PHM Demos (not Purest Feeling)

[trollmanen]

And forgive me if I am missing something but why did he sell it and now advertising it as "It has arrived". Is he saying it has arrived to the museum as a new piece he is taking out of his own vault?

He's saying whomever bought it has now donated it back to him and the museum. I could have sworn that the tape didn't sell and Trent had his management step in and stop the original sale, but I guess not?

I've chatted with Martin via Instagram before about other audio, and he's not gonna share this with folks outside of playing it for people who visit the museum. Which, I can understand, because if it's leaked, it's going to be very obvious it was him, and while Trent has, in general, been ambivalent about previous leaks, maybe this would be different? That Self Destruct concert film leaked but pretty quickly got shut down and swept under the rug. I'm sure Martin isn't in the weeds about all that stuff and would just assume it would not be good for him if it leaked.

At this point, the best option would be for someone to visit the museum and stealth record like a concert. It would probably be hard when you're standing right next to Martin, but not sure there are other options.

[Senateguard33]

Based on the below descriptions, I'd say all of these (except Sin and Terrible Lie) are either extremely similar or the same versions heard on the common "Demos and Remixes" bootleg.

Terrible Lie - It sounded like a hollowed stripped down version of the song.
Reverb/Delay on the vocals at parts, mainly the chorus. The bridge was longer
and no stops, like the abrupt stop in the bridge, and it faded out. The way he
sings the song is different than PHM. Parts sound rushed, like the ending. "You
made me throw it all away...etc. etc....."
Because there is NO existing demo of the song anywhere. It sounded stripped
down and the vocal styling (the way he sang it) seemed different from the album
version. A rare gem.


Down In It – Sounds kind of like the version off the single but this version has an
intro. Plus the vocal style again was different and the arrangement, I believe,
was slightly different.


Twist sounds the same as what we've perviously heard except that its clear,
ungodly clear.
For the most part it's the same demo that's been around before with the bed
springs ending "I only think of you" but the clarity of this copy is great, the best
copy I've ever heard of it.
No freaking hiss. And there's actually bass.


Sanctified - Sounded like the version from a demo CD called "The Right Track Demos,"
but it sounded more refined and mixed, as where the one we've all heard
has a more live feeling to it, like it was recorded live in the studio.


Sin - Another gem because there's no demo of it. I'm trying to remember it but
I know it had the same thing as Terrible Lie vocal wise, it's not the way he usually
sings it. And I believe the arrangement was slightly different as well.

[paul_guyet]

I never want to see this dude's name again unless it's followed by "has stopped being weird and has uploaded the goddamn PHM demos".

There's something so sweaty about this guy and his "museum"...

[trollmanen]

I mean, it seems like a cool place, the pictures show a ton of great memorabilia from tons of bands. And he is a figure from the scene who played with many people and had a lot of connections with a lot of these bands back in the day. If I'm being honest, I don't expect him to just rip it and upload it for free. It would be great if he did that, but I can see why that just isn't going to happen. Using it as bait to visit his museum is a little off putting I'll admit. But if that's what he's doing, it's better than hoarding it and not letting anyone hear it.

[paul_guyet]

I mean, it seems like a cool place, the pictures show a ton of great memorabilia from tons of bands. And he is a figure from the scene who played with many people and had a lot of connections with a lot of these bands back in the day. If I'm being honest, I don't expect him to just rip it and upload it for free. It would be great if he did that, but I can see why that just isn't going to happen. Using it as bait to visit his museum is a little off putting I'll admit. But if that's what he's doing, it's better than hoarding it and not letting anyone hear it.

I can see what you're saying. For me, I suppose it's a combination of profiting off something that, as far as I know, he had nothing to do with while making it unavailable anywhere else. You're allowed to take pictures of the Mona Lisa...

[Pyract]

Martin Atkins posted on the Facebook page for The Museum of Punk and Industrial Music that he is once again in possession of the demo tape. Curiously, he says he received it in 1986, after the show where Trent played sax with Brian Brain. I questioned him on the date, he swore it was real, but didn't follow up with details. It's pretty well documented that Trent was in Exotic Birds at the time, but the idea that Down In It could have been recorded before Dig It is amazing. The immediate go-to NIN critique for thousands of internet rivetheds, up in smoke! Alas, I think Martin's confused about the date.

This has led me to discover that a bunch of Cleveland Scene magazines are online. I will find the damn show! It wasn't November 1986.

I just read the new article you posted on the hotline, amazing stuff! Thanks for doing the research and the new goodies to read!

https://www.theninhotline.com/news/permalink/1699597625

[GentlemanLoser]

There's something so sweaty about this guy and his "museum"...

The museum is actually pretty damn amazing. Getting to spend several hours seeing historic memorabilia from the days of old school industrial, hearing stories about a lot of those artifacts, listening to unreleased nine inch nails and skinny puppy demos. Pretty great way to spend an afternoon. Atkins himself is an...interesting fellow who was around and involved for pretty much the inception of the genre as we know it, and I think the museum gives him an excuse to relive some of his glory days (no complaints though, his day back then beats my year).

Oh, and to the topic at hand. When I was there I heard a digital copy of the Ringfiger/Twist demo from this tape (not sure he had the whole thing digitized, if I knew then that the tape included an unheard-of Terrible Lie demo I certainly would have asked). Its cool, very similar to the mix from Demos and Remixes, but a little bit longer (i.e. lead in and out just a few seconds longer than the D&R version), sound was way better but you could hear some distortion near the start, like either from the spinning up of one of the tapes in the studio when it was made, or damage to the tape before it was digitized).

One of these days I am going back (just because it was a really fun experience, and Chicago isn't far away from where I live (and where Atkins used to work)). I'll definitely be inquiring about hearing that Terrible Lie and Sin demo though.

Oh, and as one last aside. As mentioned elsewhere, he has a bunch of Skinny Puppy demos from The Process, and man-alive what I heard of those mixes were total beasts.

[SM Rollinger]

The museum is actually pretty damn amazing. Getting to spend several hours seeing historic memorabilia from the days of old school industrial, hearing stories about a lot of those artifacts, listening to unreleased nine inch nails and skinny puppy demos. Pretty great way to spend an afternoon. Atkins himself is an...interesting fellow who was around and involved for pretty much the inception of the genre as we know it, and I think the museum gives him an excuse to relive some of his glory days (no complaints though, his day back then beats my year).

Oh, and to the topic at hand. When I was there I heard a digital copy of the Ringfiger/Twist demo from this tape (not sure he had the whole thing digitized, if I knew then that the tape included an unheard-of Terrible Lie demo I certainly would have asked). Its cool, very similar to the mix from Demos and Remixes, but a little bit longer (i.e. lead in and out just a few seconds longer than the D&R version), sound was way better but you could hear some distortion near the start, like either from the spinning up of one of the tapes in the studio when it was made, or damage to the tape before it was digitized).

One of these days I am going back (just because it was a really fun experience, and Chicago isn't far away from where I live (and where Atkins used to work)). I'll definitely be inquiring about hearing that Terrible Lie and Sin demo though.

Oh, and as one last aside. As mentioned elsewhere, he has a bunch of Skinny Puppy demos from The Process, and man-alive what I heard of those mixes were total beasts.

Saw a few guys with shirts from the museum at the Puppy show, maybe next time I get out to Chicago I'll check the museum out. Sounds awesome! (We hit the Museum of Science and Industry and the Willis Tower besides the show).