Trilogy songs: Ranked best to worst

[lordfalconer]

I'll have to have a serious think in order to rank them all but I can confidently say I would have The Idea of You dead last, it is probably the worst thing Trent has done since Running.

[Max]

I have to say The Idea of You was pretty great to me. I love the lyrics, the raged-out-punk-spasms of the chorus, love the ending... and I think the song overall is really key to the themes on that EP. But hey, we like what we like.

[Swykk]

01 The Idea of You (we cant be friends if you hate this)
02 The Background World
03 Ahead of Ourselves
04 Burning Bright (Field on Fire)
05 Less Than
06 Over And Out
07 Branches/Bones
08 Not Anymore
09 This Isn’t The Place
10 She’s Gone Away
11 Shit Mirror
12 The Lovers
13 Dear World,
14 God Break Down The Door
15 I’m Not From This World
16 Play The Goddamn Part

[sonic_discord]

I'll have to have a serious think in order to rank them all but I can confidently say I would have The Idea of You dead last, it is probably the worst thing Trent has done since Running.

What. Someone move this comment to the "Controversial Nine Inch Nails Opinions" thread post haste!

I'm kidding, but only a little. How can you say that?? I mean I understand why people don't love Running (it's not one of my favorites either), but I find every element of TIOY to be fantastic, classic NIN. I'm curious to know what your favorite would be now.

[katara]

I know. I mean to me, O&O is a extension/addition to INFTW. I thought you would like it as much as I do since we’re both fans of the former song - not put O&O dead last on the list. I guess the saxophones don’t do it for you? haha

I'd like to add that all of these tracks are really fucking good. It was tough putting some of these near the bottom.

This is a very solid collection of songs. None of them are bad. Something had to be last due to the nature of the topic.

[Halo Infinity]

@elevenism - Perhaps this could probably help me rank them in order altogether. I actually thought of ranking the EPs/album first, and then their songs and then try to see how they hold up after that. As of now, I ranked it from Add Violence to Bad Witch and Not The Actual Events.

1 -Add Violence
The Background World
Less Than
Not Anymore
The Lovers
This Isn't The Place

2 - Bad Witch
Shit Mirror
Over And Out
Play The Goddamned Part
I'm Not From This World
Ahead Of Ourselves
God Break Down The Door

3 - Not The Actual Events
Burning Bright (Field On Fire)
She's Gone Away
Branches / Bones
Dear World,
The Idea Of You

----------------

1. Burning Bright (Field On Fire)
2. Shit Mirror
3. The Background World
4. Less Than
5. She's Gone Away
6. Not Anymore
7. The Lovers
8. This Isn't The Place
9. Over And Out
10. Play The Goddamned Part
11. I'm Not From This World
12. Ahead Of Ourselves
13. Branches / Bones
14. Dear World,
15. God Break Down The Door
16. The Idea Of You

[bobbie solo]

I'll have to have a serious think in order to rank them all but I can confidently say I would have The Idea of You dead last, it is probably the worst thing Trent has done since Running.

[Erneuert]

I have to say The Idea of You was pretty great to me. I love the lyrics, the raged-out-punk-spasms of the chorus, love the ending... and I think the song overall is really key to the themes on that EP. But hey, we like what we like.

This hurt my brain to read.

[implanted_microchip]

Edit: I wanna see rankings from @kleiner , @RocketScience , @heavenly_bearded , @thelastdisciple , @Halo Infinity . You are hereby nominated to participate.

Burning Bright (Field On Fire)
The Background World
This Isn't the Place
God Break Down the Door
The Lovers
She's Gone Away
Over and Out
Dear World,
Shit Mirror
Branches/Bones
The Idea of You
I'm Not From This World
Ahead of Ourselves
Not Anymore
Less Than
Play the Goddamned Part

All these songs are great. I could move a lot of these around. Less Than is only so low because I overplayed it to death when it first came out. I don't really rank the releases against each other and am happy we got 3 of the best sets of songs they've ever put out within 2 years of each other. I think as a whole it's the best collection of work NIN's made since The Fragile and all the songs from it held their own next to fan favorites and deep cuts in setlists last year, which says a lot. Being lucky enough to watch God Break Down the Door evolve from its debut live to what it became for Cold and Black and Infinite made it a big favorite of mine. She's Gone Away on Twin Peaks was a serious "moment" in my life at the time, I could easily bump that up into the top 5, and Dear World, amazes me too. Not the Actual Events was like a shot of adrenaline to the chest for me and made me turn back into the rabid superfan I was growing up for this band. I'd seriously rank NTAE as a whole above every single album since The Fragile. Add Violence has some of the most emotionally poignant stuff Trent's ever made as far as I'm concerned. Bad Witch is this psycho freakout breakdown of an album and I love it. I think it says a lot that looking over my list I don't think there's a clear favorite release, it's all mixed in pretty evenly. Branches/Bones is probably my second-favorite live opener ever. Trent and Atticus really put together something special on each release and it rivals some of the best of the band's entire career.

I actually like Hesitation Marks less now because comparing it to these EPs/albums, it's nowhere near as compelling. This feels like Trent re-energized and on fucking fire. I think Bowie dying shook something awake inside of him. I don't think Trent's explored himself so deeply in his lyrics since at least With Teeth as he does on these. I thought The Lovers was great from the first time I heard it and the Song Exploder autopsy of it only made me appreciate it more and then live I now associate it with being overheated as fuck and exhausted at the rail and getting this brief moment of rest and catharsis and air and it makes me think of the "hot swollen skin" line and it's just perfect, I think that song is really special. It's funny, I can think of some sort of mental association all these songs give me and it's really vivid and strong. For as much as Trent likes to explore the same themes I think these songs have some of his best imagery in a long, long while. All these songs are special to me in their own way and I've loved that they released them across a period of time rather than all at once because they've all grown on me at different points in my life and represent something different because of that. I didn't get to experience what it was like being a fan in the 90s and this feels like another "golden period" and I am so happy I got to be here for it.

[elevenism]

Hot damn, @kleiner . You even provided commentary.

Also, "I didn't get to experience what it was like being a fan in the 90s and this feels like another "golden period" and I am so happy I got to be here for it. "

I had a feeling you felt that way, and that's why I wanted to hear your ranking.

Your deep fascination with these albums reminds me of how I felt about The Fragile when I was 19.

[elevenism]

Almost everyone has Burning Bright near the top.
I wish it did for me what it does for you guys. I feel like I'm missing something.

I like the intensity of the chorus, and I LOVE the ending of it, especially because, with my temporal lobe issues, I can honestly relate (about not knowing when I'm dreaming sometimes.)

The muddy sound of the verses, along with the simple, repeated guitar riff, are what kills it for me.

I WILL say that I DIDN'T like it at first, but, with repeated listens, I've grown to like it alright. Perhaps it will continue to reveal itself to me.

[BRoswell]

The muddy sound of the verses, along with the simple, repeated guitar riff, are what kills it for me.

That's actually what I love about it. It sounds so sludgy and nasty.

[Max]

Almost everyone has Burning Bright near the top.
I wish it did for me what it does for you guys. I feel like I'm missing something.

I like the intensity of the chorus, and I LOVE the ending of it, especially because, with my temporal lobe issues, I can honestly relate (about not knowing when I'm dreaming sometimes.)

The muddy sound of the verses, along with the simple, repeated guitar riff, are what kills it for me.

I WILL say that I DIDN'T like it at first, but, with repeated listens, I've grown to like it alright. Perhaps it will continue to reveal itself to me.

Do you get more from the music or the lyrics?

For me, the music was interesting as it felt kind of new for NIN, that sludge sound people have been describing, but what really makes it for me is the lyrics. It’s the climax for NTAE, thematically. It’s this profound proclamation, that seems to be deeply personal, about how he is going back to who he used to be. To burn him down? Or to burn down who he thought he had become? Whatever the case he feels like he has become powerful, who he was destined to be. That it feels like he could destroy the world. There’s a lot to mine there.

If it’s music that does it for you and not lyrics, it’s quite a departure from the usual which I just always appreciate anyway. I like the tangents and risky explorations.

I don’t know. Maybe that helps?

I do think that more listens can help over time with most NIN.

Wish someone had figured out the Burning Bright video though. Never could tell what was going on there.

[elevenism]

Do you get more from the music or the lyrics?

For me, the music was interesting as it felt kind of new for NIN, that sludge sound people have been describing, but what really makes it for me is the lyrics. It’s the climax for NTAE, thematically. It’s this profound proclamation, that seems to be deeply personal, about how he is going back to who he used to be. To burn him down? Or to burn down who he thought he had become? Whatever the case he feels like he has become powerful, who he was destined to be. That it feels like he could destroy the world. There’s a lot to mine there.

It's really mostly the music.

And the lyrics: I think he's talking about destroying HIMSELF. Of course, this is all subjective. I think it's like, someone breaking out of a dream/simulation and realizing, "yeah, my life IS actually all fucked up and I'm going to self destruct! Fuck it! None of the good things were real! Yay!"

this hit a little to close to home for me.

But, yes, 99% of it is the music. Don't get me wrong: i, too, love the experimentation and musical exploration. But this one just didn't do it for me. You and @BRoswell hit the nine inch nail on the head: it's the sludge I don't like. And I love sludge, just not with my NIN.
I don't think it's BAD, though, the song.

Also, I'm scared @theimage13 is going to beat me up because it's my least favorite :/

[Max]

Hey we like what we like. If ETS has helped me learn anything, it’s that we all really get something different out of NIN and it never ceases to amaze me.

[theimage13]

It's really mostly the music.

And the lyrics: I think he's talking about destroying HIMSELF. Of course, this is all subjective. I think it's like, someone breaking out of a dream/simulation and realizing, "yeah, my life IS actually all fucked up and I'm going to self destruct! Fuck it! None of the good things were real! Yay!"

this hit a little to close to home for me.

But, yes, 99% of it is the music. Don't get me wrong: i, too, love the experimentation and musical exploration. But this one just didn't do it for me. You and @BRoswell hit the nine inch nail on the head: it's the sludge I don't like. And I love sludge, just not with my NIN.
I don't think it's BAD, though, the song.

Also, I'm scared @theimage13 is going to beat me up because it's my least favorite :/

If you had any idea how much of an accident-prone, glasses-wearing, pacifist-snowflake-hippy-sympathizing nerd I really am, you wouldn't be worried about that.

But I'm curious...if you don't like sludge with NIN, what do you think of Reptile? Because to me, Burning Bright is one of the most "industrial sludge" type songs he's put out since then.

[elevenism]

But I'm curious...if you don't like sludge with NIN, what do you think of Reptile? Because to me, Burning Bright is one of the most "industrial sludge" type songs he's put out since then.

While Reptile has sludgy elements, it has a LOT of NOT so sludgy elements that provide a nice counterpoint.

[Reaps]

Burning Bright
The Background World
Shit Mirror
Ahead of Ourselves
She's Gone Away
Less Than
This Isn't the Place
Not Anymore
Branches/Bones
Over and Out
I'm Not From This World
The Idea of You
Dear World
The Lovers
God Break Down the Door
Play the Goddamned Part

Sludge wins!

For the ultimate sludge rock/metal i look to Ministry's 'Scarecrow' (one of my all time favorites)

[lordfalconer]

What. Someone move this comment to the "Controversial Nine Inch Nails Opinions" thread post haste!

I'm kidding, but only a little. How can you say that?? I mean I understand why people don't love Running (it's not one of my favorites either), but I find every element of TIOY to be fantastic, classic NIN. I'm curious to know what your favorite would be now.

I find it uninspiring is all. I don't really think it does anything interesting personally but this is all about personal tastes and opinions. If you are after a heavier slice of NIN I guess it would do the job but I find the chorus boring personally? Its the same with Not Anymore for me - just not very interesting to me. I think Trent has done better heavier tracks that still excite me in the past. These felt a little regressive to me.

As for my ranking...hmmm...

1. Burning Bright (Field on Fire)
2. Less Than
3. Over and Out
4. This Isn't The Place
5. She's Gone Away
6. Ahead of Ourselves
7. Play the Goddamned Part
8. I'm Not From This World
9. The Background World
10. Shit Mirror
11. Branches/Bones
12. The Lovers
13. God Break Down the Door
14. Dear World
15. Not Anymore
16. The Idea of You

I think that's them all right?

Now despite the rankings there my go to of the 3 releases would be Bad Witch - it's got the best flow in my opinion and as the rankings suggest (to the horror of many on here I am sure) I actually really dig the instrumentals.
Play the Goddamned Part is like something from the Lost Highway soundtrack and I'm Not From This World is a nightmare! A fantastic nightmare.
Shit Mirror & Branches/Bones are quite interchangeable for me - they both serve the same purpose for each of their respective releases in my opinion but I think Shit Mirror just edges it over Branches/Bones.
I like She's Gone Away as it's like a hilarious goth dirge - something I never expected from Trent. I find it both simultaneously amazing and terrible.
I love a well made slice of pop and Less Than does the job nicely - probably helps I haven't overplayed it.
God Break Down the Door I feel like I should really like more with it's Blackstar leanings but I seen it live and the pre-recorded sax just made it feel a little lifeless.

I'm sure most people will vomit in their mouths upon seeing my ranking but remember - my ranking of tracks ultimately means nothing to anyone.

[katara]

God Break Down the Door I feel like I should really like more with it's Blackstar leanings but I seen it live and the pre-recorded sax just made it feel a little lifeless.

Trent played the sax live later in the tour. They most likely wanted to perform it that way from the beginning but were prevented by some complication or other.

[Kulerage]

1. Every song

Impossible to rank these :]

[Steven]

All of the songs on the trilogy are either nightmare fuel, PISSED off ragers, or avant-garde/experimental songs. And all are done very very well so it is really tough to rank them.

[Collin]

1. This Isn’t The Place
2. Burning Bright (Field on Fire)
3. She’s Gone Away
4. God Break Down The Door
5. Shit Mirror
6. Ahead of Ourselves
7. Branches / Bones
8. The Lovers
   
9. Over and Out
   
10. The Idea of You
    
11. The Background World
    
12. Less Than
    
13. Dear World,
    
14. Play The Goddamn Part
    
15. Not Anymore
    
16. I’m Not From This World

[RocketScience]

@elevenism Always surprised with where songs end up in making these kinds of lists lol

1. Burning Bright (Field on Fire)
2. The Lovers
3. Dear World,
4. Branches/Bones
5. The Idea of You
6. Not Anymore
7. Over and Out
8. Ahead of Ourselves
9. This Isn’t the Place
10. Shit Mirror
11. The Background World
12. God Break Down the Door
13. Play the Goddamned Part
14. I’m Not from This World
15. She’s Gone Away
16. Less Than
    

Seems NTAE is the favorite EP of the three.

[elevenism]

@elevenism Always surprised with where songs end up in making these kinds of lists lol

1. Burning Bright (Field on Fire)
2. The Lovers
3. Dear World,
4. Branches/Bones
5. The Idea of You
6. Not Anymore
7. Over and Out
8. Ahead of Ourselves
9. This Isn’t the Place
10. Shit Mirror
11. The Background World
12. God Break Down the Door
13. Play the Goddamned Part
14. I’m Not from This World
15. She’s Gone Away
16. Less Than
    

Seems NTAE is the favorite EP of the three.

So, you're part of the burning bright coalition, too.

Well fuck sake.

Maybe it will continue to grow on me.

But I can't imagine it overtaking Branches/Bones , the idea of you, shit mirror, or GBDTD in my book, ever.

You know what? It just occurred to me that it's fucking HARD to rank these songs. They're GOOD.
Three cheerz to Trent and co. for bringing both the funk and the noise, this late in the game. In three short years, I'll have been an NIN fan for THREE FULL DECADES, and Ghosts was the only disappointment - but that's not because it was BAD; rather, it was only REASONABLY good, imho. It was still GOOD, though. Not many other bands have this sort of track record, ESPECIALLY the part where they go hard as fuck like like they did in the old days, thirty years in.

Think about it: The Fragile - "I'll be damned, NIN's still got it.
Year Zero: "Holy Shit, NIN's STILL got it"

And now THIS.

Yes, we all have our favorites - for me, With Teeth and Hesitation Marks were a LITTLE uneven, (especially HM,) but they were still Pretty Fucking Good and featured some GREAT songs.

Sorry for rant/sorry if this counts as drift.

[valiantsteed]

1. This Isn't The Place
2. Burning Bright
3. The Idea of You
4. Not Anymore
5. The Background World
6. Branches/Bones
7. Shit Mirror
8. Less Than
9. Ahead of Ourselves
10. Over and Out
11. I'm Not From This World
12. The Lovers
13. Dear World
14. She's Gone Away
15/16 - Play the God Damned Part/God Break Down the Door

I actually really like Bad Witch as a collective piece, despite the lower rankings for some of its songs individually.

[elevenism]

I actually really like Bad Witch as a collective piece, despite the lower rankings for some of its songs individually.

As do i.
It works fucking GREAT as a cohesive piece: especially the DnB parts.

[ultimatebdp]

1. The Idea of You
2. Ahead of Ourselves
3. Branches/Bones
4. The Background World
5. Over and Out
6. Dear World
7. Burning Bright
8. Less Than
9. Shit Mirror
10. She’s Gone Away
11. The Lovers
12. God Break Down the Door
13. This Isn’t the Place
14. Not Anymore
15. Play the Goddamned Part
16. I’m Not From This World

[Alpha 60]

Branches/Bones
The Lovers
Play The Goddmed Part
Dear World
I'm Not From This World
She's Gone Away
Over And Out
Burning Bright
God Break Down The Door
Background World
This Isn't The Place
Ahead Of Ourselves
Less Than
Shit Mirror
Idea Of You
Not Anymore

[eachpassingphase]

1. Branches/Bones (This one is a top 10 of all NIN songs for me, personally)
2. The Lovers (that song exploder episode took it up several spots for me. I really love it when Trent takes the time to explain his process and mindset. I liked that "In Conversations With" recording he did a while back too.)
3. Ahead of Ourselves
4. Burning Bright
5. Less Than
6. She's Gone Away
7. This Isn't the Place
8. Dear World
9. Shit Mirror (The live version would be higher though, Robin killed it.)
10. God Break Down the Door
11. Not Anymore
12. Over and Out
13. I'm Not From This World
14. The Background World
15. The Idea of You
16. Play the Goddamn Part