is delightful. As he's aged I think his voice has really lent itself to this kind of sensitivity and these songs prove he can use that end of the spectrum without it softening the blow so to speak -- The Lovers would not be half as unsettling if it was loud, menacing and bombastic vocally. It's the cool, disconnected prettiness of it that makes it so eerie. When I first heard it and he was doing the spoken verses I expected it to pull an I Do Not Want This and instead it became something totally different in that regard structurally.

It feels like Trent and Atticus are making a great deal of effort to push outside of their typical structure as much as possible here on these EPs and all it's been a success to me.

[Skullton]

Look I have zero interest in having the exact same debate about Everything yet again 4 years on, especially in a thread about a totally different release, but all I was saying was that his vocal delivery on it pushed far outside of the box his voice was living in across that album otherwise. For the most part his vocals on Hesitation Marks are pretty typical NIN and that track tried something different and was a real risk to record and include on that record.

Hearing him explore spoken word and falsetto so much on Add Violence is delightful. As he's aged I think his voice has really lent itself to this kind of sensitivity and these songs prove he can use that end of the spectrum without it softening the blow so to speak -- The Lovers would not be half as unsettling if it was loud, menacing and bombastic vocally. It's the cool, disconnected prettiness of it that makes it so eerie. When I first heard it and he was doing the spoken verses I expected it to pull an I Do Not Want This and instead it became something totally different in that regard structurally.

It feels like Trent and Atticus are making a great deal of effort to push outside of their typical structure as much as possible here on these EPs and all it's been a success to me.

lol yeah sorry. listened to HM at the gym today so it was fresh on my mind. Couldn't agree more about this one though. Feels super fresh and interesting

[tremolo]

lol wut. Everything was the "safest" song hes probably ever done. it's like shitty pop punk.. I get what he was going for from interviews but man did that just not work out.

Shitty pop punk? Kinda Green Day? I don't get any of that. I hear The Cure all over that track.

[acidpits]

Shitty pop punk? Kinda Green Day? I don't get any of that. I hear The Cure all over that track.

Yeah and in my personal view Everything seemed like a pretty bold step for a NIN song. It's a particularly brilliant description of managing manic depression or an addiction.

On topic though and I'd agree that the ADD VIOLENCE EP has an odd flow to it - I think back to Broken and how tight that feels as an EP, these don't have that same feeling. The songs are great, and some will become firm favourites don't get me wrong about that, however I don't know if they will hold up as well as Broken as a collection. From what it sounds like, there's a three part purpose to these EPs and a potential full companion album that combines them in some way, so I guess time will tell how this will evolve and that might be the ultimate point of this collection.

[center27j]

Yeah and in my personal view Everything seemed like a pretty bold step for a NIN song. It's a particularly brilliant description of managing manic depression or an addiction.

On topic though and I'd agree that the ADD VIOLENCE has an odd flow to it - I think back to Broken and how tight that feels as an EP, these don't have that same feeling. The songs are great, and some will become firm favourites don't get me wrong about that, however I don't know if they will hold up as well as Broken as a collection. From what it sounds like, there's a three part purpose to these EPs and a potential full companion album that combines them in some way so I guess time will tell how this will evolve and that might be the ultimate point of this collection.

Broken is a f'ing masterpiece, Add Violence cannot hold a candle to one note on any Broken track. Let's all stop being ridiculous, it's a mediocre EP that everyone will rave about for the foreseeable future and will be an afterthought in the NIN catalog as the yrs pass.

[BRoswell]

Has anybody else toyed at all with making a mix of both EPs and trying to get it to flow right?

I will probably wait until the final EP is released to do that. It'll be interesting to see how it all flows together in the end.

Let's all stop being ridiculous...

We'll stop being ridiculous when you stop making words shorter for no discernible reason. Deal?

[HWB]

Broken is a f'ing masterpiece, Add Violence cannot hold a candle to one note on any Broken track. Let's all stop being ridiculous, it's a mediocre EP that everyone will rave about for the foreseeable future and will be an afterthought in the NIN catalog as the yrs pass.

I think this sentence that will follow belongs into "controversial NIN opinions" but...: Broken pales in comparison to the rest of the NIN discography just like Pretty Hate Machine and is overrated

[HWB]

I think this sentence that will follow belongs into "controversial NIN opinions" but...: Broken pales in comparison to the rest of the NIN discography just like Pretty Hate Machine and is overrated

To elaborate on this.

In my opinion, Broken doesn't even come close to featuring Trent's abbilities, it feels like a preparation for the big bang and that being The Downward Spiral which did everything Broken did much better and then added tons of other elements into it.

Just NTAE alone in my book surpassed Broken for being much more interesting listen, you can argue that Broken is more agressive, which I'd agree with. But apart from the raw anger, compared to the rest of the NIN albums it does not have the soundcapes and varied moods other NIN work provides.

Add Violence alone to me is much more interesting and daring, has more variety and toys with your expectations. The calm anxious moments makes the explosion of "Not Anymore" that much more suddenly effective. It feels like a journey of emotions. Something Broken does not offer.

[muse-lyre candy]

an exploration of 'true' self and into all things you are taught to deny, ignore, abstain, look away from....

Offering Real Authentic Unprocessed, Unrefined/ Raw Emotion
anger
frustration
madness
hurt
anxiety
confusion
excitement
curiostity
desire

the allure of all things taught, not to trust/like/entertain /believe/faith in
a big fuck you to the environment that shaped your beginning identity into an absolute copy of themselves
fuck you; this is who i am, i am here to stay, I'm out and I'm proud and get the fuck used to it-feel
part of the journey of -the becoming- the meaning and 'being' of true self...
ooops! i can't seem to remember which album i was listening to when i wrote this.

[Toadflax]

Broken is a f'ing masterpiece, Add Violence cannot hold a candle to one note on any Broken track. Let's all stop being ridiculous, it's a mediocre EP that everyone will rave about for the foreseeable future and will be an afterthought in the NIN catalog as the yrs pass.

I think this sentence that will follow belongs into "controversial NIN opinions" but...: Broken pales in comparison to the rest of the NIN discography just like Pretty Hate Machine and is overrated

It's funny. It's almost as if people have different opinions about things.

Can we stop talking about albums and songs like they're objectively better or worse than other ones and stick to discussing our own feelings and connections to them? If you say, "I'm not a big fan of [ALBUM/SONG]," those of us who disagree can hear, respect, and respond to your opinion and move on. If you say, "[ALBUM/SONG] is a piece of shit," those of us who disagree are liable to have our feelings hurt, become defensive, and altogether have less of a good time hanging out in a place where we came to talk about (and yes, criticize) an artist we all love.

[tremolo]

Broken is a f'ing masterpiece, Add Violence cannot hold a candle to one note on any Broken track. Let's all stop being ridiculous, it's a mediocre EP that everyone will rave about for the foreseeable future and will be an afterthought in the NIN catalog as the yrs pass.

That's a bold statement, you might like it or not, but it's far from mediocre. A mediocre EP or album would be a rehash of old material without daring to do anything different... taking the easy route, sort of giving depressive old goth nerds a Broken 2.0 or TDS-the revenge or some derivative shit like that. The flow in AV is odd, but to be fair, I haven't had the chance to listen to it from beginning to end without interruptions, so my perception might change once I give it a fre runs.

The material is impeccable. TITP is one of the most haunting and beautiful songs TR has ever made. Not anymore is just full of something that makes me feel a but angsty and uneasy. Less Than is pure punch and it's that part of NIN that has a more dance vibe to it that has been present from the very beginning. TBW is a great song too, it might be too much all about the long outro, but it's a great way to end the EP, and to me it doesn't feel long or unnecessary, the loop is fucking cool and hypnotizing. The Lovers... i don't know what to feel about it, it kicks me out of my NIN comfort zone, it feels unpredictable, but I like that.

I'm glad TR moved on and is not catering to the 37 angry fans that got stuck in specific parts of his career. I guess that is what separates the artist from those who just master their craft. To each their own, I guess, but I'm always thrilled by the challenge of new NIN/TR material... it could be something familiar or a complete surprise, it is that unpredictability that keeps me coming back for more... as much as i like it, i just can't have pizza for lunch every day.

[muse-lyre candy]

Yeah and in my personal view Everything seemed like a pretty bold step for a NIN song. It's a particularly brilliant description of managing manic depression or an addiction.

On topic though and I'd agree that the ADD VIOLENCE EP has an odd flow to it - I think back to Broken and how tight that feels as an EP, these don't have that same feeling. The songs are great, and some will become firm favourites don't get me wrong about that, however I don't know if they will hold up as well as Broken as a collection. From what it sounds like, there's a three part purpose to these EPs and a potential full companion album that combines them in some way, so I guess time will tell how this will evolve and that might be the ultimate point of this collection.

Life is the ultimate point of the collection.
your born into an environment you didn't create. you are shaped by and are therefore a by-product of this environment. you have self realization and then start to analyze and define who you are by the choices you have made. when you become aware of this reality (dogma definition of you; you are defined by the choices you make in life. you are the sum of all of those choices made.)
review the life you have lived and decide if you like who you are, if who you are is who you really wanted to be, if who you are is who you still want to be, and then do you want to redefine yourself. then realize the potential-energy is inside of you to change that definition of 'you'
and it goes on and on and on until you are no longer.

of course lost in there somewhere is the context of 'you' defined by others and do you want to live in that shadow
just my guess/interpretation(?)
the van and broken and the strong hint of harshness returning to the music leads one (or just me) to believe that self exploration of the traveler is returning to the past to look for something that was lost and we are all taking this journey with the traveler as they search for this missing element to fix this broken machine before the copy degrades to a point where it is no longer decipherable--death of the machine and all it had to offer
-ok now i've even confused/lost myself in all of this jabbering

[acidpits]

Life is the ultimate point of the collection.
your born into an environment you didn't create. you are shaped by and are therefore a by-product of this environment. you have self realization and then start to analyze and define who you are by the choices you have made. when you become aware of this reality (dogma definition of you; you are defined by the choices you make in life. you are the sum of all of those choices made.)
review the life you have lived and decide if you like who you are, if who you are is who you really wanted to be, if who you are is who you still want to be, and then do you want to redefine yourself. then realize the potential-energy is inside of you to change that definition of 'you'
and it goes on and on and on until you are no longer.

of course lost in there somewhere is the context of 'you' defined by others and do you want to live in that shadow
just my guess/interpretation(?)
the van and broken and the strong hint of harshness returning to the music leads one (or just me) to believe that self exploration of the traveler is returning to the past to look for something that was lost and we are all taking this journey with the traveler as they search for this missing element to fix this broken machine before the copy degrades to a point where it is no longer decipherable--death of the machine and all it had to offer
-ok now i've even confused/lost myself in all of this jabbering

Precisely! You said it better than I have done.