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Faceplams: I thought it was for intelligent conversations and polite rebuttals.Originally Posted by allegate
Nah, I'm just fucking with you.
Active Member
I thought it was for intelligent conversations and polite rebuttals.
Nah, I'm just fucking with you.
Flaccid Member
the lack of structure and drums and bass on the new Ghosts makes it hard for me to get into. some of my favorite bands like Explosions in the Sky, Octopus Project, Mogwai, Tortoise, TOE are all 'instrumental' bands that seem to be able to continue to put out interesting instrumental music without having to create endless droning sound scapes. for me, im not just going to throw on a droning soundscape to vibe out to, or even as background music. I was kind of surprised honestly, so I put on the old Ghosts album and, yep, its a lot better. More structure, more instruments, drum beats, bass lines..just sounded overall more interesting and different. Its like they tried to make these albums with just noise and a piano...It is what it is, i guess. I think its time for the Atticus/Trent relationship to be over in regards to Nine Inch Nails music. I think the band and its fans would benefit greatly from a change.
Stubby Member
If Locusts is the Woman in the Window soundtrack, is Tomorrow the Pixar soundtrack?
Throbbing Member
No, because that one is Soul and it isn't cancelled.
What's Tomorrow anyway?
Active Member
I can see how that conversation would go.
Tront: "Hey Atticus, I know you've been my most trusted collaborator for almost twenty years, and we've worked on so many things together, and I made you a permanent member of my band whose sole permanent member has been me since its inception, but some guys on the internet didn't like Ghosts V-VI, so we're going to have to go our separate ways. You understand, don't you? It's nothing personal. It's for the fans!"
Atticrust: "Uh..."
Banned
For the record I dig TR's instrumental music. Quake and Social Network are 2 of my top 10 NIN/TR related releases. My whole argument was I think throwing vocals in some songs balances the album out. Those instrumentals on Fragile (La Mer especially) are so powerful because they are balanced out with the songs w vocals. If you had 30 instrumentals on Fragile, I don't know if songs like La Mer would stick out as much. A Warm Place sticks out wonderfully on TDS because its the lone instrumental track. If that song was on Ghosts I-IV, I don't think it would stick out as much. Pinion fits perfectly onto Broken. Half of Still is instrumental and half has vocals which is the perfect balance. Its good to have a balance. That concludes my thesis
Stubby Member
I'm hoping the new album with collaborations will help with getting us some variety again, I miss the old days when each album had it's own unique sound and direction. I loved the first Ghosts release and was okay with the first couple of scores, but what are we at now, 10 or 11 scores? That's fine if Trent and Atticus want to produce score after score - but to call these new releases Nine Inch Nails is a big let down for us old school fans. Our Nine Inch Nails were way better than this. This is just noise and a piano. This is what it would be like if Jonathan Davis from Korn started making Korn albums with just his bagpipes. There is just too much greatness missing on these new releases. Hopefully that next new album with vocals isn't too far away...
I wish I could get into the new Ghosts and appreciate that they were released for free but I didn't really get into the last 3 EP's either, so I'm really jonesing for some new quality NIN .
Last edited by fishtifer; 03-29-2020 at 04:37 PM.
Active Member
The problem with that is that ambient music, by design, is not meant to have lyrics attached to it. It's meant to be abstract. The listener is meant to fill in the gaps with their own feelings and emotions. It's meant to underscore their environment, not spell out how they're supposed to feel. Imagine something like Brian Eno's Ambient series with someone singing over it. It's impossible, because it's not designed for lyrics. Neither is the Ghosts series. Lyrics aren't missing because they were never part of the design to begin with.
Trent has been making instrumentals for decades. Ghosts I-IV is twelve years old at this point. To quote Disappointed: "You'd think by now you'd realize that nothing's going to change."
Also, for those of you who think Trent & Atticus need to do things "for the fans"? You're wrong. They're at the point in their careers where they can comfortably explore ideas without having to kowtow to what one group wants. They seem quite happy charting their own paths, so why should they give in to what some people who are stuck in the past want?
Last edited by BRoswell; 03-29-2020 at 04:42 PM.
Throbbing Member
While I agree with you, Ghosts 38 did become Demon Seed.
Some other Ghosts I-IV tracks also had potential to become a song with vocals, especially when performed live.
Ghosts I-IV was their first attempt at making a flat out instrumental record, and Ghosts V-VI are practically a soundtrack to current times, after 10 years of scoring experience.
They might share the same moniker but stylistically they are quite different.
Active Member
Personally, I can say two things. I like ambient/dark ambient, so I like these new volumes of Ghosts. Also, I think I'm connecting with these more than I ever really connected with the trilogy, except maybe NTAE.
Hairy Member
So far of what I have heard, V and VI are super intricate and well produced. They appear slightly less basic than what I-IV seems like. Thing is that simply because V and VI have titles and track names, doesn't mean they're so different from the rest of the collection. Its the same musical idea, just finally brought back for these unpredictable and uncoordinated times.
Josh Wink was on HLAH
So .. get rid of Trent? Atticus has worked with Trent since 1998, they've made music together since the ~2000 and Atticus has been on every NIN release since With Teeth. So I assume all of that is ... bad?
Throbbing Member
At this point, there is a chunk of boomer NIN fans that dislike a bigger portion of Trent's discography than they enjoy. I do not understand these people in the slightest. There are definitely NIN albums that I don't like as much but I've never felt like he just straight up released a bad album. Trent may actually be the only artist I've ever said that about: he's just never released an album that was bad even if the album in question wasn't my personal favorite.
I'm particularly confused by the reaction I've seen by some of the goobers in NIN Facebook groups. We get it: you want The Downward Spiral part 63 because you haven't progressed emotionally since you graduated high school in 1995. But Together/Locusts was released to encourage YOU during a time of crisis and frustration. It was given to you for free at a time when a lot of people are financially strapped. If you aren't able to appreciate instrumentals because you only like one kind of music, then that's fine. But where does the urge to openly and aggressively bitch ABOUT A GIFT FROM A GUY YOU SUPPOSEDLY ADMIRE come from?
It's just so weird and unbalanced and exhausting and these people are fucking boring.
Throbbing Member
The fact that V-VI have titles and track names has nothing to do with my opinion.
Ghosts I-IV is more akin to The Social Network while V-VI is in the vein of Bird Box/Waves.
As NIN evolved (The Slip to Bad Witch), so did TR/AR. It's funny how now there's even no difference between NIN and TR/AR.
Just put two Ghosts releases together, click shuffle and play them. I could easily identify which is from 2008 and which is from 2020.
Throbbing Member
At the moment everything possible: Either that these are completely new albums, created over the course of the last months (maybe even only since the emergence of COVID-19). Or that these are scrapped filmscores released under the NIN moniker to reach more people (similar to Bad Witch being an LP for marketing purpose).
I just wish they would't be so sparse with information. Then we wouldn't have to play this guessing game. Go
Active Member
I don't think it's particularly controversial that some people are finding the newest batch of music a little samey. Ghosts V and VI are clearly leftover soundtrack pieces..
(Also, why are people getting angry at opinions they don't agree with in the thread dedicated to controversial opinions? That's the point bozos.)
I adore > 90% of the music these two have ever released, but if you sat me down and played me something from Patriots Day, Watchmen, Ghosts VI, Bird Box and Waves, I couldn't tell the difference between any of them. Hell, even the most recent NIN album was mostly instrumental.
What's the difference between a TR/AR score track and "Play the Goddamned Part"? Trick question. There is no difference. Maybe that shouldn't be the case...
Active Member
So if someone played you ‘the way it used to be’ you’d say ‘yep that’s Ghosts’?
Last edited by WorzelG; 03-30-2020 at 06:06 AM.
Throbbing Member
Mostly. Like two songs out of six?
Hairy Member
I appreciate these new unused soundtracks, ehm, sorry, new Ghosts, for what it is, and for the good intent as a gift from T+A to lift the spirits. I just refuse to put it into NIN category. They lack the ghost (heh) of NIN IMHO. And Bad Witch was very uninspired, apart from a track or two. The Bowiesque vocals were a major turnoff for me. The last track was ridiculously bad and boring. I loved NTAE and AV, though.
Active Member
I guess this would be considered controversial. Here goes.
I have enjoyed most of NIN material to varying degrees over the last 28 years I've been listening. I have listened to some score work, but this thought goes to NIN specific material.
Starting with Bad Witch, I really hate that there's now songs that are physically painful to listen to. I'm all for challenging music per se, but if I'm skipping the song because it gives me a flat out headache, or it's so painful I can't enjoy the music...that's a problem. And given some of the songs on Locusts....it looks like this is a trend that TR/AR are sticking with, which is really disappointing to me. I would like to enjoy albums in the album format, but if I'm grinding my teeth because the sounds are painful, I'm reduced to making playlists.
For reference, Broken was and still is one of my favorites - so it isn't like I'm just a fan of Still and the quieter tracks. I feel there's a difference between hard tracks and a flat-out painful listening experience. I'd say 90% of the time I'm listening from my laptop to earbuds while I work, so it's really frustrating to feel I need to rip them out/ scramble to skip the song. I have enough sources for my headaches these days, thanks.
Active Member
hopefully this is something that was just required for the films - what in Bad Witch was actively painful to listen to? I love Play the Goddamed Part, but to be honest I tend to skip I’m not from this world. I’ve not got round to listening to Waves, Bird Box or the new Ghosts yet even though I purchased / downloaded them all, I’m still on Watchmen! The only other painful experience is that alarm noise in Tetsuo
she/her/hers
100% not trying to be an elitist, but earbuds are, by their nature, not good for your ears. because the drivers are so small and so close to your inner ear, they tend to over-accentuate high-frequencies, and because it's harder for them to reproduce low frequencies, you end up turning them up louder, so when you get sounds that are in the higher register, they're even louder. if you have any kind of hearing problems, that's going to cause you pain even if the sounds aren't inherently painful. i would recommend investing in even a decent pair of headphones that are circum-aural (around the ear) as they're going to give you the best sound quality and the least discomfort (the drivers are further from your ears and bigger, so they're better at reproducing the entire frequency spectrum).
i know what you're talking about on ghosts V, but i'm curious what sounds you found painful on bad witch.
Active Member
Play the Goddamned Part is borderline listenable for me. Midway through I'm not from this world really hurts my ears, and I like that song, but I often skip it. There's bits and pieces of Ahead of Ourselves and God Break down the door where it sounds/ feels like excess distortion that makes it grating for me to listen to.
I know NIN is going in a new direction with all of this sorta stuff, and that's fine, that's their decision. It's just frustrating to me because I've been along for the ride for a long time, and now I'm having to cut out songs because they hurt physically.
It's just my opinion.
Active Member
Thanks for the advice. I'll look into some decent headphones eventually.
Throbbing Member
Have you tried playing with the EQ on your device to make it less harsh for you?
Active Member
I should look into that. That said, I've never had to do that with any NIN material prior to Bad Witch. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
she/her/hers
it could also have something to do with age. while your ears get less sensitive to certain frequencies as you get older, other frequencies can become more pronounced, and things like distortion can affect your hearing differently than it did before. there is also quite a bit of harsh distortion on bad witch, so i totally understand.
Active Member
Yah, I know. I'm old.
I think this applies here. The distortion on Bad Witch really turns me off, but I can still listen to Broken with no issues? I dunno. Maybe it's because I'm very familiar with Broken.
Dis-member
The last 4-5 minutes of The Background World gives me a headache. Which is a shame since the song is pretty damn good, but unnecessarily long. And yes- I’ve got decent audio equipment.
Throbbing Member
Decent audio equipment can still be fatiguing, particularly if it isn't well matched to your ears - our sensitivity to sound is very far from linear across the spectrum, and varies from person to person.
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