NIN Confessions

[Halo Infinity]

i’m not being (a) contrarian. honest. when ntae came out i was going through an ugly divorce of sorts and now i can’t listen to it at all. maybe i’m avoiding it because i don’t want it to latch onto this general malaise. i really don’t know. as i said, my reluctance to hear it puzzles me, but for whatever reason i am. we all handle things differently, dude.

edit: @BRoswell my condolences. and i’m glad you’re still here.

I can actually relate even though it's hard to put my finger on it, aside from music having such an impact on one's thoughts and emotions. I never ruled that out. However, I will admit that I'm quite the opposite, as I've always ran to NIN when I experienced all sorts of horrible emotions and thoughts. But overall, I can absolutely respect and accept that, as I also have my differing traits and ways of dealing with things too.

Just let people enjoy/listen to music how they want to listen to it.

The older I get, the more I realize that we're all just better off doing this. I can only speak for myself, but it's even an ego thing sometimes. (Only to be reminded that I sometimes have no room to talk, and that I'm no better, nor is it even always about things being better or worse, but just different.) But yes, absolutely, to each they're own.

However, I still see how this would stick out on a NIN forum or any other forum where the main interest is avoided in that kind of way, but at least this thread is still the place for it.

[kel]

i’m not being (a) contrarian. honest. when ntae came out i was going through an ugly divorce of sorts and now i can’t listen to it at all. maybe i’m avoiding it because i don’t want it to latch onto this general malaise. i really don’t know. as i said, my reluctance to hear it puzzles me, but for whatever reason i am. we all handle things differently, dude.

edit: @BRoswell my condolences. and i’m glad you’re still here.

finally listened to it all the way through. it’s amazing.

[Andallthatcouldhavebeen]

finally listened to it all the way through. it’s amazing.

I dont know you, I'm new here, but I did lurk through the last couple of pages of the thread.
I'm glad I got closure that you listened to it and enjoyed it.

I'll confess, when I first heard bad witch I couldn't tell the difference between shit mirror and ahead of ourselves for the longest time, it just blended into one song in my mind.
I think Bad Witch is easily becoming one of my favorites and now I've got the songs seperated correctly in my mind.

[ekrekel]

I think Bad Witch is easily becoming one of my favorites and now I've got the songs seperated correctly in my mind.

Welcome to ETS!

Now that the niceties are over; I actually came in here to confess my dislike of BW. I really like Over and Out but other than that I can pretty easily do without that album in my rotation. I got the BW trifecta(followed by Closer) in San Antonio and it felt like a big lull in an otherwise awesome setlist. I still appreciate the energy they put into the performance and glad I got to see them live.

[Kyle]

I forgot Deep existed until reading this and went and re-watched the video. Still a solid song. Not his best ever but still a good song that should be played live again. Other than the "lost in space" line, I don't get the hate of the lyrics. They're kinda typical NIN lyrics.

But that video... my god, what was he thinking?

[elevenism]

i don’t know. maybe age, maybe that it’s been a rough year and i can’t really get hyped about something like this right now, even as a distraction. it’s puzzling to me, too.

I've listened to the record but I know EXACTLY what you're talking about and I do think age is part of it.

Shit, these days, when most albums come out (edit:in general, i don't mean most nin albums,) I listen to them once, kind of like watching a movie.

I avoided that with this trilogy by having whichever one was current play every time I drove the car. And that way, I managed to get hyped.

But yeah I read and have mentioned a few times this scholarly study that suggests that we stop getting very excited about new music at exactly 33.5. (Not everyone, but a LOT of people.)

I think it happened to me, maybe a little later.

[Andallthatcouldhavebeen]

But yeah I read and have mentioned a few times this scholarly study that suggests that we stop getting very excited about new music at exactly 33.5. (Not everyone, but a LOT of people.)

I think it happened to me, maybe a little later.

If that's true, I've got about 10 more years of hopefully staying hyped for everything NIN releases and the soundtracks TR&AR release.

I'm hoping they dont slow down. And now dreading the day I wont be hyped up by new music. Alas, my hype for movies disappeared already and I'll be sad when my music hype does too.

[halo eighteen]

33.5 sounds about right. It's noticeably harder for me to fully engage with most new music now, and that honestly includes the trilogy. I find live concerts to be where I can still truly connect with music now, but I really miss throwing on a pair of headphones and just getting lost in an album for an hour or whatever. Most recorded music to me now is just delegated to background noise more or less (like right now I have Spotify going at work), and I really hate that it's turned into that :/

[somewhat_]

33.5 sounds about right. It's noticeably harder for me to fully engage with most new music now, and that honestly includes the trilogy. I find live concerts to be where I can still truly connect with music now, but I really miss throwing on a pair of headphones and just getting lost in an album for an hour or whatever. Most recorded music to me now is just delegated to background noise more or less (like right now I have Spotify going at work), and I really hate that it's turned into that :/

I, somewhat, feel the same way. If I had to choose between nin being only a touring entity for the next 10 years or only a recoding entity, I would choose touring in a heartbeat.

[Halo Infinity]

I forgot Deep existed until reading this and went and re-watched the video. Still a solid song. Not his best ever but still a good song that should be played live again. Other than the "lost in space" line, I don't get the hate of the lyrics. They're kinda typical NIN lyrics.

But that video... my god, what was he thinking?

I'm with you on the song, but I still enjoyed the video. I'm also actually still surprised that Deep wasn't an official montage of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

[Halo Infinity]

I've listened to the record but I know EXACTLY what you're talking about and I do think age is part of it.

Shit, these days, when most albums come out (edit:in general, i don't mean most nin albums,) I listen to them once, kind of like watching a movie.

I avoided that with this trilogy by having whichever one was current play every time I drove the car. And that way, I managed to get hyped.

But yeah I read and have mentioned a few times this scholarly study that suggests that we stop getting very excited about new music at exactly 33.5. (Not everyone, but a LOT of people.)

I think it happened to me, maybe a little later.

What you said just reminded me of something I've been thinking about regarding music and age for quite some time. It's also very interesting to see that not only did the study end up with 33.5, but it definitely cited the 30s.

Now, while I'm aware that actual music enthusiasts for life exist, I've always noticed that the majority of people tend to like music from their childhood, adolescence and even their 20s, but even with that it seems to be under the age of 25 most of the time. And in most cases, there's a lot of people that also like music before they were born too.

Ages 17-25 also seems to be around the oldest ages for the youth and music in their time. I also like how this also extends to other interests such as TV shows, movies, video games and even books.

This isn't, and I'm sure you'd completely agree, to say that nobody can be into things beyond their time, just like how it's also okay for people to be into things before their time, but as far as the majority/norms stand(s), it really is what it is.

Now to get this back to NIN, it's why and even aside from ETS and the like, that I've always noticed that so many NIN fans were born in the 1970s and 1980s. Most of the oldest fans I've meet and seen were born around the early 1970s to the early 1980s. Should they be younger, they were at the very least teenagers when The Fragile or With Teeth came out. And now, I have seen more people as old as Broken that love NIN now. Most fans born in the 1990s are at least older than The Downward Spiral, and if not, they were definitely older than The Perfect Drug. I still don't really see any NIN fans born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and if I did, which I have on here and Provider Module, they were still very much in the minority. The biggest exceptions I've seen so far was seeing parents bring their kids to the NIN concert I attended and Radio City Music Hall. I'm not a parent, but damn, was that such a kick-ass thing to do, since great memories really stick for life at those ages. (Most of them looked like they were at least around 9-12 anyway. Who knows, if they end up following NIN just like all of us, then perhaps we just might see them post here if they ever come across ETS later on in life.)

Interestingly enough, @Steven let me know that perhaps it's because NIN didn't really have that whole "household name" thing going on for quite some time. I somehow didn't even consider that. I figured that the success of The Downward Spiral, The Fragile and With Teeth was also ready more than enough to have turned NIN into a household name, but I still sometimes forget to look at NIN at other angles than ETS. Then again, it seems like any other aspects of NIN, I'd figure that even "household name" status would be debatable depending on who you talk to.

[Steven]

Interestingly enough, @Steven let me know that perhaps it's because NIN didn't really have that whole "household name" thing going on for quite some time. I somehow didn't even consider that. I figured that the success of The Downward Spiral, The Fragile and With Teeth was also ready more than enough to have turned NIN into a household name, but I still sometimes forget to look at NIN at other angles than ETS. Then again, it seems like any other aspects of NIN, I'd figure that even "household name" status would be debatable depending on who you talk to.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that with other big bands from the time NIN was exploding (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Sound Garden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Weezer, Blink 182, etc) they were a lot more straightforward in terms of image, sound, and message than NIN ever was. I think that's because NIN had such radical artistic changes from album to album, different members coming in and out, (and not trying to sound pretentious but I feel this is true) - more thoughtful, deep musical themes that don't make for really going out and listening to it in public with your friends. Like are you going to put on Mr. Self Destruct or Happiness In Slavery on in the car with your friends? NIN just has always been a dark, challenging, mysterious band in many ways. And I love that, more than ever it is apparent that TR and company aren't stuck in the past or overly nostalgic like those other bands are.

[Halo Infinity]

To put this into context, this goes back to 17-20 year old me around 2002-2005.

Anyway, looking back at it now, I definitely appreciate the changes Nine Inch Nails has been going through a lot more, while having a better understanding of them.

But at the time, I kept wondering why they didn't just release albums like Broken and The Downward Spiral over and over again and just basically do things the Ministry and the Fear Factory way. I know I mentioned this before, but I think this is the best way to directly and simply explain where my mindset on NIN's music at the time.

As much as I enjoyed The Fragile and With Teeth for what they were in spite of thinking that way, I used to think NIN would be far better off just making more albums like Broken and The Downward Spiral, because I kept thinking that faster and heavier was always better.

Fast forward to 33 and I couldn't be any happier to be absolutely wrong, as I still enjoy how much his works not only stood the test of time for me, but how it helped me keep on open mind on not just what to expect from NIN, but all sorts of music in general and that heavier and faster isn't always better. I got over it by the time I turned 21, but it's still a far cry on how I wished that NIN would just go down the Ministry and Fear Factory routes.

And just knowing how well most NIN songs translate live also got me to get a better understanding of the bigger picture in terms of what NIN was about regarding recording/performance/artistic integrity/direction.

As we all know, NIN certainly packs a lot of panache live, so even songs that weren't intended to be super heavy from back then until now still manage to do so in a very stellar and more than satisfying way.

Like for instance, Terrible Lie sounds like something metalheads would love, even in spite of how Pretty Hate Machine sounds.

Only also sounded a lot heavier than I actually expected it to, like in a Down In It kind of way. (And interestingly enough that so-called dot is mentioned in both songs.)

[MrLobster]

As I'm re-encoding my NIN optical media, I've decided that I no longer feel compelled to keep the CD versions of releases that I now also have the vinyl version of.

Yeah, I'll keep things like TDS DE and Year Zero (for the label changing). But Pretty Hate Machine or Ghosts... I'm good. I can just let them go. Sure, in a way it feels like I'm leaving the fandom a bit but basically I've decided to just keep what I think are the best versions of the releases instead of all the versions.

[Lerxto]

As I'm re-encoding my NIN optical media, I've decided that I no longer feel compelled to keep the CD versions of releases that I now also have the vinyl version of.

Yeah, I'll keep things like TDS 5.1 and Year Zero (for the label changing). But Pretty Hate Machine or Ghosts... I'm good. I can just let them go. Sure, in a way it feels like I'm leaving the fandom a bit but basically I've decided to just keep what I think are the best versions of the releases instead of all the versions.

It's interesting to read things like this online because when I was young the exact opposite of this happened. My dad threw out almost all of his record collection because he had CD versions of them.
He doesn't regret it at all, but I do! He had some rare ones that's impossible to find now.

[MrLobster]

It's interesting to read things like this online because when I was young the exact opposite of this happened. My dad threw out almost all of his record collection because he had CD versions of them.
He doesn't regret it at all, but I do! He had some rare ones that's impossible to find now.

As I've come to discover by doing a deep dive into vinyl in the past decade, I'll say that most CDs, while do have some technical highlights, just don't sound as good to vinyl. Especially the first couple of generations of CDs when labels were pumping out CD versions of their catalogues but were limited by the technology to do it well... so most of those early CDs, to my ears, just don't sound as good as compared to their original vinyl releases. This even goes the oil scarcity 1970s/1980s vinyl... My best example of this would probably be Kraftwerk, basically I had dismissed them until I taken a chance on some original vinyl... and yeah, wow. So much wow.

Now, as labels/artists/bands started to master their new albums for CDs, CDs themselves can sound pretty good... but they have to be produced and mastered to take advantage of the format. Same goes for vinyl as well though... there are plenty of albums that aren't mastered to full advantage of the format (and that makes me a sad lobster).

And when it comes to NIN, the CDs are well mastered, the original vinyl mastered well, the remastered vinyl are a bit on the quiet side...

But that's just by my experience.

[Max]

I would like to weigh in on the age thing - while there is some truth to it - I think it has a lot to do with mindset as well.

I was born in the 70's.

Yes, TDS will always be a classic. I have special, nostalgic feelings towards it.

Over time though, I have come to really appreciate a lot of new music. I will still assert that the 90's were objectively magical. BUT here is some of who i love that has been putting out recent albums -

NIN, Mogwai, Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead, Run The Jewels, Saul Williams, Sufjan Stevens, Thao and The Get Down Stay Down, Tobacco, Will Butler, Flaming Lips, Alessandro Cortini, Japanese Breakfast - just to name a few. Now many of these artists are themselves in their 40s or 50's, but many are not.

I'm open to new music. A LOOOOOT of it is crap. A lot of the popular stuff is crap but it has ALWAYS been. That's why we got into NIN.

I have deep roots in Pretty Hate Machine. I cried in my bedroom to it dozens of times after having my teenage heart broken and man this album understood me! Now I can hardly relate to it at all. But Bad Witch, Add Violence, Hesitation Marks - the recent stuff really speaks to where I am now in life.

The stuff i grew up on... much of it has stayed special. But some bands don't hit me the way they used to. My teen angst is long gone, but my pain and anger remain and are rooted in other places now. Getting new music that addresses these thoughts and feeling from artists i love who are continuing to mature - man this is what life is all about!

I don't doubt the research, but i am saying that i must be an outlier because this has generally not been my experience.

Having said all that, Great Van Fleet Suuuuu-uuuuuu-uuuuuuu-uuuuuu-uuuuuucks. I saw them on SNL the other week and I couldn't imagine why Frodo Baggins ended coming back from The West to front a Led Zeppelin cover band with a few of the extras from Jack Black's School of Rock battle of the bands. Kids these days. But hey, we had Candlebox, so who am I to judge?

[Halo Infinity]

I think the very last time I collected between the main Halos was Year Zero Remixed. I don't have anywhere near all of them though, but I used to try to get as many as I can.

At the very least, I have all of them from Head Like A Hole to Closure though, but that's it. And then fast-forward to Things Falling Apart, Every Day Is Exactly The Same and Year Zero Remixed. After that, I just dropped off, which was even surprising to me as I'd still almost buy anything with the NIN logo on it, especially if I saw it IRL. I kind of regret it though, because I had so many chances to get We're In This Together, The Hand That Feeds and Only back when FYE was a thing around my way. Yet at the same time, I just don't feel the same way about collecting all the Halos as I used to.

[Microwave Jellyfish]

It took me two years to realize I've been misreading the title and that Vietnam track wasn't called "Tom Polaroid".

[Magnetic]

When everyone was going apeshit over the new Tool album, I couldn't help but think.....damn, I wish it was a new, fully fleshed out NIN album. Yes, there is new material coming out via other pursuits, and if that's the way of things from now on... fine. I guess I'm saying that Bad Witch didn't cut it for me. Even TR admitted it was part of the trilogy, but got labeled an LP because the last one was HM and he wanted something updated, I guess? I felt things were going well with NTAE and AV, but.... I just want one last chapter in that area. I look at Year Zero, and how sparked that was...and to look at what's going on now. *throw hands up in the air*

[katara]

When everyone was going apeshit over the new Tool album, I couldn't help but think.....damn, I wish it was a new, fully fleshed out NIN album. Yes, there is new material coming out via other pursuits, and if that's the way of things from now on... fine. I guess I'm saying that Bad Witch didn't cut it for me. Even TR admitted it was part of the trilogy, but got labeled an LP because the last one was HM and he wanted something updated, I guess? I felt things were going well with NTAE and AV, but.... I just want one last chapter in that area. I look at Year Zero, and how sparked that was...and to look at what's going on now. *throw hands up in the air*

I sort-of agree. The fact that Bad Witch was labelled as an LP still feels like a technicality to get more exposure on streaming services (which is fair enough). While half an hour of material can be considered an album, it's still quite short. For me, the Trilogy is an LP comprised of three EPs.

I don't think I just speak for myself when I say that I'd very much like a full album (60+ minutes) from NIN. However, I'm also okay with shorter releases if it means they come more frequently and remain high quality productions.

[shagg_187]

My entire collection is nothing but NIN and Watchmen.

Lo and behold they decide to marry up and screw every Sunday. My life is a joyful mess.

[tap3worm]

I forgot Deep existed until reading this and went and re-watched the video. Still a solid song.

I gotta say, Deep is almost my favourite single. So simple and so hot and bothered.

[butter_hole]

33.5 sounds about right. It's noticeably harder for me to fully engage with most new music now, and that honestly includes the trilogy. I find live concerts to be where I can still truly connect with music now, but I really miss throwing on a pair of headphones and just getting lost in an album for an hour or whatever. Most recorded music to me now is just delegated to background noise more or less (like right now I have Spotify going at work), and I really hate that it's turned into that :/

maybe stop listening to Spotify and start getting into records or CDs? The added necessary effort might make you appreciate it more. And it you find yourself getting bored and missing music because it’s not so accessible.... that’s a good thing, right?

[Erneuert]

Apart from Ghosts, I haven’t listened to any of the soundtrack work all the way through; a lot of it at all. I need to spend a day or two digesting everything I’ve neglected to listen to.

I think the only one I’ve listened to (almost) all the way through is TGWTDT.

[Erneuert]

Apart from Ghosts, I haven’t listened to any of the soundtrack work all the way through; a lot of it at all. I need to spend a day or two digesting everything I’ve neglected to listen to.

I think the only one I’ve listened to (almost) all the way through is TGWTDT.

Still haven’t listened to any really. The only songs I know properly off the top of my head by name are 31 Ghosts, Great Bird of Prey, Hand Covers Bruise, What If We Could? and... a few others here and there.

Hit me, I deserve it, I know.

[Prettybrokenspiral]

Start with Bird Box Deluxe and the three Watchmen volumes. The best shit they've done yet. Gone Girl is also particularly choice..

[tap3worm]

^ Watchmen is a good one, I found Birdbox a little too boring but naturally not awful. I'd say start with the Vietnam War series, it has a blend of original stuff and Ghosts, definitely a good appetiser on top of being my personal favourite.

[Tom]

Apart from Ghosts, I haven’t listened to any of the soundtrack work all the way through; a lot of it at all. I need to spend a day or two digesting everything I’ve neglected to listen to.

I think the only one I’ve listened to (almost) all the way through is TGWTDT.

The scores are great, of course. Big hitters for me include Gone Girl, The Vietnam War, and Waves. But for me, TGWTDT really is the pinnacle - it contains some of the best stuff that they've done anywhere (including their work as nin). It is very very long though, and a bit intimidating for it. I recently tried to get some friends into it, and put together a playlist for a shortened version, omitting most of the more ambient and drone pieces, since I figured these would be less accessible to most. In case you're interested, here it is:

1 4-Pinned and Mounted
2 6-What If We Could?
3 7-With The Flies
4 9-A Thousand Details
5 14-Cut Into Pieces
6 16-An Itch
7 20-You're Here
8 21-The Same As The Others
9 32-Oraculum
10 34-The Heretics
11 37-Infiltrator

[ekrekel]

The scores are great, of course. Big hitters for me include Gone Girl, The Vietnam War, and Waves. But for me, TGWTDT really is the pinnacle - it contains some of the best stuff that they've done anywhere (including their work as nin). It is very very long though, and a bit intimidating for it. I recently tried to get some friends into it, and put together a playlist for a shortened version, omitting most of the more ambient and drone pieces, since I figured these would be less accessible to most. In case you're interested, here it is:

1 4-Pinned and Mounted
2 6-What If We Could?
3 7-With The Flies
4 9-A Thousand Details
5 14-Cut Into Pieces
6 16-An Itch
7 20-You're Here
8 21-The Same As The Others
9 32-Oraculum
10 34-The Heretics
11 37-Infiltrator

This is great, thanks. I've found those 4 albums not as approachable for similar reasons, and TGWTDT was the first score where I didn't digest it in it's entirety several times to establish those interests. I have kids and don't get several hours to dive into the scores as much as I'd like.