Ghosts V: Together & Ghosts VI: Locusts

[Zimbo]

Still Right Here is really the stand out track, for me. "Together" I understand is supposed to be the optimistic album but I found it depressing but my mental state has been less than perfect, like many. I also accidentally listened to "Locusts" first and was following the other tracklist. That was jarring? Also, do we know if other performers helped like in the last iteration? There is like no percussion whatsoever. I miss that improvisational drum set of Josh Freese. It is Nine Inch Nails, so obviously, I love it to death but if I am honest, I would have liked more of that banger in Still Right Here.

Also, I realized what I wanted for the times was The Vietnam War score, which does not get enough love. Love that.

[sheepdean]

My best guess is this is score work from a number of projects over the last 2 or so years.

The track "Together" is and has been on the GEMA database as a Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross track. I don't think there's any other "evidence" right now besides the track titles fit a film (and that's all anecdotal). You could honestly make the titles for all of these fit Watchmen or TGWTDT just as easily.

I can understand the thinking - but "The Warning" was a track on the With Teeth/BleedThrough outtakes, and no one thinks it's the same as the one on YZ. Not to mention, if they wanted to disguise that these are reused tracks (which they would be doing in this scenario by calling them Ghosts), why keep the titles and not just say 1 Ghosts V?

To me, Ghosts are soundtracks to moods and feelings, and this time they used titles that match the mood of the world, especially America, right now

[BRoswell]

Not to mention, if they wanted to disguise that these are reused tracks (which they would be doing in this scenario by calling them Ghosts), why keep the titles and not just say 1 Ghosts V?

Speaking of that, has anyone else changed the names in their music player of choice? I'll admit, a lot of the titles were a bit too "on the nose" for me, so I changed them to fit in with the first album.

[sheepdean]

Speaking of that, has anyone else changed the names in their music player of choice? I'll admit, a lot of the titles were a bit too "on the nose" for me, so I changed them to fit in with the first album.

I honestly wonder if the reason they didn't was because they fucked it all up with 37 and 38 (are they Ghosts IV? Ghosts V? WHAT ARE THEY TRATTICUS?!)

[Jon]

I can understand the thinking - but "The Warning" was a track on the With Teeth/BleedThrough outtakes, and no one thinks it's the same as the one on YZ. Not to mention, if they wanted to disguise that these are reused tracks (which they would be doing in this scenario by calling them Ghosts), why keep the titles and not just say 1 Ghosts V?

To me, Ghosts are soundtracks to moods and feelings, and this time they used titles that match the mood of the world, especially America, right now

Fair enough. The titles are purposefully on-the-nose regardless.

You're not arguing this is newly-created music, though, are you?

[jmtd]

How new is new?

I suspect they polished them off in recent months

[Prettybrokenspiral]

Locusts is officially the Woman In The Window soundtrack to me until another release stating as much is released. There's no way it's not..

[NotoriousTIMP]

MP3 only? Whats that about

You belong in this sub on reddit

[onthewall2983]

I prefer the Together material much more. It goes into that languid haunting space of the best NIN music and just wallows around in it.

[ZeroSum]

So it's still March and 2020 is already the worst year of my life, although I'm sure there are many who find themselves feeling the same way. In late February I lost my job very unexpectedly, it was right around the time the news about the virus really started to pick up. My life has been really up and down the last four years, but my personal life was finally starting to feel stable and manageable. My girlfriend and I have been having problems, on the verge of breaking up for months as well; I felt the need to get away for a while and travel back home (out of state) to see my family and visit an old friend for a concert. So I took off... and I'm suddenly quarantined. I don't feel like I can go back to my gf, but she also wants me there very badly (understandably) and it has just created this terrible tension between us on top of all the other obvious dread and sudden feeling of mortality that fills everything...

It is shocking how tepid my reaction was to seeing the surprise of these new releases. I remember when the first Ghosts collection came out, as well as The Slip. Each felt like the biggest thing in the world, like Trent had just reinvented how we consume music. I have a lot of nostalgia for that time; NIN was the most exciting band in the world from 2005-2009. But this album has found the world, and myself, in a much worse, much more degraded state. I didn't feel like I was ready to appreciate new NIN that day, but forced myself to dip my toes in before bed that night. I listened to Ghosts V and it eased and moved with the separation and longing I felt toward my girlfriend, but there was an underlying dread to it that made me feel queasy, like I'd never see her again. I couldn't even listen to Ghosts VI that night. It was way too disturbing to give my full attention, so I abstained. And the next day I woke up and just sort of forgot about it..

Today I wake up to bunch of missed calls and a text from my girlfriend informing me that she had "made a terrible mistake" and that she "has to talk to me about it even though she knows I can never forgive her." Of course, I knew that moment she had slept with someone else. She called and informed me of what had happened, I told her I hope they both get covid19. Suddenly, Ghosts VI is everything I need.

Our world is running out of light.

[butter_hole]

I’m not sure if it’s been said, but I’m assuming that, even if these were created for other soundtracks, it would be unwise of them to admit it, since I imagine (unless they demand very peculiar contract provisions, which they very well could) they wouldn’t be able to release them of their own accord (and definitely not for free)—they’d be at least partially the intellectual property of whatever studio/label had signed them and paid them to compose/record the scores.

I’m not in contract law, I don’t know what their contracts look like, but I know that’s how it’s worked in a number of creative ventures I’d been involved in. Hence, I’ve never mentioned the scraps, deleted scenes, and deviations that were developed while I was on someone else’s dime.

Although, if something was The Woman in the Window score and they bought back their rights, I’d love to know that. It would make me happy to know it saw the light of day. I suppose it would make me happier to know they released it without buying back rights, but only as long as they didn’t get sued for something they’d created and which belongs to them.

That's a good point - I recall a similar "don't talk about it, don't think about it" vibe surrounding those NIN/JA tracks in 2009. If they were recorded during the With Teeth sessions, then they were Interscope property, and TR shouldn't have been giving them away for free.

Re: soundtrack work, I gather there's a difference because the studio aren't paying for the recordings to be made, they're just paying T+A for their work upon delivery (and they're all still (c) to Null Corp in the end anyway).

[brotha52]

I’m not sure if it’s been said, but I’m assuming that, even if these were created for other soundtracks, it would be unwise of them to admit it, since I imagine (unless they demand very peculiar contract provisions, which they very well could) they wouldn’t be able to release them of their own accord (and definitely not for free)—they’d be at least partially the intellectual property of whatever studio/label had signed them and paid them to compose/record the scores.

I’m not in contract law, I don’t know what their contracts look like, but I know that’s how it’s worked in a number of creative ventures I’d been involved in. Hence, I’ve never mentioned the scraps, deleted scenes, and deviations that were developed while I was on someone else’s dime.

Although, if something was The Woman in the Window score and they bought back their rights, I’d love to know that. It would make me happy to know it saw the light of day. I suppose it would make me happier to know they released it without buying back rights, but only as long as they didn’t get sued for something they’d created and which belongs to them.

Atmosphere recently released an album that was originally supposed to be tied to a television collaboration. The deal fell apart because they weren't willing to give up ownership of the music. I imagine this stuff happens all the time, but as you said, it's probably not something easy to discuss without lawyers getting themselves involved.

[piggy]

Also, let's not forget that some of the tracks from Still were composed for a scrapped soundtrack and still got released as NIN material.

[botley]

Ghosts I–IV was recorded over just ten weeks. While I don't doubt that some of these new pieces had their genesis in earlier scoring sessions, it's equally plausible that this could all have been written in the last three months.

[Horican]

Useless information: the length of Ghosts V and VI combined is the exact same length as the last instrumental NIN release (The Fragile: Deviations 1)

[TheBang]

Although, if something was The Woman in the Window score and they bought back their rights, I’d love to know that. It would make me happy to know it saw the light of day. I suppose it would make me happier to know they released it without buying back rights, but only as long as they didn’t get sued for something they’d created and which belongs to them.

Re: soundtrack work, I gather there's a difference because the studio aren't paying for the recordings to be made, they're just paying T+A for their work upon delivery (and they're all still (c) to Null Corp in the end anyway).

Actually, the studios usually retain the copyright on soundtrack work, and the composers are just work-for-hire. They do NOT like to give up ownership on things like that. I flipped through most of the T+A releases, and they're all copyright the studios. In fact, if you look at the credits on Bird Box Extended, Null Corp II actually had to license the music from Netflix in order to put out the box set.

For The Woman in the Window, it's entirely possible that after the movie changed direction, that they reached some kind of agreement to give T+A full ownership of the material in exchange for, say, not paying them.

[Tom]

I'd listened to both of these casually while doing other things, enough to know that I liked them. But had a proper session with Locusts on my big sound system last night - absolutely love it! For me, it's some of the most interesting and engaging stuff TR+AR have done. There have been nods towards this sort of thing on Watchmen and Waves, but here they went full avant garde and they pulled it off really well.

[acoz]

Not to be to too dramatic here, but holy shit. From the bottom of my heart, thank you Trent and Atticus from my wife and I. Literal tears of gratitude. We finally have a soundtrack to this madness. We can finally have a beautiful moment or two.

[eversonpoe]

There is like no percussion whatsoever. I miss that improvisational drum set of Josh Freese.

there is percussion on at least one track, but i understand what you mean. it's very sparse (but i like that).

also, it was brian viglione, formerly of the dresden dolls, who played on ghosts i-iv with a drumkit made of stuff from home depot.

https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/21096629.html

[ltrandazzo]

I have a music video treatment in my head for The Cursed Clock and nothing but my iPhone for it. It's a fucked up idea.

[tricil]

I have a music video treatment in my head for The Cursed Clock and nothing but my iPhone for it. It's a fucked up idea.

Go on...

[sheepdean]

Fair enough. The titles are purposefully on-the-nose regardless.

You're not arguing this is newly-created music, though, are you?

I'm arguing the final product that we have was created for Ghosts. Musicians reuse old ideas all the time, riffs and elements and lyrics and themes. But I don't think this is an album of outtakes, this was made to be what it is.

[eachpassingphase]

I have officially converted a friend/coworker using the new Ghosts. He is only really familiar with the big NIN singles but nothing past that. He works from home right now and texted me the morning the album dropped because he saw the news on reddit and was like "bet you are tripping balls right now, it says this is an instrumental thing. Would it be good music to listen to while working?" To which I respond "absolutely".

A few hours later he texted me again and was like "okay, you got me. It's cool as shit. What next?" So I suggested the Fragile and I guess he's been listening to NIN nonstop since Together/Locusts dropped. Aaaaannd like 20 minutes ago another friend of mine was like "I NEED MUSIC SUGGESTIONS SO I CAN WORK FROM HOME". Everybody is trying to drown out the sounds of their children losing their shit from being locked indoors so they can clock their 40 hours while in PJ's. This album is kind of perfect for that for people who are new to NIN and have no emotional connection to the music yet or know what to expect.

I shall use this album to bring additional pigs into the fold. Bless.

[nmitchell86]

I still feel like this (ghosts V-VI) was the "suprise" for SXSW.

[burnmotherfucker!]

This past week for whatever reason I only wanted to listen to ambient music. Been going through some classics in the genre from Harold Budd, Brian Eno, William Basinski as well as some stuff new to me like Deathprod and Caretaker. Idk if its just the times or what but that's all I've wanted to hear. Then these albums drop and it is exactly what I needed. Idk if it could be classified as ambient but it sits well with those other records. The fact that it's from my favorite band is just a bonus really. This music is meant to seep into your brain.

[acrid avid jam shred]

Woah, didn't think we'd be getting two new Ghosts albums anytime soon! What a nice surprise. I really like how there's more ambient-based drones and textures, and Locusts is definitely super dark and atmospheric! The drums that come in on Run Like Hell are awesome. Letting Go While Holding On and Your Touch are great too.

[brotha52]

These last couple weeks have been a real challenge for me. I live in Wine country and have been tortured every night by the sound of the vineyard fans they use to protect the crops from freezing.
Imagine if you will the sound of helicopters all around you. The first night I woke up terrified. Unable to rationalize what I was hearing, I jumped in the car and drove to every place in town reasonable to land a helicopter. Still the sound persisted. I was going nuts. I eventually went home after driving to a nearby airport and hospital to check there. In the morning I asked a local social media group and was informed of what the sound was.
So a couple weeks of that keeping me up, or waking up in a panic, in the middle of this whole pandemic.
So here I was listening to Locusts for the first time and if you want to know what it was to feel that initial terror, listen to Almost Dawn starting in around 3:00.

[spahn]

Together, the track, has a Mid90s vibe going on.

[Jon]

I'm arguing the final product that we have was created for Ghosts. Musicians reuse old ideas all the time, riffs and elements and lyrics and themes. But I don't think this is an album of outtakes, this was made to be what it is.

Of course this was sequenced to be its own release. I think people are taking me too literally when I suggest this was culled from previous material. Reusing an old idea, riff, etc., does not magically change the moment (origin) that was first thought of or perhaps recorded.

[tricil]

Can we not just enjoy a new release without speculating which old album xyz tune is a left over of?