Random NIN Questions

[sheepdean]

Surely even bill would agree, entry level NIN should be With Teeth or even The Slip, just because they're SO accessible

[icecream]

Surely even bill would agree, entry level NIN should be With Teeth or even The Slip, just because they're SO accessible

Either WT or TDS for me. TDS has Closer, Hurt and MotP songs casual fans would probably know

[WorzelG]

Either WT or TDS for me. TDS has Closer, Hurt and MotP songs casual fans would probably know

Yeah, but you have to get through Mr Self Destruct right at the beginning which is pretty off-putting if you're not used to it. It still blows my mind that that was the album that took them mainstream, just weird

[Ryan]

Yeah, but you have to get through Mr Self Destruct right at the beginning which is pretty off-putting if you're not used to it. It still blows my mind that that was the album that took them mainstream, just weird

Haha absolutely. It put me off the first time I heard it.

[sheepdean]

I don't think WT/TS is the way to show the *best* albums, but just the easiest access

[howdidislipinto]

There's definitely not a doubt in my mind that Hesitation Marks is the new "entry point" to recommend to non-fans. From there, depending on what they like, it could go in any direction... but HM is 100% the new starting point.

[Edo]

There's definitely not a doubt in my mind that Hesitation Marks is the new "entry point" to recommend to non-fans. From there, depending on what they like, it could go in any direction... but HM is 100% the new starting point.

Absolutely. This is what happened to me.

I hadn't previously been into 'rock' or 'industrial' at all, so HM was a perfect entry point for me as a mellower album.

If anyone had tried to 'introduce' me to The Slip instead, I would have run away fast.

Definitely, the perfect entry point into NIN also depends on what kinds of music the person enjoyed previously.

[fillow]

I honestly don't understand a concept of introducing to a new band/artist by just one album.

[Khrz]

I honestly don't understand a concept of introducing to a new band/artist by just one album.

Well you've got to start somewhere, few people will try to embrace a whole discography just to find out if they even like the band... If that entry point can be an actual album instead of a Best Of, that's all the better...

[Vertigo]

Yeah, but you have to get through Mr Self Destruct right at the beginning which is pretty off-putting if you're not used to it.

And Heresy, and Ruiner, and Becoming, and Big Man With A Gun. Took me ages to get into that album - only managed it via Further Down The Spiral in the end.


I wouldn't use The Slip as an entry album, the reaction for a lot of people is to reach for the volume control at Letting You and fall asleep through Corona Radiata.
My opinion, Pretty Hate Machine, With Teeth and Hesitation Marks are the most accessible.

[eversonpoe]

I honestly don't understand a concept of introducing to a new band/artist by just one album.

i love making people single-artist mixes as a way to get them into a band. not a "best of" but a "stuff you'll probably like the most" compilation. i've done it for various friends and for various bands (NIN, COIL, mastodon, mogwai, nick cave & the bad seeds, tom waits) and it's always fun.

[Halo Infinity]

When it comes to introducing new listeners to Nine Inch Nails albums, I often find myself referring to Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral and With Teeth the most. And if they end up liking any of those albums, I end up going for The Fragile and Year Zero. Then again, it also depends on the person's tastes as already mentioned, as I could see how The Fragile and Ghosts I-IV can also make for better entry points. And ever since Hesitation Marks came out, I'd definitely agree that it's also the new entry point as I could see how it would be very likely for songs like Copy Of A or Satellite to win new fans over.

Oh, and if anybody is interested, I was just reminded to look for a thread that I've made this very topic on a while back.

http://www.echoingthesound.org/commu...potential-fans

It's also nice to see other opinions on this topic, as I've sometimes thought that only relying on all of the albums from Pretty Hate Machine to The Fragile was the best choice in all cases.

[Halo Infinity]

agreed.
we live in the age of the single, and it's a shame.

i feel bad for kids growing up these days.
Even CDs were newfangled when i was growing up.

Even though I only got into buying albums since 1999, I totally get this. I'm aware that CDs have been "out" for the most part since the mid 2000s, but I haven't gotten over buying albums from bands I like. I also say mid 2000s, because even though file-sharing was taking over in the early 2000s, CDs and CD players still seemed to be in vogue around 2000-2004. I also see why I shouldn't feel bad either, but I guess it's just that I still enjoy collecting CDs in a way somebody would enjoy collecting comic books or stamps. (As of now, it also seems to be like that, especially since CDs right now are the way cassettes were in the 2000s. I'm still both impressed and surprised that vinyl is still appreciated though. And by all means, I could see why too.)

Albums are meant to be cohesive works of art, tied together by thematic and melodic threads...at least they used to be..., and for my dollar, NIN subtly ties songs together better than just about anyone.

I still feel this way about albums. I like to think of them as a snapshot of the band at that particular year. I've always looked at albums as a whole.

The way things are headed, though, it's all about scoring a hit single. My ex girlfriend's teenage kid laughed at me when i used the word "album." He thought he was so fucking cool (granted, i thought i was pretty damn cool at his age.)

He advised me that no one says the word album...that's like saying "record," hardy har har, and he and his friends listen to SONGS on their ipods, not albums.

i really hope that artists don't stop trying to make cohesive records as the times change.

As do I. I also remember being surprised even back in say, 2005-2009 when some people I knew back then asked me why I bothered to listen to albums, buy albums, or told me that they only cared to listen to songs. Come to think of it, the majority of people that I've known and met in real life don't really listen to albums, regardless as to whether or not they'd buy them or download them.

(And well, I'll admit that it's like I'm stuck in the 1990s when it comes to getting into bands and buying albums. I'm just not over that at all. In most cases, I usually check out the albums in chronological order as well. However, I'm also thankful that the Internet helps me check out music before I buy it, while also being a place for me to get a hold of actual CDs. I also like how having an iPod allows me to leave my CDs at home as opposed to having to use CD wallets like I did back in 1999-2004.)

Even as somebody that is far from the biggest music fan, this particular subject always hit home for me.

@piggy - I also remember discussing this topic up with you too, and I thought that you might have liked to catch elevenism's posts concerning this matter.

http://www.echoingthesound.org/commu...088#post223088

http://www.echoingthesound.org/commu...091#post223091

[Halo Infinity]

albums like that are so rewarding to me. you can really sit and "listen to a record" just like you would watch a movie if it's done the right way

I've also felt this way for quite some time no matter what kind of album it was. I suppose that I've gotten used to taking them in as a whole. I still skip around them though, but I always keep in mind that the album is a whole.

I sometimes like to think of the album as a season and the songs as little episodes too for another analogy. I know we're not the only ones that see it this way, but it's refreshing to see that I'm not alone on this.

And sorry. I don't have any actual Nine Inch Nails questions right now, but this particular topic on albums has always interested me. I've also liked how I can always enjoy Nine Inch Nails albums from front to back, or at least way over half of any NIN albums that were not among my favorites.

[billpulsipher]

There's definitely not a doubt in my mind that Hesitation Marks is the new "entry point" to recommend to non-fans. From there, depending on what they like, it could go in any direction... but HM is 100% the new starting point.

you must be on drugs....thats like saying Exciter is the entry point to introduce people to Depeche Mode lol or Backspacer is a starting point for Pearl Jam..I know you're a TR apologist and everything he touches is gold but the reality is HM tanked, its not highly regarded by anyone except the ultimate diehards who would jack off over a record of TR burping into a mic for 60 minutes while banging a garbage can... its just another mediocore record by a post 45 year old musician whos better days are far behind them, and whose back catalog is brilliant.....the starting point is, was and will always be PHM....then you move them onto TDS.....unless its some girl who likes pop songs, then you start with Withaaa Teeth

[Sarah K]

PHM is WAY MORE pop than WT.

With Teeth and Hesitation Marks are the faves among my friends who are casual fans. Those would definitely be the two that I would refer most people to, depending on their other tastes in music.

I like PHM, but it's dated as fuck now. Most of the other stuff still holds up so far.

[Horican]

unless its some girl who likes pop songs

Are you 11 or something?

[telee.kom]

[howdidislipinto]

you must be on drugs....thats like saying Exciter is the entry point to introduce people to Depeche Mode lol or Backspacer is a starting point for Pearl Jam..I know you're a TR apologist and everything he touches is gold but the reality is HM tanked, its not highly regarded by anyone except the ultimate diehards who would jack off over a record of TR burping into a mic for 60 minutes while banging a garbage can... its just another mediocore record by a post 45 year old musician whos better days are far behind them, and whose back catalog is brilliant.....the starting point is, was and will always be PHM....then you move them onto TDS.....unless its some girl who likes pop songs, then you start with Withaaa Teeth

NIN albums that tanked: The Fragile, Year Zero, Hesitation Marks. So... the best ones?

C'mon, I know you're a troll, but be consistent with your character! "Bill" would not like PHM! "Some girl who likes pop songs" would *adore* PHM. Have you even heard what's on pop radio right now? It's all '80s throwbacks! The number one album in the world is called 1989! "Bill" the character should be saying BROKEN (or worse, FIXED) is the best starting point for non-NIN fans, and anyone who doesn't like it is a pussy who doesn't deserve to gaze upon Trent's fishnet covered legs (or into those '90s-god eyelined eyes). It's 1994 forever, right?

I can't do your homework for you, Bill. Get it the fuck together.

[Leviathant]

the reality is HM tanked, its not highly regarded by anyone except the ultimate diehards

I'm not sure that's accurate.

[Sarah K]

He probably meant from REAL FANS(only him).

[Louie_Cypher]

Hesitation Marks debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 107,000 copies sold in its first week, Nine Inch Nails' fifth top five album.^[46] As of December 2013, the album had sold 187,000 copies.^[47] In Canada, the album debuted atop the Canadian Albums Chart with first-week sales of 12,000 copies, becoming the band's first number-one album on the chart.^[48] The album was certified Gold in Canada on September 26, 2013.^[49] The album sold 12,286 copies to enter the UK Albums Chart at number two, earning the band its highest-charting album yet in the United Kingdom.^[50]
-Louie

[billpulsipher]

Fragile went 2X platinum in the age of limp bizkit and korn where the record company didnt even bother and promote the album....HM sold half that in an age where he had the publicity machine behind him 999999 times more...lets be real here, in 10 years nobody is going to rank HM alongside Fragile or TDS as his best work...if anyone does, they are the clear minority...



classic quote in this blog

http://sicklydressage.wordpress.com/...itation-marks/

"If you’re enough of a Nine Inch Nails fan to know what Echoing The Sound is, though, you’ll probably welcome this into the canon like the New Testament"

[billpulsipher]

I'm not sure that's accurate.

Fragile got decimated by the media and HM gets praised...just further proof how clueless the music critics are....its almost like older bands that the music critics ignored forever or badmouthed in their prime are now getting praised for their newer work (even though the newer work is half of what the older work is) not just with NIN, its happening with people like Nick cave or Pearl Jam as well.....listen to the music critics they will tell you Nick Cave is better than ever when most Cave fans would say his peak was the 80s, early 90s...the media claims Pearl Jam is better than ever, go on the PJ forums and they think the band is horrible now and has put out horrible records ever since 2005...PJ fans are a lot more vocal, they dont ballsuck...like errr a lot of NIN fans seem to do

[eversonpoe]

NIN albums that tanked: The Fragile, Year Zero, Hesitation Marks. So... the best ones?

C'mon, I know you're a troll, but be consistent with your character! "Bill" would not like PHM! "Some girl who likes pop songs" would *adore* PHM. Have you even heard what's on pop radio right now? It's all '80s throwbacks! The number one album in the world is called 1989! "Bill" the character should be saying BROKEN (or worse, FIXED) is the best starting point for non-NIN fans, and anyone who doesn't like it is a pussy who doesn't deserve to gaze upon Trent's fishnet covered legs (or into those '90s-god eyelined eyes). It's 1994 forever, right?

I can't do your homework for you, Bill. Get it the fuck together.

i...i fucking love you right now. i have tried so many times to articulate my issues with bill and you have just done it so perfectly and poignantly. thank you.

[Sarah K]

Also, there is no way to say "X is the best" when it comes to music. Because it is entirely subjective. We can say "I like this album more because _____". But it is impossible to state with certainty that one is better than another, because it all depends on taste. There are tons of people where HM is probably the ONLY NIN album that they like. And that's fine!



Also, comparing album sales now to in the 90s is silly.

[jessamineny]

Agreed. QOTSA's Songs for the Deaf just hit No. 40 on the Billboard album chart because the Google Play store did a 99-cent sale -- only took 8,000 sales to hit No. 40. Crazy.

[WorzelG]

The effort it took to facepalm Bill's post was more than it deserved

[m15a]

Agreed. QOTSA's Songs for the Deaf just hit No. 40 on the Billboard album chart because the Google Play store did a 99-cent sale -- only took 8,000 sales to hit No. 40. Crazy.

I thought 99-cent album sales didn't count on the Billboard chart. Or is that only when they are new?

[billpulsipher]

i...i fucking love you right now. i have tried so many times to articulate my issues with bill and you have just done it so perfectly and poignantly. thank you.

I'm arguing with people who think Hesitation Marks is one of TR's best works....I rest my case..