Controversial Nine Inch Nails opinions

[Inkë]

I want the facepalm button.

[HurtinMinorKey]

any good album review would put the reviewed work in context, since context is virtually everything considering art

Like this one,

http://www.allmusic.com/album/year-zero-mw0000746951

the first paragraph is context, but the rest of the review is pretty darn good.

[simonn]

TDS probably has my highest skip rate of songs on a NIN album - Eraser (dull), I Do Not Want This (weird song, and not in a good way - though loved it live at Sonisphere oddly, Ilans drums, I think), Big Man (love aggressive music, but this just leaves me cold).

[nin5in]

I always skip Another Version of The Truth, and often Survivalism. Rest of it is great though.

I always skip Corona Radiata and Letting You. They're good, but I'm just not feeling them.

[HurtinMinorKey]

I am not excited by the NIN-Soundgarden tour. It just feels too much like Aging-Rocker Tour 2014.

[screwdriver]

ARG ruined Year Zero in a way.
Good luck finding any Year Zero review in the media which is focused on actual music and not on surroundings.

Then again, it was pretty much the same with With Teeth (sobriety), Ghosts/The Slip (distribution models), Hesitation Marks (soundtracks/Oscars/bringing NIN back from hiatus), so maybe I'm wrong.

to be fair to the media, with With Teeth, TR put the sobriety spin front and center on selling that album.

[thevoid99]

I am not excited by the NIN-Soundgarden tour. It just feels too much like Aging-Rocker Tour 2014.

Same here. I love NIN but I'm not going to waste my money dealing w/ Soundgarden fans.

[GulDukat]

I am not excited by the NIN-Soundgarden tour. It just feels too much like Aging-Rocker Tour 2014.

I can't think of a single contemporary rock band that's anywhere near as good as Soundgarden. Just because these bands have been around for a whole doesn't mean that it's bad that they are touring together. If a NIN/Soundgarden tour was a good idea in 1994, it's a good idea in 2014.

[Charmingly Miserable]

I am not excited by the NIN-Soundgarden tour. It just feels too much like Aging-Rocker Tour 2014.

Who do you want NIN to your with? Blood on the Dance Floor?

I think the pairing is perfect.

[ophelia_]

Pretty sick of hearing Letting You live.

And Discipline was my favourite TS track.

[Joy Prevention Hotline]

Pretty sick of hearing Letting You live.

I was going to say “What? This is the first time they’ve played it since LITS” — but I see they did do Letting You a few times in ’09. Still, it hasn’t quite reached THTF levels of overuse yet.

[ophelia_]

Still, it hasn’t quite reached THTF levels of overuse yet.

Definitely hasn't reached THTF level - another song that I'm a bit sick of hearing live. They've performed Letting You at 2/3 Aus gigs this tour and I'm hoping they won't perform it at the other 2 shows I'm going to. That song just doesn't do anything for me.

[Charmingly Miserable]

I was listening to Satellite today in the car and it just felt like some leftover from YZ.

[timdotexe]

I was listening to Satellite today in the car and it just felt like some leftover from YZ.

I have the same feeling as well.

[Joy Prevention Hotline]

I was listening to Satellite today in the car and it just felt like some leftover from YZ.

You say that like it’s a bad thing.

[Fixer808]

ARG ruined Year Zero in a way.

You're an idiot, it was fun as hell following the progression.

[ghost in the machine]

I have the same feeling as well.

Strange... That's my favorite song on Hesitation Marks and I can't stand most of Year Zero...

[theimage13]

ARG ruined Year Zero in a way.
Good luck finding any Year Zero review in the media which is focused on actual music and not on surroundings.

Then again, it was pretty much the same with With Teeth (sobriety), Ghosts/The Slip (distribution models), Hesitation Marks (soundtracks/Oscars/bringing NIN back from hiatus), so maybe I'm wrong.

Yeah, you're wrong

Seriously though, as someone else mentioned, there's more to an album that just the instruments and vocals. Music is a kind of art, and while it'd be one thing for a review to trip over itself talking about a band tweeting non-stop or something trite like that, it's entirely appropriate to include a massively complex and brilliantly executed marketing game (complete with the rare epitome of a secret show) in the review of an artist's latest project. To suggest that including the ARG in reviews is wrong is to suggest that the ARG was not an integral part of the entire Year Zero project, which is borderline insulting to those who worked on it.

[billpulsipher]

Personally, I don't really care unless it happens at a show that I'm at, but I'm surprised Trent isn't getting much shit for bringing the wife onstage to sing HTDA songs in the middle of a NINE INCH NAILS show, where people paid money to see NINE INCH NAILS, not HTDA. Its kind of an arrogant move, assuming NIN fans in the crowd want to hear this, especially considering the album came and went and probably 30-35% at best of NIN fans even bought the HTDA album. I think people would rather he use those 2 or 3 song slots for lesser played Fragile/TDS songs...If Kurt brought Courtney onstage in the middle of a Nirvana show to play Hole songs, there would have been a riot (before anyone says Kurt wasn't IN Hole...he wrote their entire 1st record)

[sheepdean]

Personally, I don't really care unless it happens at a show that I'm at, but I'm surprised Trent isn't getting much shit for bringing the wife onstage to sing HTDA songs in the middle of a NINE INCH NAILS show, where people paid money to see NINE INCH NAILS, not HTDA. Its kind of an arrogant move, assuming NIN fans in the crowd want to hear this, especially considering the album came and went and probably 30-35% at best of NIN fans even bought the HTDA album. I think people would rather he use those 2 or 3 song slots for lesser played Fragile/TDS songs...If Kurt brought Courtney onstage in the middle of a Nirvana show to play Hole songs, there would have been a riot (before anyone says Kurt wasn't IN Hole...he wrote their entire 1st record)

Personally, I don't really care unless it happens at a show that I'm at, but I'm surprised Trent isn't getting much shit for bringing Gary Numan onstage to sing Numan songs in the middle of a NINE INCH NAILS show, where people paid money to see NINE INCH NAILS, not Numan. Its kind of an arrogant move, assuming NIN fans in the crowd want to hear this, especially considering probably 30-35% at best of NIN fans even own a Numan album. I think people would rather he use those 2 or 3 song slots for lesser played Fragile/TDS songs.

Psst, not only are you an idiot but your language of "the wife" is sexist. Which I'm sure is your intent but hey, might've been an honest mistake.

[BRoswell]

Personally, I don't really care unless it happens at a show that I'm at, but I'm surprised Trent isn't getting much shit for bringing Gary Numan onstage...

I think you mean Adam Ant...I mean Marilyn Manson...er, I mean Peter Murphy...wait, no, I mean Saul Williams...no, wait, I think you may be right actually.

[timdotexe]

Strange... That's my favorite song on Hesitation Marks and I can't stand most of Year Zero...

Give it another try, you might be surprised

My favourites (and this is probably controversial as well) in order are:
Zero-Sum
The Great Destroyer
The Warning
Me, Im Not

[timdotexe]

Personally, I don't really care unless it happens at a show that I'm at, but I'm surprised Trent isn't getting much shit for bringing the wife onstage to sing HTDA songs in the middle of a NINE INCH NAILS show, where people paid money to see NINE INCH NAILS, not HTDA.

It happened at the second sydney show I was at last week.... and was a highlight of the evening for me.

Maybe I am biased?

[Ryan]

The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Hurt


Why can't that live final trifecta ever be shuffled up just the slightest bit? As soon as you hear those opening noises of THTF you know what to expect and it's blah for me.

[ophelia_]

It happened at the second sydney show I was at last week.... and was a highlight of the evening for me.

Maybe I am biased?

I thought it was a nice "surprise" at the second Sydney show (after seeing it happen in Tokyo, I had a feeling he'd do it in Aus), but uhh.. I'll be kinda annoyed if they do HTDA at any of the Melbourne gigs. NIN tour Australia so rarely, I'd much prefer to see 2 or 3 extra NIN songs than 2 or 3 HTDA songs that I like, but don't love anywhere near as much.

[Joy Prevention Hotline]

The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Hurt


Why can't that live final trifecta ever be shuffled up just the slightest bit? As soon as you hear those opening noises of THTF you know what to expect and it's blah for me.

I still think he should open a show with Hurt, just once … and then laugh maniacally as half the audience reflexively heads for the exits. “Pussies!”

But you have to admit that THTF does make a great beginning-of-the-end song. I don’t think it’s just conditioning that tells us the show is winding up.

[elevenism]

I still think he should open a show with Hurt, just once … and then laugh maniacally as half the audience reflexively heads for the exits. “Pussies!”

But you have to admit that THTF does make a great beginning-of-the-end song. I don’t think it’s just conditioning that tells us the show is winding up.

Once i went to see Rush and they opened with Tom Sawyer. It was fucking great.

So trent is bringing MQ onstage and doing HTDA songs? That is killer!
Maaaaaan i was hoping to see HDTA in some kind of small club setting, but that obviously didn't happen.

Ok, to stay on track here, i'll offer some possibly controversial opinions.

I HATE hurt as the final song...it is just TOO...FUCKING...SAD. I'd prefer in this twilight.
@timdotexe , i LOVE zero-sum myself. it's a GREAT way of..umm...summing up the message of the record.
My favorites are ITT, ZS, and TGD.

Oh, and i didn't think the ARG "ruined" YZ...i feel that it GREATLY enhanced it.

[ghost in the machine]

Give it another try, you might be surprised

My favourites (and this is probably controversial as well) in order are:
Zero-Sum
The Great Destroyer
The Warning
Me, Im Not

Those would be the songs I actually liked.. I've had a hard time enjoying an entire album since TF. There is always at least one song I skip every time..

Seems as though Atticus, Trent and Alan are pulling from the same bag of tricks on every record these days. Programming, Delays, Commercial Pop Structures, Auto-Tune!!, etc... Don't get me wrong, it is all very inspiring and well done but none of it is groundbreaking anymore.

[tracksfade]

i've never questioned an album's tracklist order until hesitation marks. i think the flow is really off with too many jarring cuts from song to song. that said, the flow of the last four tracks is stellar.

oh, also, i don't get why everyone hates on 'everything'. i think it's a great track, particularly, the last minute and a half is classic nin build-up

[simonn]

oh, also, i don't get why everyone hates on 'everything'. i think it's a great track, particularly, the last minute and a half is classic nin build-up

I think you're mistaken, lots of people like it, myself included...!