Nine Inch Nails

[Shinmaru]

I was having a conversation with a friend recently and I jokingly mentioned that I haven't heard a Nine Inch Nails song in a while, because they barely ever play them on the radio. So, we got out The Downward Spiral and listened to it.

All I have to say is, how could I have gone so long without Nine Inch Nails? NIN is simply an amazing band and it makes me sad that there aren't more fans of the band here (or maybe I just haven't noticed them, who knows? I really only see Semjaza talk about the band). NIN's music style is just so different from anything I've ever heard and Trent's vocal style is very pleasing to hear even if some people think that the graphic nature of his lyrics are not (which I don't). Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some more Nine Inch Nails to listen to.

Edit: Well, I'm back and Trent Reznor has yet again rekindled my faith in music. For some reason, I just can't get enough of NIN lately. I really need to scrounge up the money to see him live. The music is just genius and the songs are passionately written and I usually end up enjoying live music more, so hopefully I can see him and deem it the coolest show ever.

[Vertigo]

*gushes* The Downward Spiral is the only NIN album I own, but I love it to death...The thing that first got me into Nine Inch Nails was the music video for Closer. I beleive it was shown on MTV's Most Contraversial Videos, and I remember just watching it and going "Oh...my....god...Must get..."
A week later, I bought the album. I love the songs on that CD. There seems to be at least one for every mood, and fitting my mood is what really makes me like a band.

[Sui Generis]

[COLOR=indigo]Nine Inch Nails are amazing in meh opinion. I love them to death. Although my favorite song by them isn't really by them. Its by A Perfect Circle....its Judith (Nine Inch Nails Remix)....So in other words we have NIN doing the music and the lead singer of APC singing the song. Its meh favorite song of all time![/COLOR]

[Semjaza]

The Judith remix was really done by Danny Lohner, not NIN itself (which basically implies Trent in general). Lohner was the bassist for NIN, mostly acting during tours. Interestingly enough, last I heard, he is part of APC now... along with Twiggy Ramirez, who left Manson recently.

NIN is one of my favorite bands. I really don't know what to say about them, it wouldn't be enough. Trent is probably the closest person to pure musical genius there has been in who knows how long now.

My favorite disc of NIN's has always been Broken. It still is. Definitely worth checking it out, especially if you like the heavier side of things. It's a lot more metal influenced, but it was doing stuff most other bands didn't even consider way back then.

[Avatarofkaine]

"Doing stuff most bands didn't even concider way back then" I think that sums up the attraction of NIN admirably. Their music can be quite hypnotic and thought provoking at times, especially when you dont focus on the words but the sound as a whole. NIN are setting paths that other bands in the genre should follow but don't and it is as much as shame as it is a blessing, a shame that there aren't other bands with the quality of music, and a blessing that NIN is making the music nobody else can match.

They are up there with the big names for good reason, so sit up and take notice, they are worth the time for a listen.

[Semjaza]

I am deeply disturbed by the lack of posts. I'm just going to write and write and see what happens. NIN deserves it. I'm going to assume that most people at OB don't know tons about NIN, so I'm going to write this in a way that addresses that.

This will be LONG. There's your warning.

.......................................

I noticed the people that posted in here seemed to mostly be familiar with The Downward Spiral. I really recommend you get all their main releases (Pretty Hate Machine, Broken, TDS and The Fragile), mostly because they are all so different.

I think the thing that really makes NIN so important stems really from their debut. Although Trent doesn't refer to NIN as "industrial", I'll refer to them as an industrial band because that's what they're closest to in general.

Back in 1989 when Pretty Hate Machine came out... Industrial was already a growing force, but still mostly underground. Mainly because the bigger groups at the time had a very harsh sound. Skinny Puppy and Ministry come to mind (although interestingly, Down In it - PHM's first single - was directly influenced by a Skinny Puppy song called Dig It). The whole disc basically has a dance sound to it.

NIN more or less brought this sound to the masses by making it accessible... but unlike most groups that to this, the sound wasn't watered down to the point that it sounded like something else that was trying too hard to fit in. I think this was important, mostly because it gave Trent (who at the time WAS NIN, for all intents and purposes) a level of integrity that many other musicians/bands lack.

At the time, NIN was with TVT, who published all his stuff. There were a few singles released with various versions... Down In It (which was before PHM), Head Like a Hole and Sin (which has an amazing cover of Queen's Get Down Make Love on it). All of the CDs were referred to as "Halos", which has stuck to this day. We're at Halo Seventeen right now, now that And All That Could Have Been is released.

There was a falling out with TVT for various reasons though, and Halo Five was recorded largely in secret. It was eventually published by Interscope, and was named Broken. I don't remember all the details, but Trent's nothing records was established at this time as well (1992, that is). Strangely they didn't publish anything but NIN records until Manson's singles in 1994... although there are about a dozen groups on the label now. Most improtantly Squarepusher, Autchre, The The, 12 Rounds and Prick... at least in my opinion. I forget if Einstein Neubauten was on nothing or not.

Broken is my favorite NIN disc for many reasons. I don't really know if I can put most of them into words... I think the main reason is that it really is nothing but pure emotion. I can't think of many other releases (let alone EPs, like this is... it wasn't an LP) that really feel as genuine as this disc does. There are a couple instrumentals on it that I don't listen to often (especially Pinion, as it's mostly just an intro)... but overall the disc is awesome. Not to mention the excellent songs at the end: Suck and a wonderful cover of Adam Ant's Physical, which is probably the closest a song has ever gotten to pure digital sex (other than Get Down Make Love heh). It even has a jab at the start against some guy at TVT heh.

Around this time, I think NIN really discovered how important music videos could be in terms of art. Pretty Hate Machine's videos were basically standard fair. Broken's were on another plane of existance altogether. I think anyone that has seen the video for "Happiness in Slavery" could agree with that.

There was also a promo tape known as the "Broken Video" that came out around that time. It was done on a cheap camera, which gave it an almost snuff appearance. The whole concept of the video was basically a man being tortured to death while he watched NIN videos. It's probably among the most realistic violence I've EVER seen on tape... so if you're into that stuff, check it out heh.

Fixed was released soon after, which was basically a Broken remix album. Let's just say that calling this disc horrible is a compliment. I cannot stand it, and most of the remixes on it are simply awful. I don't know why this was released to be honest, but Trent himself had very little to do with the remixes for the most part... just like on all the remix CDs.

I don't know when things started to change... if it was after Broken or after the next LP, The Downward Spiral... But I notice a lot of people started getting the opinion that NIN, and Trent specifically, had started getting full of themsevles and catering to the masses.

I've never quite understood that, as Broken itself was probably years ahead a good deal of the industrial/metal scene at the time... and The Downward Spiral kind of ushered in that whole era of sound, rather than just clinging to it and emulating, but whatever. I think the main reason people think this is because of how angry and forceful the disc is... but so was Broken.

So, cut to 1996. Halo Eight, The Downward Spiral came out... which is when most people discovered NIN for obvious reasons. This was around the time when groups such as themselves and Manson and other hard rock groups were finally tearing down the stagnating grunge scene, which really hadn't been evolving for a while by that time. Most people know NIN for Closer or Hurt, which are of this release. March of the Pigs and Piggy were also two pretty successful singles.

Again, the videos kept going. I think Closer was probably the highlight. The sexual innuendo on it was pretty risky at the time, and just really well done.... but still so random.

There were a few more singles that had some remixes on them. March of the Pigs was Halo Seven, and thus already released. Closer to God was Halo Nine.

So then we get another remix album, which thankfully wasn't so bad. It was Halo Ten, and called Further Down the Spiral. There was some nice stuff on it... specifically Eraser (Polite). I wound up having to buy the US release AND the import, because they were two diferent versions that had different tracks on them. NIN has done this a few times, sadly. Too much money.

The other thing of importance was probably NIN's tour with David Bowie. Mostly because Bowie is one of my heroes in a sense. I respect him and idolize him basically. They wound up doing a few songs together and remixing other things. Trent helped with Bowie's I'm Afraid of Americans, as well as appearing in the video for it.

Next is probably the biggest annoyance I've ever had with NIN: Halo Eleven - The Perfect Drug Versions. I am still not impressed with this CD. It's nothing but four remixes by random people and one by NIN. The part that really pisses me off is the complete lack of the original version of the song. At the time, you could only get it on the Lost Highway soundtrack. This wasn't a first... as you could only get Dead Souls on The Crow soundtrack and Burn off the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. However, it was annoying to get these remixes and not the original. The Perfect Drug didn't even wind up on a Halo until years later on a Fragile single.

Next was Closure, Halo Twelve. It was just a two tape set of all NIN's videos up until that point and live footage. Worth checking out. It needs to be on DVD.

The next LP was The Fragile, a double disc release. I think in many ways, The Fragile is NIN's masterpiece. I can really think of very few flaws with the whole thing, especially considering the scope of it. This was Halo 14; 13 being the single for The Day the World Went Away.

The Fragile is something that I think everyone should own. It's probably the best double disc album ever created.

Halo 15 was the single for We're In This Together, which had an amazingly cool video. I think the annoying aspect of this was the fact that Halo 15 was more or less import only and was spread across three different discs that generally costed $10 to $15 each. This was the set that contained The Perfect Drug, finally.

Sixteen was another remix CD, Things Falling Apart, which was excellent. The highlight for me being a cover of Gary Numan's Metal. Gary Numan was a huge influence for bands like NIN and Manson, and I'm sure hundreds more. He's famousmostly for the song Cars, which Fear Factory eventually covered.

Seventeen was And All That Could Have Been. A live album, which came in a few parts. The first was a live DVD concert. The second was the CD itself, which came in two versions: one disc and two disc. The two disc set was worth it mostly because it had a few new songs as well as "deconstructed" versions of older classic songs. The Becoming was a standout.

I think the most interesting thing about this time period was the tour. You really need to see the DVD to understand what a huge live presence NIN is... in terms of sound and visuals.

The Fragile didn't do as well as Interscope wanted apparently (although it did go well over platinum, so go figure)... so they pulled most of the funding for the Fragility tour from what I understand. Trent supposedly wound up gathering the money himself to pay for the tour. I'd imagine it did well enough to recoup the losses.

Now we're sitting here hoping for somethinf new soon. Trent was doing the soundtrack for Doom III (like he did for Quake years earlier), but recently dropped it because it was taking up to much time. Hopefully this means the album is a priority.

There is also the Tapeworm project... mostly something between Trent and Maynard James Keenan of Tool. Phil Anselmo of Pantera was also involved. Who knows when this will be coming out, but pretty much any fan of these bands has been anticipating it for years.

Maynard wound up playing a Tapeworm song live at some concert (you can find it on Kazaa and such), which apparently greatly annoyed Trent. So at least there is progress lol.

Previous and current members of NIN have also gone on to be rather successful. Most have very prominant remixing careers, such as Vrenna, Clouser and Lohner. I'd say doing Smashing Pumpkins, U2 and Rob Zombie mixes is pretty good personally heh.

Vrenna himself now is a group known as tweaker. He basically does all the music, and has guests to the singing. He was NIN's drummer. He also produces... most noticably Cold's first disc, Jack Off Jill's final disc and anything Scarling is putting out in any recent time period.

Lohner is now supposedly part of A Perfect Circle. He also played bass with NIN on tours.

And lastly we have Richard Patrick who wound up forming Filter... whose first release, Short Bus, was pretty damn good in my opinion.

Most of these guys have been part or around NIN for quite some time.
-----------

So yeah, there you go. Pretty much everything you'd want to know about the band in a somewhat short biography heh. At least compared to how long I [i]could[/i] have been. Skips over tons of stuff, but whatever.

It's 5 AM. I'm out.

[Avatarofkaine]

Well, I enjoyed that immensly. Going back into their earlyer workings is something I've never done very well, but htis may well have made me work harder at it. During the early stuff I was young and naieve, thus missed it all, my small cache of money also barely allows me to keep up with my music, so I have to be fairly sure what I'm buyng.

Knowing the respect that NIN is owed I'ts always been a fairly safe bet for me, but i never really got around to it. I'm now inspired thanks thats been helpful, may i soon grace my soundsystem with the older stuff.

Maybe then i can post on them with as much knowledge as you.

[Shinmaru]

I must say that I enjoyed reading that NIN bio very much (Long? Hell, it wasn't long enough lol). Nearly everything a person would want to know about NIN in one post...a pretty good accomplishment in my opinion (for whatever that's worth).

I still to this day have not been able to get my hands on NIN's earlier work. Whether it be due to lack of funds, not being able to track them down, etc. it seems that the world just does not want me to hear this music. But even after only hearing The Downward Spiral, I can proudly say that NIN still continues to be a huge musical inspiration to me (probably the biggest, even ahead of Nirvana). The music is just amazing and way ahead of its time. I enjoy the songs just as much (if not more) today than I did when I first heard them. Also, I am an avid songwriter and I have to say that Trent Reznor was one of the people who inspired me to start writing music. The man's lyrics are simply incredible and they compliment the music perfectly. I just can't say enough good things about this band.

Also, Semjaza mentioned NIN's videos. If you watch one of NIN's videos, I can assure you that you will never forget it. The videos are that good. Trent Reznor was one of those people who took music videos, brought it away from just having a bunch of idiots dancing around, and made it into an art. There is no word to describe the videos, you just have to see them for yourself (and trust me, they should be watched - they're worth it).

[Semjaza]

Almost all of NIN's CDs are still in print and easy to find. Even most of the singles, although I'm not sure about a couple of the imports. In fact, Pretty Hate Machine just recently went triple platinum. You should be able to find a good deal of their stuff nearly everywhere.

The only NIN disc I've yet to get is the import Head Like a Hole single. I've seen it once, but I passed. All it has is an extra remix that was never released in the US, but I want it anyway heh.

Anyway, I'm glad some people read what I wrote. Took me quiet awhile to type out heh.

[Shinmaru]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Semjaza Azazel [/i]
[B]Almost all of NIN's CDs are still in print and easy to find. Even most of the singles, although I'm not sure about a couple of the imports. In fact, Pretty Hate Machine just recently went triple platinum. You should be able to find a good deal of their stuff nearly everywhere. [/B][/QUOTE]

I think that my problem is that I live in a pretty small town and it can be quite difficult to find a good place to buy music. Most of the stores that I've been to just carry recent releases. But I haven't been to Best Buy in a while, and they have a huge music selection. Now that I think about it, I'd probably find it there.

[Lady Macaiodh]

[color=darkblue][size=1]Well, that's a lot of info. You must really love NIN to have all that memorized.

I used to really love them. I guess I still do. But they're too depressing/angry overall for me these days.

Of course, the only CDs I had were Pretty Hate Machine, The Downward Spiral, and Broken, so they might have stuff that's not like that.[/color][/size]

[Semjaza]

I find The Fragile to be pretty uplifting in the end... so you might enjoy it. It kind of flops around emotionally the entire time, but manages to stay pretty solid. Maybe I just find lots of crazy beats and such nice though. Who knows.

It has We're in This Together Now, which is one of the few somewhat hopeful songs NIN ever had.

Either way, I recommend it... but don't get ripped off. CD stores try to sell it for nearly $30. You can find it for $20 or so if you look around.

[Angelus]

I have never seen the fagile being sold for that much money. I always see it for about 18. $30 is a crazy amount of money.

[Semjaza]

Yeah, don't ask me. That was more geared towards people who like to shop at FYE, Sam Goody and those types of stores. Around here, I've seen it go for around $28.99 quite often. The same with the AATCHB limited set. Best Buy had AATCHB limited for like $22 I think. The Fragile seems to average like $19.

Considering how many people seem to shop at those places and are willing to pay $18 for a CD I can get at Best Buy for $11, no wonder many people think CD prices are so horrible. If you don't look around, you're going to get screwed.

As for the APC thing I said earlier... Lohner is apparently out. Twiggy is still in.

The new member is now James Iha, formerly of the Smashing Pumpkins. Strange heh.

[SadClown]

All I gotta say is "I wanna ***** you like an animal!"

[Shinmaru]

Decided to bring this thread back from the dead.

I picked up Pretty Hate Machine a few days ago. As everyone has said, Pretty Hate Machine is very different from The Downward Spiral, but it still surprised me very much.

Pretty Hate Machine is full of more danceable tunes and stuff that you would think would become very popular simply because it's very addictive to listen to.

I like all the songs on Pretty Hate Machine, but Sin is my definite favorite...it's an amazing song. The first thing out of my mouth after I heard Sin was "Wow." Once again, Nine Inch Nails takes their rightful place as my favorite band.

[Semjaza]

Pretty Hate Machine still has an industrial slant to it though. It's important in the sense that it brought that sound to the masses, whereas other bands at the time such as Ministry were still just too offbeat to be popular. Somehow it worked. Pretty Hate Machine recently passed 3 million copies sold. I think last month.

Sin is an awesome song. What I like about PHM is the way it kind of builds up into heavier, faster songs and then relaxes into a few slower, more subdued ones.

I'd probably go with Something I Could Never Have as my favorite on the disc.

If you haven't bought it yet, I still recommend Broken. It's usally found for under $10, since it's considered an EP.

[Shinmaru]

I'll have to remember to keep a lookout for it the next time I go out since you give it such a high recommendation. If it's under $10, then it sounds like it's exactly in my price range seeing as I'm really cheap lol. I'm looking forward to hearing it once I finally get my hands on it.

I noticed that about Pretty Hate Machine, too. The best part about that is that it's a more gradual change of pace. It sounds very awkward when bands just change the pace all of a sudden. Like when a band puts one slow song on a CD full of faster paced songs. It's nice when a band shows some common sense when it comes to musical pacing.

[Mitch]

[size=1] I am [i]anxiously[/i] awaiting Tony to send my some of their stuff by snail mail...but until then, I have only downloaded a few random songs. They definitely sound wonderful from what I hear..

So yeah. I have seen [i]Pretty Hate Machine[/i] in stores for about 13 or so bucks..and that's about all. The other CDs of theirs I saw were too damn expensive and were at places like Fye. Which blow in their prices.

So yeah..once Tony sends me some of their stuff, I will post here. I also plan on trying to buy all of their CDs if it is possible.[/size]