If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power - new Halsey album produced by Trent and Atticus

[m0reta]

I can't say Halsey was all of us at the end fangirling over TRAR but she certainly was me! *jazz hands*

I look forward to what she does next!

[magnolia]

I remember reading a cover story on Halsey a few years back when she was very new, after her first album I guess - was in Nylon magazine, maybe? Anyway, I vaguely remember she cited Trent as an inspiration then, and so this whole collaboration came as no surprise for me. But I didn't have much appreciation for her until after listening to that whole interview. She's very competent and interesting. Apart from her extreme overuse of the word "like", which was a little grating.

I think the album is great, and I'm really glad TR/AR worked on something different and sort of unusual for them, with her.

[nineismine]

Just scrolled through some of the bickering before this...

I think this record is really good. The messages are very strong and feminine, which means a lot of men are probably not going to be in to it.

I love how dark and cinematic both the concept and music are — You're not going to see a lot of big time pop-artists taking chances like this and it turns out this great.

I give this bad boy 4 out of 4 stars. Everyone relax and with all things music... if you don't like it, move on.

Anyone know when the full length film will be available to download?

Male person here....

Wow what a great record. It's not my normal fare but god damn guys, strap on some headphones and listen to this shit for real.. I say this with the utmost disclaimer and the utmost respect to everyones personal taste but are you even a nine inch nails fan if you can't find something to like here?

I liked it immediately but after listening to it multiple times im starting to hear so many things I didn't hear initially and wow are they juicy!

[TheBang]

Also, tagging seems like it’s messed up somewhere.

I noticed this, too. Several tracks were mislabeled, the order was a little fucked up, and one track was misspelled ("Easier Then Lying").

Yeah, the tags are a bit of a mess. On 4 or 5 of the tracks, they used a curly apostrophe and an en-dash in the album title, instead of the straight apostrophe and hyphen that the other tracks use. So, the tracks won't group together as an album properly unless you edit the album title tag to be the same on all the tracks.

The album tracks are 44.1 KHz encoded at LAME V2 variable bitrate. The live album is 48 KHz, encoded at LAME V2, except for Darling (Live) which was exported directly from Logic Pro at 320 CBR.

[FULLMETAL]

Back to the bonus tracks...

People Disappear Here is on the EU & JP compact discs, but missing on the Target exclusive CD where it was marketed as a bonus (I believe they're offering a download with proof of purchase and I'm guessing it's an mp3). No one has credits for this track, but the assumption is it's a TR/AR production given the Mike Garson piano. Is there any confirmation available?

Nightmare (reprise) is included with the Walmart exclusive Vinyl as a download only? Did it get released in a physical format? The wiki doesn't list TR/AR in the writing credits, so were they involved? Is this the same version as on the Moment House video & live digital album?

Gasoline (reimagined live) the wiki says this is a Target exclusive bonus, but I don't see it on their site. Is it another download or did it get included on a physical format? It was included on the Moment House stream, but not the live digital album. Were TR/AR involved on this one?

Oh yeah, who the fuck has the instrumentals?

[Alpha 60]

I would like to hear (or read) TR/AR talk about individual tracks. And, would like to know about the other artists and how some of those choices were made. I know it is hard for TR/AR because they won't want to over shadow Halsey, but would definitely like to hear more about how each song was thought out. I'm not implying Halsey didn't have anything to do with those choices, they have made it clear the songs had strong bones and I'm sure the choices were a collaboration. But Halsey has implied that they don't want to do a bunch of press so just hoping we get a little more input on composition/thoughts on the songs.

[cdm]

One thing that stuck out to me: TR sort of sarcastically mentions "...oh here are 75 songs [Halsey sent to them]..." and while it does seem like that's an exaggeration it's also pretty clear they were sent a considerable amount of material, much more than what made the album. I want to hear that material.

Jump to 20:03 for the comment / discussion.

[NotoriousTIMP]

sums up the interview nicely…screw the haters

[Toadflax]

sums up the interview nicely…screw the haters

To be the bad guy, it’s “here’s A fucking record…” which gives the statement a different meaning since the point was about releasing it all at once instead of trying to sell it with singles and late night appearances.

[suprefan]

I remember reading a cover story on Halsey a few years back when she was very new, after her first album I guess - was in Nylon magazine, maybe? Anyway, I vaguely remember she cited Trent as an inspiration then, and so this whole collaboration came as no surprise for me. But I didn't have much appreciation for her until after listening to that whole interview. She's very competent and interesting. Apart from her extreme overuse of the word "like", which was a little grating.

I think the album is great, and I'm really glad TR/AR worked on something different and sort of unusual for them, with her.

Pretty normal for the age group of using “like” that much. At least Halsey never tried to adopt the surfer/chill/rapper kind of voice that a lot of other people in their early/mid 20’s right now have. Prime example Billie Eilish. And at one time wrote a parody Taylor Swift song.


I think maybe there is one more interview coming at most, and could be one about the process, but Im just glad it wasnt Zane Lowe trying to deep dive on this cause it wouldnt have been as fruitful of a conversation. There did seem to be random curs and audio drop outs that were omitted to keep this under an hour interview.

[Alpha 60]

I find it funny but also fascinating TR jamming out on acoustic guitar on Honey. It was a song that at first seemed sort of on the fringe, but I love the idea of TR making that song. It is definitely one of the songs that I would like to hear them talk about. How close was the demo to what they made? The following is not an insult, but the overall sound is pretty average for the nuts and bolts of a song. But, it does fit the song and brings a nice tone of organic breezy performance. I just think it would be great to see behind the scenes TR/AR acoustic guitar jam.

[NotoriousTIMP]

To be the bad guy, it’s “here’s A fucking record…” which gives the statement a different meaning since the point was about releasing it all at once instead of trying to sell it with singles and late night appearances.

eh, it still gets the point across that they are proud of the record

[chuckrh]

I find it funny but also fascinating TR jamming out on acoustic guitar on Honey. It was a song that at first seemed sort of on the fringe, but I love the idea of TR making that song. It is definitely one of the songs that I would like to hear them talk about. How close was the demo to what they made? The following is not an insult, but the overall sound is pretty average for the nuts and bolts of a song. But, it does fit the song and brings a nice tone of organic breezy performance. I just think it would be great to see behind the scenes TR/AR acoustic guitar jam.

Isn't that Lindsey Buckingham on the record? Apologies if you're talking about the youtube thing, haven't seen that yet.

[Paul]

Isn't that Lindsey Buckingham on the record? Apologies if you're talking about the youtube thing, haven't seen that yet.

That's Darling

[roolfdriht]

Back to the bonus tracks...

People Disappear Here is on the EU & JP compact discs, but missing on the Target exclusive CD where it was marketed as a bonus (I believe they're offering a download with proof of purchase and I'm guessing it's an mp3). No one has credits for this track, but the assumption is it's a TR/AR production given the Mike Garson piano. Is there any confirmation available?

Nightmare (reprise) is included with the Walmart exclusive Vinyl as a download only? Did it get released in a physical format? The wiki doesn't list TR/AR in the writing credits, so were they involved? Is this the same version as on the Moment House video & live digital album?

Gasoline (reimagined live) the wiki says this is a Target exclusive bonus, but I don't see it on their site. Is it another download or did it get included on a physical format? It was included on the Moment House stream, but not the live digital album. Were TR/AR involved on this one?

Oh yeah, who the fuck has the instrumentals?

I can address a couple of the Target-related questions. My Target CD finally arrived today, sans bonus tracks as expected. My email to Capitol (halseysupport@capitolrecords.com) yielded a code within a couple hours that allowed me to download WAVs of both People Disappear Here and Gasoline (reimagined live). I didn't buy the vinyl so can't say with 100% certainty, but presumably it's the same infrastructure they're using to fulfill the vinyl download cards.

My annoyance at not having PDH pressed to the CD remains, though I appreciate the fact Capitol moved quickly and essentially provided Gasoline as a consolation prize.

[nmitchell86]

Can I go a little off topic here and ask, does anyone know what boots TR is wearing in the interview video posted a little ways back? They look tough, as in well constructed, and I'm in the market for new boots. Mine have finally worn through the soles.

[Magnetic]

I really liked what Trent started in on that interview about the 40 min mark. And the stuff he said about Bowie.
I have not listened to it yet. I'm saving myself once I'm wheels up and have a solid couple of hours to just immerse during a flight. But, I feel like I get why TR + AR were interested in this project, and it's obvious they're really proud of it. I enjoyed this interview way more than any interview I've listened to in the last 3 years. That isn't anything on them, but if I have to hear the David Fincher movie score origin story one more time I'm going to quit listening to interviews from TR/AR. I feel like that was regurgitated quite a bit during the Watchmen interviews, so this is a good twist.

ETA: And I just watched the part where Atticus chimed in (~49min) about how the truth is what appeals to people. He's not a guy of many words, but you could tell he was moved by her lyrics and what she was saying, and that's just really cool.

I mean, yah, she's pop, but so was Bowie, and maybe this is a good example that pop doesn't have to be dead/ mass produced/ meaningless. It can be redefined to something that doesn't feel soulless.

[TheBang]

No one asking the important questions. Did Trent cut his hair? Cause I think it had finally grown to a good-looking pandemic length in that recent IG post, and now in this interview (which I assume is within the last week or so) it is short. Boo!

[Bear78]

Nightmare (reprise) is included with the Walmart exclusive Vinyl as a download only? Did it get released in a physical format? The wiki doesn't list TR/AR in the writing credits, so were they involved? Is this the same version as on the Moment House video & live digital album?

It's included on disc on the Walmart exclusive CD but it's a clean version as the whole CD is clean. It was supposed to come as a digital download with the Walmart Vinyl but the code that was included just gave people the same tracks as the Target exclusive vinyl. I don't know if that has been fixed or not at this point. I've seen 2 digital files floating around for this, 1 being the clean version ripped from the CD and 1 being the explicit version which to my understanding is fan made (and well done, I couldn't really tell the difference). I don't think there is an official explicit version out there that I've seen.

[GentlemanLoser]

Yeah, I was really impressed by her in this interview. She seemed to have a degree of self-awareness that is sometimes missing in people who have achieved fame. Lots of measured insight and enthusiasm from her (well all three really). I think she really masterminded this whole album a bit more than I initially thought.

TR/AR were a bit more quiet (well except for the occasional breathing sounds because the audio was pretty poorly handled) than I would have liked, but when they did talk, it was usually very concise and, well also measured and insightful. I loved how Atticus kinda wandered off on a tangent a bit there, realized it, and seemed a little flustered that one point. I was like, "oof, I know the feeling your having right now intimately."

I would have loved them to get a little bit more in the weeds about the technical aspects of making the record. Would love to know how the collaboration worked logistically, and of course a bit of synth gear porn; but I pretty much assumed ahead of time that this interview wouldn't really go into that stuff very much if at all.

[GentlemanLoser]

strap on some headphones and listen to this shit for real..

Yeah, the first headphone listenthrough really made me go from "it's alright!" to "there is some downright The Fragile-style layering here!"

Did the "acid test" so-to-speak with it over the weekend and it just kept getting better.

[GentlemanLoser]

I would like to hear (or read) TR/AR talk about individual tracks.

Yeah, it would be cool if we got the breakdown from the NIN and Halsey camps about each of the songs, kinda like Trent and Saul Williams did back when they worked together (damn that is still a good album).

[Findus]

I can address a couple of the Target-related questions. My Target CD finally arrived today, sans bonus tracks as expected. My email to Capitol (halseysupport@capitolrecords.com) yielded a code within a couple hours that allowed me to download WAVs of both People Disappear Here and Gasoline (reimagined live). I didn't buy the vinyl so can't say with 100% certainty, but presumably it's the same infrastructure they're using to fulfill the vinyl download cards.

My annoyance at not having PDH pressed to the CD remains, though I appreciate the fact Capitol moved quickly and essentially provided Gasoline as a consolation prize.

It's interesting that Target's website still lists People Disappear Here as track 14. Will they just continue selling the 13 track CDs, and offering customers download codes until that first batch is sold out, or are they attempting to ship corrected CDs as soon as possible? I'd like to purchase a 14 track Target CD, but if the product on shelves looks the same with same bonus track sticker, it's really hard to tell if it's a 14 track CD, or the first batch 13 tracker. I'm curious to see how long it will take to get proper product on the shelves, as opposed to offering the download code to customers who will continually have to reach out to get the code.

[Lastentrance]

On further listens, this has really grown on me. Caught the interview and I feel my initial assumptions of Halsey were unfair. She’s far from the dopey, douchey persona of Billie Eilish that I had once thought, and far more introspective. For a major pop star to be critical of their previous work is quite bold.

[chuckrh]

That's Darling

Thanks. I got my COVID booster the other day & clearly am not on top of my game. I hadn't really paid attention to song titles. I sure recognized Lindsey's style on the song you mentioned. I got to hang out with him once (kind of a long story, will share another time). Nice guy but you could tell he wasn't quite on the same plain of existence as most of us.

[magnolia]

Pretty normal for the age group of using “like” that much.

LOL trust me, I already know. My older son turns 13 next month.
Doesn't make it any less grating, however common that pattern of speech is.

[cdm]

On further listens, this has really grown on me. Caught the interview and I feel my initial assumptions of Halsey were unfair. She’s far from the dopey, douchey persona of Billie Eilish that I had once thought, and far more introspective. For a major pop star to be critical of their previous work is quite bold.

I would recommend the Zane Lowe interview if you haven't already, Zane Lowe notwithstanding. He doesn't bother me to the degree he bothers some...but I digress. There's some talk about process and TR & AR but there's also quite a bit about her pregnancy in general and the feelings / struggles working and making an album while pregnant. I thought it was very insightful even if Lowe is a bit annoying.

[magnolia]

Can I go a little off topic here and ask, does anyone know what boots TR is wearing in the interview video posted a little ways back? They look tough, as in well constructed, and I'm in the market for new boots. Mine have finally worn through the soles.

In the past he has worn quite a bit of Rick Owens stuff, so wouldn't be surprised if they are that, or some similar designer. Expensive shit.

[FULLMETAL]

My IMAX vinyl arrived this morning in pristine condition so I think I'm finished spending for this album. I wound up buying the (1) vinyl, (1) compact disc import, (1) livestream, & (1) digital live bundle (and stole a 24/48 torrent from qobuz). I just need to get WAVs of Gasoline & Nightmare bonus tracks to complete the collection.

I was rocking No Gods No Masters from garbage on repeat in the car, but this has taken its place.

[allegate]

It's interesting that Target's website still lists People Disappear Here as track 14. Will they just continue selling the 13 track CDs, and offering customers download codes until that first batch is sold out, or are they attempting to ship corrected CDs as soon as possible? I'd like to purchase a 14 track Target CD, but if the product on shelves looks the same with same bonus track sticker, it's really hard to tell if it's a 14 track CD, or the first batch 13 tracker. I'm curious to see how long it will take to get proper product on the shelves, as opposed to offering the download code to customers who will continually have to reach out to get the code.

honestly? I'm surprised they printed a disc at all. It would be a miracle if they said "let's go print some more!"