The Trilogy's End (speculation)

[paul_guyet]

What’s pretty hate machine’s concept? Angry skinny boy wants to get laid?

Fixed.

[sweeterthan]

Fixed.

I was going to put angsty skinny boy but it didn’t fit. Angry is good tho.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bobbie solo]

Fixed.

missed opportunity dude:

[streetman]

What’s pretty hate machine’s concept? Skinny boy wants to get laid?

lol

[nooneimportant]

What’s pretty hate machine’s concept? Skinny boy wants to get laid?

So I guess that means Hesitation Mark's concept is "Extremely jacked guy got laid."

[ekrekel]

What’s pretty hate machine’s concept? Skinny boy wants to get laid?

I'd say that fits purest feeling real well. Removes HLAH, TL, etc.

[alfonso99]

Well, since every NIN album is or used to be a "personal" exorcism/venting tool for Trent in a specific period of his life. they can be considered a concept album.

[joplinpicasso]

As I said, everything since Broken has been conceptual and/or an actual storyline album.

Broken - protesting against the music industry and society
TDS - a persona rebels against God and society with sex and drugs until left hollowed out (and dead?)
Fragile - a persona comes back from the brink of despair
WT - Bleedthrough redux, feeling energized yet meaningless after sobriety
YZ - duh
Ghosts - "soundtrack for daydreams", also the images within the PDF tell the 'story' of each track
The Slip - this one's weird. Side A is its own little aggressive EP, and Side B is journey of a sort
HM - looking back on the persona of TDS and imagining a different result or timeline
NTAE - denialism/coming to grips with internal trauma
AV - denialism/coming to grips with external trauma

[Toadflax]

As I said, everything since Broken has been conceptual and/or an actual storyline album.

Broken - protesting against the music industry and society
TDS - a persona rebels against God and society with sex and drugs until left hollowed out (and dead?)
Fragile - a persona comes back from the brink of despair
WT - Bleedthrough redux, feeling energized yet meaningless after sobriety
YZ - duh
Ghosts - "soundtrack for daydreams", also the images within the PDF tell the 'story' of each track
The Slip - this one's weird. Side A is its own little aggressive EP, and Side B is journey of a sort
HM - looking back on the persona of TDS and imagining a different result or timeline
NTAE - denialism/coming to grips with internal trauma
AV - denialism/coming to grips with external trauma

Sure, but saying most/all the songs on a given album revolve around a common theme doesn't really mean much, as that's true of tons of albums by tons of bands. Trent talks about how when they work on an album or soundtrack, they always have a conversation about what mood they want to convey and what instruments and sounds to focus on, so NIN albums will always be "conceptual" by that definition.

Having said that, the conversation about "concept albums" relates to albums with some sort of narrative (or at least world-building) through-line. Year Zero, The Wall, Tommy, Bowie's Outside all have a bigger story going on around the album itself, and the album and songs provide clues and bits of the story. Something like TDS and The Fragile, however- yes, there's a very clear emotional journey and arguably a shared narrator among many or all of the songs- but that's more or less where it stops. You can very much argue that they're still concept albums by definition (and pretty much every definition out there would agree), but there's not necessarily a bigger story being told than the emotional journey the album takes you on.

The reason this distinction is important to make is in people arguing whether this EP trilogy is "concept" or not. There's no question each EP is telling its own mini story while being connected to each other on a thematic level, but what remains to be seen is whether the trilogy is actually intending to act as clues to a bigger story ("PART TWO. THE VIEW WIDENS AND EVERYTHING IS IN QUESTION." "MAYBE THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT.") or whether when all is said and done, we'll just have a series of EPs that broadly relate to each other on a thematic level. I was fully expecting a "concept" trilogy when it was announced due to how cryptic NTAE was, but with AV being so vastly different, I'm now just expecting the third EP to be some completely unique thing that shares elements with the other two- rather than something that will blow our minds and connect the trilogy together in some huge "it all makes sense now" kind of way.

[sweeterthan]

So I guess that means Hesitation Mark's concept is "Extremely jacked guy got laid."

“Happy guy makes music”

[Krazy]

Nickelback, apparently, has made a slew of concept albums.

[paul_guyet]

As I said, everything since Broken has been conceptual and/or an actual storyline album.

Broken - protesting against the music industry and society
TDS - a persona rebels against God and society with sex and drugs until left hollowed out (and dead?)
Fragile - a persona comes back from the brink of despair
WT - Bleedthrough redux, feeling energized yet meaningless after sobriety
YZ - duh
Ghosts - "soundtrack for daydreams", also the images within the PDF tell the 'story' of each track
The Slip - this one's weird. Side A is its own little aggressive EP, and Side B is journey of a sort
HM - looking back on the persona of TDS and imagining a different result or timeline
NTAE - denialism/coming to grips with internal trauma
AV - denialism/coming to grips with external trauma

I always saw The Slip as an album FROM the Year Zero ARG/timeline...like The Slip is the album that NIN would have released in 2022.

[nmitchell86]

Nin to play Las Vegas 6/13 and 6/15. Third EP before then?

[sonic_discord]

Nin to play Las Vegas 6/13 and 6/15. Third EP before then?

Better be!

[buckaroo]

Nin to play Las Vegas 6/13 and 6/15. Third EP before then?

"NINE INCH NAILS TO PERFORM THE ONLY NORTH AMERICAN PERFORMANCES THIS SUMMER"

Does this basically confirm a NA fall/winter tour?

[ryanmcfly]

"NINE INCH NAILS TO PERFORM THE ONLY NORTH AMERICAN PERFORMANCES THIS SUMMER"

Does this basically confirm a NA fall/winter tour?

Sure seems like it implies that at least.

[Sesquipedalism]

I always saw The Slip as an album FROM the Year Zero ARG/timeline...like The Slip is the album that NIN would have released in 2022.

That's sort of a fascinating take on it. I like The Slip much more than most people around here do. I think I'll chew on your idea for a listen through that. Unless you have more to say about it before I go in?

[ManBurning]

Nin to play Las Vegas 6/13 and 6/15. Third EP before then?

Guessing he'll announce the record to be released for Friday, June 15th and "secretly" drop it to people who pre-ordered it on the Wednesday, kinda like what he did with Add Violence and the Bakersfield, CA show.

The better question is, to anyone attending one of these shows: Would you rather listen to the EP Before the show and know the songs, or hold off until after the show and be surprised with new music live before you know it?

If the EP does drop as I predicted, it will be very hard for me to stay away from it until the shows I am catching in London the week after. Part of me wants to wait.
Maybe i'll listen to the first single as a teaser but save the rest for after.

[paul_guyet]

That's sort of a fascinating take on it. I like The Slip much more than most people around here do. I think I'll chew on your idea for a listen through that. Unless you have more to say about it before I go in?

Not really...I just found that EVERYTHING on the album can be pretty easily related to YZ, although I do understand that anyone can relate anything to anything else if they really want them to be connected. I feel as if The Slip is maybe the final piece of the (original) ARG: an actual Nine Inch Nails album from the future of an alternate timeline.
Give it a listen with this as a lens and let me know what you think.

[Jordan]

The better question is, to anyone attending one of these shows: Would you rather listen to the EP Before the show and know the songs, or hold off until after the show and be surprised with new music live before you know it?

If the EP does drop as I predicted, it will be very hard for me to stay away from it until the shows I am catching in London the week after. Part of me wants to wait.
Maybe i'll listen to the first single as a teaser but save the rest for after.

Based on the opinion of someone here, that hearing a song live for the first time is the ultimate, I held off on Add Violence until after the Bakersfield show. Honestly, I now strongly disagree with that opinion. I think the best way is to listen to the album first, several times, on a really good sound system, in the dark, with your fucking phone turned off. It saves you the torture of waiting, you first hear the song in the way Trent truly intended it to be heard (opposite opinion to the "live first" view) and you're able to digest and get a better understanding of it before the incredible experienceof hearing it performed live.

[Jordan]

you first hear the song in the way Trent truly intended it to be heard (opposite opinion to the live first view)

My argument here is that if Trent intended the song to heard performed by his band, he would've recorded a live album. Also, see his explanation for Vinyl.

[ManBurning]

Based on the opinion of someone here, that hearing a song live for the first time is the ultimate, I held off on Add Violence until after the Bakersfield show. Honestly, I now strongly disagree with that opinion. I think the best way is to listen to the album first, several times, on a really good sound system, in the dark, with your fucking phone turned off. It saves you the torture of waiting, you first hear the song in the way Trent truly intended it to be heard (opposite opinion to the "live first" view) and you're able to digest and get a better understanding of it before the incredible experienceof hearing it performed live.

The problem with that is, other than "less than" (which I am assuming you heard before the bakersfield show), the only new song played from Add violence was "the lovers", which in my opinion, is the weakest track on AV and does not transition live very well, so I can see how/why you feel that way. If he busted out "Background world" or "not anymore" I have a feeling they would have had a bigger impact seeing them live for the first time.

I'm one of the people that swore behind not listening to the songs before hand. For me anyway, the experience is more exciting. Actually not knowing a song being played is something you only get to experience so little. Maybe that's just me because I follow this band and their setlists to a "T" that I need that excitement in the live environment to spice things up. I don't like how predictable the shows have gotten in the last 10 years.

[snaapz]

I wonder if NOTANYMORE is the new ep name?

[Jordan]

The problem with that is, other than "less than" (which I am assuming you heard before the bakersfield show), the only new song played from Add violence was "the lovers"

True, I had heard Less Than, there was no escaping it by that point, and The Lovers is the only other song they played off AV that night. BTW, The Lovers has since become my favorite song on AV. I caught Background World in Vegas and didn't enjoy it as much live as most people. But you do make a good point, not enough to change my opinion but enough to think about it again. If I heard something like Branches/Bones live for the first time (they still haven't played Not Anymore live) I might have been blown away.

I hate the predictable setlist lists. Even right now I'm thinking "Do I buy tickets to both Vegas shows in June or am I going to get the exact same setlist?" I'll go to both shows but will be slightly disappointed when they're the same.

[eversonpoe]

I wonder if NOTANYMORE is the new ep name?

why would the third EP be named after a song on the second EP?

[StockAvuryah]

There's at least going to be one short track, that is quiet at the beginning and then bursts into an incredible chorus with the word "anymore" in it.

[implanted_microchip]

There's no way I'm not listening to it before the Vegas shows. Seeing the live debut of Background World was so amazing in part because of the love i'd developed with that song by then and I don't know if I would have appreciated it half as much if I didn't already know it. Also, my willpower is nothing, and there's no way I could manage to avoid a new NIN release for any length of time.

[katara]

I wonder if NOTANYMORE is the new ep name?

No. Just no.


It's a pre-sale code. The two London codes were ANXIETY and MORALE.

[Kyle]

Sure, but saying most/all the songs on a given album revolve around a common theme doesn't really mean much, as that's true of tons of albums by tons of bands. Trent talks about how when they work on an album or soundtrack, they always have a conversation about what mood they want to convey and what instruments and sounds to focus on, so NIN albums will always be "conceptual" by that definition.

Having said that, the conversation about "concept albums" relates to albums with some sort of narrative (or at least world-building) through-line. Year Zero, The Wall, Tommy, Bowie's Outside all have a bigger story going on around the album itself, and the album and songs provide clues and bits of the story. Something like TDS and The Fragile, however- yes, there's a very clear emotional journey and arguably a shared narrator among many or all of the songs- but that's more or less where it stops. You can very much argue that they're still concept albums by definition (and pretty much every definition out there would agree), but there's not necessarily a bigger story being told than the emotional journey the album takes you on.

I would argue that The fragile is not a concept album based solely off of the early setlist that had the songs in a completely different order. The downward spiral though has a clear story to it no different than the other ones you mentioned.

[Kyle]

What’s pretty hate machine’s concept? Skinny boy wants to get laid?

"I just got cheated on and dumped"