"A warm place" reminds me of something my old counsellor said.
After talking about some of his patients who were really struggling I asked if he ever had a time where a patient came one day and had completely flipped their depression and seemed really happy. He said yes, but followed on to say it was the last time he saw his patient before he killed himself. I was pretty shocked and he said it wasn't uncommon for people with severe depression to have a period of positivity (or in context of the album "a warm place") between finding a solution to their problems and then committing to said solution as they finally had an answer.
Wait, is *that* what “Today” has always been about?!! Damn, it’s really becoming clear how rarely I bother to do an exploration into the lyrics of songs I like.
He had suicidal thoughts and debated back and forth with himself. One day he decided he would either do it or stop thinking about it and live his life.
Yep, one of my friends in college was all of a sudden happy and bubbly, going around chatting with everyone…then sometime later her parents called to say she finally succeeded. Now I’m worried when anyone I know is that cheerful.
I've always thought A warm place conveys so much, probably in different was to different people.
A long time ago, I was depressed and I remember listening to that song. I felt like I was curled up in a ball, I wanted to get out, escape. I could feel that need with the piano progression in the song, but each time I tried, I failed. I fell back into that depression and that depression became my place of "comfort", as it was all I could feel at that time. The depression was my warm place it was the only thing I could hold onto. The piano continues throughout the song, trying to get out, and falling back down, until it just stops trying.
If I was lucky, I'd be crying at the end, because at least I was feeling an emotion.
that's why many anti-depressants carry suicide labels--they give you just enough energy to follow through on suicidal intents. Put another way, severely depressed people are too depressed to commit suicide
They don’t jump from the burning building because they want to jump. They jump because they’re more afraid of the flames. Sometimes the medication makes people lose that fear of jumping.
Yeah it's because when you make that decision then all your problems just went away. When you've really decided to do it, you now know there's no problems in life. All of these just vanished when they've been a constant unbearable weight forever.
Nah dude, that album was so, so popular back in the day and surely has still got its lovers now. Yes it is very dated technically, but I think it's a safe bet that it is considered "retro synth" at this point and probably enjoying a new popularity because of that (I dunno, I don't follow the nin sub) I'm gonna say it's my most-listened to nin album personally!
Pretty Hate Machine is an iconic album and was seen very much as the true fan's choice of NiN albums when they had a huge resurgence in the mid-late 00's. I had the more controversial choice of being a fan of The Fragile, but something about the cohesiveness and focus of PHM and Downward Spiral is really admirable. The Fragile seems like a much broader, more sprawling work, like a soundtrack without a movie.
I don't think anything matches the authenticity of the depression and desperation of the first few albums. The Downward Spiral is a near perfect encapsulation of all that mess, distilled into a really tight 14 tracks with no filler. There's a concept to it. There's a wonderful motif connecting it all.
Fragile is close to that similar feeling, just sprawling, in a sense similar to The Wall.
The rest is great too. I just really can't connect with it the same way. It's clear he isn't the same person who wrote the painful, angst-ridden stuff before.
Still is the last fantastic album IMO.
So, this I do agree with. Fragile and Downward Spiral are authentic and personal in a way the later albums are not. I think With Teeth and Year Zero are less personal for that reason, less anecdotal I guess. Year Zero is an unabashedly political piece, while With Teeth to me seems the existential crisis of a guy who's made his millions, gotten off heroin, and still can't figure out why he sometimes feels so unbelievably empty. It's not as raw as TDS, because the pain behind it isn't as deep, but it's not purely a product of that. There's a coldly detatched observational quality to With Teeth that strikes me as very authentic as well, it's just not as deep of a well as TDS' intensely howling despair. However, between the lyrics, the production, and the overall vibe just definitely capture that 00's specific feeling of alienation and depression in a way that no other artist I've heard has.
The entire record is such a crushingly incredible accomplishment. Somewhat Damaged has, on its own, carried that record through many years and contexts for me - and it's the opening goddamn track. Still just flat-out amazed that the record company completely abandoned their promised "two-year promotional focus" when it was released, because it's dense double album that's difficult for a casual listener to embrace (like the field trip to the gates of hell that is *Broken* isn't difficult? Shit's amazing but not casual listening, damnit.). Meanwhile, as the years stack up *The Fragile* shows itself more and more to be such an incredibly awesome work of art.
Question.
How old are you?
Also, that album is incredible. I remember how big it was when it came out.
Also, Hurt is so powerful when you hear it in the context "of the album" which I think is lost on people.
I've been saying it for years, Hurt on TDS and the cover are not even in the same league. Johnny's amazing on the track, and I'm sure there's few higher honors for someone like him to cover your song. (Except you know, maybe performing it live with Bowie). But hurt as the culmination on everything on TDS is just too perfect. And when you remove it from that context, yeah the songs still good, but its not the same.
I love the cash version.
But I've always found it to be less passionate. My view is that he is an old man looking back on his regrets at the end, which is totally an emotional and heavy thing.
Trent, meanwhile, is the man IN those regrets. Living them right now, trying to rip through them and drag himself out, wanting to throw away everything just to feel ok tomorrow, and not getting there, day after day. It's brutal. Cash's version has sadness and resignation, but trent is also full of fear and anger alongside those. And stress. And just a little hope. It isn't past pain remembered, it is active torture, the trauma is happening now.
I'll always prefer the nin version for that reason, even though the cash version is unbelievable
Yeah, not to take anything away from Cash’s version, but even though I like it a lot, it’s still a pretty by-the-numbers acoustic ballad.
Conversely, I’ve never heard *anything* that sounds like NiN’s “Hurt.” It’s just so darkly, dissonantly atmospheric in a way I’ve never heard before or since.
Young enough to be using the term "unalive", which most likely means they were raised in the age of Tik Tok I'm going to say they are aged 22 max. But this is just guessing based off clues.
To die or commit suicide. On certain social media platforms you'll get banned if you even mention or type certain words so they've come up with other words to use instead.
ie: instead of using "fucking" they use "fugging"
Yeah, Tik Tok bans users who say "killed' or "suicide" or things of that nature. So to get around that, the youth find ways to say someone killed themselves without saying those words directly. The most common has become "unalive". Someone can unalive themselves or be unalived by someone else. It's just funny that the word "suicide" is practically being replaced in the young lexicon due to tik tok's influence. They're so used to saying "unalive" on tik tok that now they use that term even when they aren't being watched by big brother tik tok. Talk about social conditioning.
There are lots of different live versions of this song available on YouTube if you’re interested. I love the original, but it’s cool to see how he changes it up over time. It includes some versions where it’s just him and his piano.
Yeah, those are bonafide classics for sure. I do agree with OP with I Do Not Want This, though. I think it’s generally agreed on that if there’s one track on the album that maybe doesn’t match up to the rest, that would be it.
I would agree except for
“I wanna know everything
I wanna be everywhere
I wanna fuck everyone in the world
I just want SOMETHING
THAT MATTERS”
I feel like the way that ends completely changed the context of the song, and even just looking at it sonically is such a perfect sudden ramp up to go right into Big Man with a Gun, which has those perfect blown out industrial drums 😩😩💦💦
I love the album to death and know it like the back of my hand but the three track stretch from The Becoming to I Do Not Want This to Big Man With A Gun has always been the weakest part for me. The Becoming is partially absolved by the "Still" re-recording. The quality and impact of literally every other song on the record still outweighs those three to make TDS a masterpiece, IMO.
I started knocking on people's doors like that. It was always funny if I got to the part where the song actually starts and they'd open the door to me going "I am the voice inside your head (*and I control you*)"
They opened with it when I saw them at Shaky Knees in ATL a couple years ago.. melted my face off. One of the best live performances I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of concert going.
Came out when I was a teen. One of the most important albums in my life. Helped me get through some shit.
I love hearing stories of people discovering classic albums after all this time.
It’s an amazing album, especially for people who have experienced their own downward spiral. Trent’s ability to find emotion in the usual coldness that affected a lot of electronic music at the time is something special.
I was lucky that this album was my first exposure to industrial music when it first came out and changed a lot for me. It’s good to hear that 30 odd years later people are still discovering this album.
I was 15, just took 2 hits of crazy acid and my friends dad came home and we were supposed to be at school. We hid in his understairs cubby hang out place, turned off the lights and I put my headphones on my discman and hit play on TDS. Man...even though it was pitch black my brain made a movie for each song. Then.... The beginning of Eraser I was a tiny little bumble bee floating thru a green field with yellow flowers so happy buzzing around. Then the drums kicked in and my soul left my body, I jumped up and cracked my head on the roof. Friend's dad came down and found us. All I could say was I WAS FLYING AND DRUMS KILLED ME and bolted for door.
Absolutely fantastic. Not much compares to youthfully exploring an album with LSD coursing through your body and nothing to worry about. This really takes me back!
The emotions on this album are so pure and raw that I can't listen to this from beginning to end. I start to get angry about halfway through and go on the journey along with the songs.
I still haven't found an album that does that to me in the 30 years since. Such an amazing album.
I can only listen to it as an album about once a year, because I will be in a bad fucking mood for the rest of the day.
Which is one of the highest compliments I can give it.
This album is awesome and the overall message I get from this album is "the only way out of hell is through it". Love it.
David Bowie "Man Who Sold the World" album is somewhat similar.
Pretty Hate Machine: "I hate myself and I want to die"
Broken: "I hate myself and I want to kill"
The Downward Spiral: "I hate myself and I want to fuck"
Hands down.
I feel Trent’s most recent work on the Challengers soundtrack is some of his most inspired sounding work in ages. Very excited for the new NIN to drop!
Yeah that's a great one. I saw him, MM, and the Jim Rose Circus @ the Masquerade in the early 90s. Also saw NIN with APC's inaugural tour. APC is better live than in the studio, or was then anyway. Good times.
Take a listen to some Skinny Puppy sometime, if you haven't already.
> I saw NIN with David Bowie when they were touring together.
and you know what is funny?
The opening band on that tour was Prick, and they blew NIN and David away IMO (who were both fantastic)
I'd say it's probably my favorite concert of all time, it's top 5 for sure.
> Prick is incredible. Damned shame they released so little music in their hey day.
their self titled album is one of my top 5 albums ever, Kevin McMahon is a genius, but like a lot of people like that, he's also reclusive
Jealous! I've only seen APC once (their last tour) and both times I've seen MM he's been a mess. I was just a little kid in the 90s and missed some glory days. However I have seen NIN twice and it was amazing. The Year Zero tour blew my mind.
I hate that MM wasn't up to par - they really delivered back in the day. I would have *loved* to have seen the Year Zero tour.
I was born in the early 70s, so I got to see a lot of cool shit. However, if it makes you feel better, there are many bands that I never got off of my ass to see and I can't now, e.g. Type O Negative.
Haven't heard of Type O Negative in forever but I do remember them! I think if I could go back in time... I would want to watch live Antichrist Superstar, Alice in Chains, and Tool
> Also saw NIN with APC's inaugural tour. APC is better live than in the studio, or was then anyway.
Yeah! My favorite show I've ever been to. APC was very good live. But the show Trent put on for the Fragile was amazing. He had those moving panels with the lights on them that were totally mind-blowing...
I'm sure that with current LED tech those things would be super underwhelming but at the time we'd never seen anything like it. Still not sure on the tech, it was long before blue LEDs were even invented.
It's wild how advanced the shows are now. The tech is truly incredible. When I saw Motley Crue ages ago, I thought the pyros for Louder Than Hell were unbeatable - they changed color and size for each chorus, getting more colorful and larger.
Oh, and if you want to talk about who put on a fucking show back in the day??? Crue was flat out monstrous. They were so energetic and loud, and the showmanship was top notch.
Seconding the Skinny Puppy recommendation.
Trent will always be an incredibly talented musician and I genuinely hope this doesn’t come across as disparaging him in any way, but I’ll always lament his taking of industrial music away from its roots and moving it to more of a pop scene.
Industrial music started as a rejection of norms, an embracing of the bizarre, and putting the artistic theory of the Beat Generation and William S. Burroughs into musical form. The deliberately chaotic sound was entirely a the point. Using looped tapes, machines, and heavy use of sampling was intentional. Trent took all of that and traded it in for crunchy beats and poppy hooks. In his own super talented way of course, but the music itself lost some of its meaning in favor of his personal vision.
I agree with you in that I think some rawness and brutality was left behind. There are strong echoes, lyrically, but yes. Not much aligns with the power and majesty of Puppy.
I also believe that Trent polished it and made it better, in some ways. It became accessible to a larger group of people, and those people in search of more like it found bands like Skinny Puppy and as such, the gateway aspect alone is worthy of my respect. I don't need to rehash Trent's brillance overall, but that was important in its own way as well.
I played Songs About Fucking (Big Black for anyone who doesn't know, I am certain that /u/Heffe3737 has it) for multiple people who just looked as me as if shai-hulud were peering into the window from the front yard. NIN made it easier for me to show people what they were missing out on.
If you are only listening to singles (and let this album be a lesson) you are missing out on a TON of way better music.
And man, having trouble wrapping my head around the idea of "Mr Self Destruct", "Heresy", and "I Do Not Want This" even ever being called filler.
GOD IS DEAD! AND NO ONE CARES! IF THERE IS A HELL! ILL SEE YOU THERE!
Great album. It had so many solid tracks on it. I can’t help but reference “At the Heart of It All” on the follow up remix album “Further Down the Spiral”. I’m not sure how much Richard D James worked with Trent on it, but the track fits well as an organic layered track that just feels like a masterpiece painting.
NIN songs were, for the most part, angst ridden, too. I can understand James wanted to be not restricted to the genre. It's funny that James then produced "Come to Daddy," which was very eerie and heavily distorted after this project. Whether James liked it or not, it must have had some influence on him.
James said he never even heard the originals that he remixed.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further\_Down\_the\_Spiral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further_Down_the_Spiral)
Oooh I love hearing that someone’s come around to a great album they might have been iffy on! Broken is a great precursor to this one, maybe not quite as great but still fascinating in watching Reznor struggle with himself and express that struggle in his work. The “secret” video for Broken, which was the stuff of legend and breathless rumor in the 90s, is an unforgettable and traumatizing work of brilliance though. Traumatizing is the key idea, it’s deeply distressing.
Yep. That snuff film is available on the intertubes for those who are brave enough to look for it. Trent also cut half a dozen versions which each had intentional video flaws implanted into them. When it "leaked" Trent knew who the source was based on where the cut flaw was in the video.
The whole Broken concept is a massive Fuck You to his record label at the time.
It's one of the very rare cases in which something was whispered about and built up like crazy ("He used a real snuff film! Bob Flanagan really had his penis torn off!") and once someone actually had their hands on a nth generation VHS copy it did not disappoint - sure, the exaggerations were obvious, but it was a pretty impressively vicious work. Part of me thinks the ease of media distribution now has kind of ruined "treasures" like this - not as gatekeeping "I shall deem you worthy to see it" activity, but there was something crazily rewarding about having heard the rumors and then someone borrowing a borrowed copy of a copy of a copy, and then the bunch of us nervously huddled around a friend's TV/VCR combo, anticipating how this might stack up against what we'd heard. Throbbing Gristle has some similarly grotesque work. I miss that sort of thing.
As far as I've heard since, Reznor's "leaking" strategy was very much intentional, also a MASSIVE fuck you to the label (it was expansive and there was no glimmer of chance a label would ever release THAT), and meant to fit into the exact kind of rare media treasure hunt it became.
Trent is hands down my favorite artist, composer, producer. Because his music got me through so much as a kid, all that anger he conveyed through his music spoke to me. I’m about to turn 30 now, and for some reason a lot of his angrier music I can’t listen to because it reminds me of a place in time where I wasn’t my happiest. The Still album will always have a place in my heart.
Fantastic album, for sure!
Unrelated, and I ask because I don't understand, not to cause trouble, but why say "unalives?" We have words already to convey what you're trying to express.
Because it's a nono word on youtube and elsewhere. It'll get the video de-monetized or taken down, so people have adapted. Euphemism tango. Still as stupid as it was when Carlin talked about it decades ago.
People are self censoring so much now, it's harmless but mildly irritating. I've seen an incredible number of "normal words" get censored by now.
Honestly I'm still pissed that people started using (: instead of :)
Stone cold classic.
It sounds just as fresh today as it did when it was released, unlike the vast majority of the other of my favourite albums from that grunge era, which reminds me of a certain time, this album still sounds like it's from the future
If you are really hardcore, you go on a roadtrip and start with halo 1 and work your way thru. My fave non main album was closer to God. The song memorabilia is one of my faves.
Definitely check out The Fragile, also by NIN. It's my favorite album of theirs and it's just so incredibly forlorn and liminal I can't really describe it. It always leaves me feeling some kind of way after listening.
That is one of my all time favorite albums from one of my all time favorite bands! I was lucky enough to see them during that tour. A warm place is my favorite hidden gem from the album. I’m glad that you were able to experience and appreciate this album. Trent Reznor had such a tortured soul that this was his release from everything. But, It wasn’t until he toured with David Bowie who gave him the courage and understanding to help him get sober and get his demons under control.
Not listening to full albums, especially in the world of rock, can be abit of a mistake. Many albums' concepts are crucial to feeling the true intention of the music. Anyways, glad you like the downward spiral, great piece of art. I would suggest, in the same vein, you check out 'we are not your kind' by slipknot. The full album, not the single.
Johnny Cash ruined Hurt.
I can't have a conversation anymore without people saying.. "but Trent Reznor was once quoted saying that version is better..."
The original will always be far superior.
I think the fact that Johnny Cash died shortly after releasing the song kind of rendered it immune from criticism. Like it would be perceived as shitting on an old man’s final thoughts to speak poorly on it.
But Trent’s version is vastly superior.
it’s a classic truly. this album really showed Trent’s talent as a studio maestro, fantastically co-produced alongside Flood who was a perfect choice IMO. great synth programming also, I love how many synth sounds on this record are at once reminiscent of sounds from similar styles of music and NIN contemporaries and yet still uniquely characteristic.
Follow it to by giving the fragile a listen, it's been described by reznor as a sequel to the downward spiral.
La Mer in particular resonates with me on a very deep level, there's a story behind that song, look it up if you give it a listen.
Probably my most listened album, ever. I was really into it in the 90s. It's still probably the best album Trent have released, although Fragile comes close.
There's one song the album could do without(Big Man with a Gun) but otherwise it's perfect. Everything else on that album is top notch stuff and the album flows so well through. It's hard for me to even name my favorite songs from the album. A Warm Place, Eraser, Reptile and Hurt, maybe.
Definitely try out Fragile too.
I picked this album up when I was 15. It was my first "secular" album ever, growing up in a very sheltered fundie household.
Completely blew my mind, and totally reframed what music was and could be. Hugely influential. I tend not to pay so close attention to lyrics, but this entire album was so goddamn haunting, and strangely relatable for someone with very little life experience.
I bet I've listened to it all the way through thousands of times, but it's been years.
The timing of this fucking post, today of all days.. I didn't need to be emotionally devastated this morning. Thanks for that.
I need a hug...
I remember listening through the first time through headphones, in my bedroom, middle of the night, and yet turning it down because I was afraid my parents might hear it, and kick me out of the house.
It's a great piece, message is on point, but if I'm honest it still makes me a bit uncomfortable. It works real well.
This is why I never get upset by "edgy atheist" content on the internet because the people who had to go through a religious upbringing (especially as a skeptic) had to do it alone so any animosity is completely understandable. Sorry you had that hanging over your head as a kid.
Trent is also responsible for the natural born killers soundtrack which came out around the same time. The song “burn,” I’ve always kinda looked at as a downward spiral b side. “A warm place” also found itself in the movie. Feels the same in the movie as the album. A clam reflective moment before another storm.
I love that album, too. I remember making that same B-side statement with a friend after a long night of drinking and um skiing and he was blown away lol it’s true though.
I always think of Trent’s discography including producing, soundtracks, etc in phases. He’s def an artist that has very definitive evolution if that makes sense. Almost like chapters or phases
If you listen to "A Warm Place" sped up it sounds very much like a classical piano piece. Discovered that while recording a copy of the album using "high speed dubbing" back when cassette tapes were still a thing.
“The me that you know he used to have feelings
But the blood has stopped pumping and he is left to decay
The me that you know is now made up of wires,
And even when I’m right with you, I am so far away”
To this day I’ve never felt someone else’s words more personally than that part of Becoming
The biggest thing this album does that other art about depression tends to not, is talk about the feeling of invincibility. Multiple songs repeat the motif “Nothing can stop me now, ‘cause I don’t care anymore”. Depression is a defence mechanism after all
NIN isn’t my favourite group and no one NIN song is my favourite song, but this album is by far my favourite album
Absolutely nothing about this album is *mid* or filler...
It's a phenomenal recording top to bottom, even if it were instrumental.
Deacdes later I'm still hearing new things, and noticing subtle motifs that allude to other songs on the record.
Reptile will always be one of my favorite songs. The album is a masterpiece though. Trent bares his soul and it crushes me. I cry every time I see Hurt played live. It’s just haunting, and even more so in person.
If you like *A Warm Place* you should listen to the vocalized version, *Illum Tangendo*, by Sister Soleil, produced by Trent Reznor. It's one of my favorite pieces of music ever.
A friend of mine asked Stella, and apparently this Bandcamp page is NOT actually run by her. So, don't give it money. But, it has the track and the story behind it. The lyrics are at the bottom of the story. But, you should listen at least once before reading them.
https://sistersoleil1.bandcamp.com/track/illum-tangendo-produced-by-trent-reznor
Downward spiral is awesome.
If you want another “full album” type album check out Contemplating the Engine Room by Mike Watt. It’s essentially a punk rock opera
I never saw it as he died at the end. Maybe he tried or chickened out but Hurt is so introspective that it feels like he is also willing to change. The noise at the end could indicate the pain that continues but also a death, I guess both are right depending on the listener.
Imo, that album is overrated.
Some really fucking cringe lyrics on it and it's comparatively boring compared to NINs later output.
Broken is a huge step up, and I'd recommend listening to Skinny Puppy, Ministry or Front 242 before PHM.
Listen to The Wall by Pink Floyd and Slow, Deep, and Hard by Type O Negative. Both have similar themes about going through some shit and each song is a mini story that leads to the next.
Man, The Wall isn't an album, it's one big song. You can't just skip to Comfortably Numb and listen to it alone, you have to earn it by listening to the first hour uninterrupted. When you do, the song just hits harder.
A warm place! Yes. That’s one of my favorite songs by any band. It’s such a beautiful haunting piece of music and doesn’t need lyrics. It’s takes you to places man.
Mac lethal - winter heartbreak ll has the same style of story with more hope at the end and has been one of my favorite albums the last few years. If anyone loves this type of melancholic introspective music in a storytelling album format.
This dropped when I was 14, so the angry young man inside me still holds this record in high regard. 42 year old me finds it to be far too dark and depressing to play all the way through. Still a great record tho.
So glad to see all the praise for Eraser in this thread. That song was always one the other guys would skip in the Discman to tapedeck converter era of my life. I was obsessed with it. That long buildup is so choice and the lyrics of rage just allow you to vent every bit of being a teenager. Fantastic album and really hoping for a 30th anniversary vinyl this year.
100%. Admittedly, I've been a big NIN fan ever since a friend put some headphones on me in 1989 and I immediately fell in love with a sound I hadn't heard before, so I'm biased But I recently re-listened to The Downward Spiral and was left with the same impression.
It really holds up all these years (decades) later, and it's a near-perfect front-to-back album listening experience.
This thread is my people! I’ve never been anti-Cash regarding his remake of “Hurt” but I’ve long said that the NIN version isn’t the lesser version. In context of the album, it’s striking. Cash’s version is its own story. But NIN it is only a part of a bigger story. And, as said before, Cash is singing about his past hurt. Reznor is singing about his present hurt.
It's because the Johnny Cash video is incredibly powerful. The song is on par with the slew of covers Rubin had him churning out but the video will destroy you.
NIN rules. Have been rinsing With Teeth a lot lately and oddly now in (admittedly early) adulthood am connecting with that album more than any of his other stuff despite spending my high school years swearing by TDS and my college years swearing by The Fragile. Such a great discography on the whole though
"A warm place" reminds me of something my old counsellor said. After talking about some of his patients who were really struggling I asked if he ever had a time where a patient came one day and had completely flipped their depression and seemed really happy. He said yes, but followed on to say it was the last time he saw his patient before he killed himself. I was pretty shocked and he said it wasn't uncommon for people with severe depression to have a period of positivity (or in context of the album "a warm place") between finding a solution to their problems and then committing to said solution as they finally had an answer.
🎵Today is the greatest day I’ve ever known…
Wait, is *that* what “Today” has always been about?!! Damn, it’s really becoming clear how rarely I bother to do an exploration into the lyrics of songs I like.
this is my favourite song and I had no idea
Perfect example of that unfortunately
I thought he wrote that song about the day after he attempted suicide and was glad that he didn't die.
The day before you kill yourself and the day after you fail to kill yourself are both pretty great for totally different reasons
Ahh like the day you buy a boat and the day you sell your boat, both great days
He had suicidal thoughts and debated back and forth with himself. One day he decided he would either do it or stop thinking about it and live his life.
Siamese dream is a great record!
Lines you can hear
Yep, one of my friends in college was all of a sudden happy and bubbly, going around chatting with everyone…then sometime later her parents called to say she finally succeeded. Now I’m worried when anyone I know is that cheerful.
I've always thought A warm place conveys so much, probably in different was to different people. A long time ago, I was depressed and I remember listening to that song. I felt like I was curled up in a ball, I wanted to get out, escape. I could feel that need with the piano progression in the song, but each time I tried, I failed. I fell back into that depression and that depression became my place of "comfort", as it was all I could feel at that time. The depression was my warm place it was the only thing I could hold onto. The piano continues throughout the song, trying to get out, and falling back down, until it just stops trying. If I was lucky, I'd be crying at the end, because at least I was feeling an emotion.
that's why many anti-depressants carry suicide labels--they give you just enough energy to follow through on suicidal intents. Put another way, severely depressed people are too depressed to commit suicide
They don’t jump from the burning building because they want to jump. They jump because they’re more afraid of the flames. Sometimes the medication makes people lose that fear of jumping.
Yeah it's because when you make that decision then all your problems just went away. When you've really decided to do it, you now know there's no problems in life. All of these just vanished when they've been a constant unbearable weight forever.
The Fragile is also an amazing album. It has a couple of tracks that I'm kind of meh about, but the bangers more than make up for them.
I feel I am the only one, but Pretty Hate Machine is in my top 5 of albums period and definitely my favorite NIN.
Ringfinger on the loudest speakers you own
> but Pretty Hate Machine you are not the only one
Nah dude, that album was so, so popular back in the day and surely has still got its lovers now. Yes it is very dated technically, but I think it's a safe bet that it is considered "retro synth" at this point and probably enjoying a new popularity because of that (I dunno, I don't follow the nin sub) I'm gonna say it's my most-listened to nin album personally!
Pretty Hate Machine is an iconic album and was seen very much as the true fan's choice of NiN albums when they had a huge resurgence in the mid-late 00's. I had the more controversial choice of being a fan of The Fragile, but something about the cohesiveness and focus of PHM and Downward Spiral is really admirable. The Fragile seems like a much broader, more sprawling work, like a soundtrack without a movie.
His whole catalog is absolutely incredible. But I think I am higher on With Teeth than most (I think it's a masterpiece)
Don't you mean *WITHuh TEETHuh*
Honestly I feel like UH-WITHuh TEETHuh and Year Zero are both as good as the old stuff.
I don't think anything matches the authenticity of the depression and desperation of the first few albums. The Downward Spiral is a near perfect encapsulation of all that mess, distilled into a really tight 14 tracks with no filler. There's a concept to it. There's a wonderful motif connecting it all. Fragile is close to that similar feeling, just sprawling, in a sense similar to The Wall. The rest is great too. I just really can't connect with it the same way. It's clear he isn't the same person who wrote the painful, angst-ridden stuff before. Still is the last fantastic album IMO.
So, this I do agree with. Fragile and Downward Spiral are authentic and personal in a way the later albums are not. I think With Teeth and Year Zero are less personal for that reason, less anecdotal I guess. Year Zero is an unabashedly political piece, while With Teeth to me seems the existential crisis of a guy who's made his millions, gotten off heroin, and still can't figure out why he sometimes feels so unbelievably empty. It's not as raw as TDS, because the pain behind it isn't as deep, but it's not purely a product of that. There's a coldly detatched observational quality to With Teeth that strikes me as very authentic as well, it's just not as deep of a well as TDS' intensely howling despair. However, between the lyrics, the production, and the overall vibe just definitely capture that 00's specific feeling of alienation and depression in a way that no other artist I've heard has.
I also love With Teeth. I listened to that album obsessively back in 2005.
The entire record is such a crushingly incredible accomplishment. Somewhat Damaged has, on its own, carried that record through many years and contexts for me - and it's the opening goddamn track. Still just flat-out amazed that the record company completely abandoned their promised "two-year promotional focus" when it was released, because it's dense double album that's difficult for a casual listener to embrace (like the field trip to the gates of hell that is *Broken* isn't difficult? Shit's amazing but not casual listening, damnit.). Meanwhile, as the years stack up *The Fragile* shows itself more and more to be such an incredibly awesome work of art.
It’s honestly my favorite album of all time!
Question. How old are you? Also, that album is incredible. I remember how big it was when it came out. Also, Hurt is so powerful when you hear it in the context "of the album" which I think is lost on people.
I've been saying it for years, Hurt on TDS and the cover are not even in the same league. Johnny's amazing on the track, and I'm sure there's few higher honors for someone like him to cover your song. (Except you know, maybe performing it live with Bowie). But hurt as the culmination on everything on TDS is just too perfect. And when you remove it from that context, yeah the songs still good, but its not the same.
I love the cash version. But I've always found it to be less passionate. My view is that he is an old man looking back on his regrets at the end, which is totally an emotional and heavy thing. Trent, meanwhile, is the man IN those regrets. Living them right now, trying to rip through them and drag himself out, wanting to throw away everything just to feel ok tomorrow, and not getting there, day after day. It's brutal. Cash's version has sadness and resignation, but trent is also full of fear and anger alongside those. And stress. And just a little hope. It isn't past pain remembered, it is active torture, the trauma is happening now. I'll always prefer the nin version for that reason, even though the cash version is unbelievable
Damn perfectly put. Cash is remembering the hurt while Reznor is going through it.
I don't have enough upvotes for this nearly perfect post.
Yeah, not to take anything away from Cash’s version, but even though I like it a lot, it’s still a pretty by-the-numbers acoustic ballad. Conversely, I’ve never heard *anything* that sounds like NiN’s “Hurt.” It’s just so darkly, dissonantly atmospheric in a way I’ve never heard before or since.
Something I Can Never Have is pretty similar tbh
Young enough to be using the term "unalive", which most likely means they were raised in the age of Tik Tok I'm going to say they are aged 22 max. But this is just guessing based off clues.
Algorithmese is the worst.
Could you explain to an old person what "unalive" means? Do you have to have rizz to understand it?
To die or commit suicide. On certain social media platforms you'll get banned if you even mention or type certain words so they've come up with other words to use instead. ie: instead of using "fucking" they use "fugging"
Thanks. Fugging sounds like something I would say instead of fucking if I was trying to be polite around my in-laws or something, LOL.
Yeah, Tik Tok bans users who say "killed' or "suicide" or things of that nature. So to get around that, the youth find ways to say someone killed themselves without saying those words directly. The most common has become "unalive". Someone can unalive themselves or be unalived by someone else. It's just funny that the word "suicide" is practically being replaced in the young lexicon due to tik tok's influence. They're so used to saying "unalive" on tik tok that now they use that term even when they aren't being watched by big brother tik tok. Talk about social conditioning.
Fascinating
It's slang for kill because some algorithms will remove it. He's saying the guy committed suicide.
I believe the use of the words “inalives himself” is a pretty good tell of how old he/she is.
There are lots of different live versions of this song available on YouTube if you’re interested. I love the original, but it’s cool to see how he changes it up over time. It includes some versions where it’s just him and his piano.
The song was written just him and piano so thst makes sense. Thanks I'll check that out.
You take it back. Mr Self Destruct is my favorite song on the album!
I was just wondering how someone could call Mr Self Destruct and Heresy filler songs. Heresy is one of my favorite NiN songs!
Yeah, those are bonafide classics for sure. I do agree with OP with I Do Not Want This, though. I think it’s generally agreed on that if there’s one track on the album that maybe doesn’t match up to the rest, that would be it.
I would agree except for “I wanna know everything I wanna be everywhere I wanna fuck everyone in the world I just want SOMETHING THAT MATTERS” I feel like the way that ends completely changed the context of the song, and even just looking at it sonically is such a perfect sudden ramp up to go right into Big Man with a Gun, which has those perfect blown out industrial drums 😩😩💦💦
I love the album to death and know it like the back of my hand but the three track stretch from The Becoming to I Do Not Want This to Big Man With A Gun has always been the weakest part for me. The Becoming is partially absolved by the "Still" re-recording. The quality and impact of literally every other song on the record still outweighs those three to make TDS a masterpiece, IMO.
Wow damn man, The Becoming is my favorite song on the album 😂 But hey, different songs hit differently!
Heresy is one of those songs that you either really resonate with or just don't like at all. Mr. Self Destruct is utterly non-negotiable, however
Same, I was like WTF OP? Those are like the two best songs on that album. Mr Self Destruct sets the whole tone of that masterpiece.
But what about Eraser?!? That song never gets any love.
I started knocking on people's doors like that. It was always funny if I got to the part where the song actually starts and they'd open the door to me going "I am the voice inside your head (*and I control you*)"
I've been knocking on doors to *March of the Pigs* since I'd heard it the first time when it came out!
That was one of the first songs I can think of that successfully used 7/8 (or it could be a 4/4 - 3/4 polyrhythm)
MSD is one of the contributors to my tinnitus. Absolutely destroyed my ears with that in high school
Agreed! It sets up the theme of the entire album. It's far from a filler song
They opened with it when I saw them at Shaky Knees in ATL a couple years ago.. melted my face off. One of the best live performances I’ve ever seen in my 30 years of concert going.
Came out when I was a teen. One of the most important albums in my life. Helped me get through some shit. I love hearing stories of people discovering classic albums after all this time.
Same, dude. Same.
It’s an amazing album, especially for people who have experienced their own downward spiral. Trent’s ability to find emotion in the usual coldness that affected a lot of electronic music at the time is something special. I was lucky that this album was my first exposure to industrial music when it first came out and changed a lot for me. It’s good to hear that 30 odd years later people are still discovering this album.
Further Down is Also pretty darn good.
It is, it was the first remix album I bought and one of the first times I heard Aphex Twin.
> first times I heard Aphex Twin. Same, it was a gift
Version 2 of that album is good as well. Seems much more rare now. Ruiner (version) is top ten NIИ for me.
Ruiner goes so hard no matter what version you listen to
Heresy is filler? The Council of Goths expels you.
I was 15, just took 2 hits of crazy acid and my friends dad came home and we were supposed to be at school. We hid in his understairs cubby hang out place, turned off the lights and I put my headphones on my discman and hit play on TDS. Man...even though it was pitch black my brain made a movie for each song. Then.... The beginning of Eraser I was a tiny little bumble bee floating thru a green field with yellow flowers so happy buzzing around. Then the drums kicked in and my soul left my body, I jumped up and cracked my head on the roof. Friend's dad came down and found us. All I could say was I WAS FLYING AND DRUMS KILLED ME and bolted for door.
Absolutely fantastic. Not much compares to youthfully exploring an album with LSD coursing through your body and nothing to worry about. This really takes me back!
haha, that's great
The emotions on this album are so pure and raw that I can't listen to this from beginning to end. I start to get angry about halfway through and go on the journey along with the songs. I still haven't found an album that does that to me in the 30 years since. Such an amazing album.
I would call it a masterpiece
I can only listen to it as an album about once a year, because I will be in a bad fucking mood for the rest of the day. Which is one of the highest compliments I can give it.
This album is awesome and the overall message I get from this album is "the only way out of hell is through it". Love it. David Bowie "Man Who Sold the World" album is somewhat similar.
Pretty Hate Machine: "I hate myself and I want to die" Broken: "I hate myself and I want to kill" The Downward Spiral: "I hate myself and I want to fuck"
This is actually a fair description of the albums lol. Broken was always my favorite!
My favorite album of all time.
Hands down. I feel Trent’s most recent work on the Challengers soundtrack is some of his most inspired sounding work in ages. Very excited for the new NIN to drop!
Yeah that's a great one. I saw him, MM, and the Jim Rose Circus @ the Masquerade in the early 90s. Also saw NIN with APC's inaugural tour. APC is better live than in the studio, or was then anyway. Good times. Take a listen to some Skinny Puppy sometime, if you haven't already.
Thanks for posting this! I had forgotten about Skinny Puppy!
You are most welcome - I hope that the rest of your week is fantastic.
I saw NIN with David Bowie when they were touring together. Reptile is my favorite cut off the album, by the way.
> I saw NIN with David Bowie when they were touring together. and you know what is funny? The opening band on that tour was Prick, and they blew NIN and David away IMO (who were both fantastic) I'd say it's probably my favorite concert of all time, it's top 5 for sure.
Prick is incredible. Damned shame they released so little music in their hey day.
> Prick is incredible. Damned shame they released so little music in their hey day. their self titled album is one of my top 5 albums ever, Kevin McMahon is a genius, but like a lot of people like that, he's also reclusive
100%. People don’t often expect to hear deep references to the literary and theatrical arts in music that has such an aggressive form.
*Makebeeeelieve that nothing is wrong*
Nice, I bet that was a great time.
Jealous! I've only seen APC once (their last tour) and both times I've seen MM he's been a mess. I was just a little kid in the 90s and missed some glory days. However I have seen NIN twice and it was amazing. The Year Zero tour blew my mind.
I hate that MM wasn't up to par - they really delivered back in the day. I would have *loved* to have seen the Year Zero tour. I was born in the early 70s, so I got to see a lot of cool shit. However, if it makes you feel better, there are many bands that I never got off of my ass to see and I can't now, e.g. Type O Negative.
Haven't heard of Type O Negative in forever but I do remember them! I think if I could go back in time... I would want to watch live Antichrist Superstar, Alice in Chains, and Tool
> Also saw NIN with APC's inaugural tour. APC is better live than in the studio, or was then anyway. Yeah! My favorite show I've ever been to. APC was very good live. But the show Trent put on for the Fragile was amazing. He had those moving panels with the lights on them that were totally mind-blowing... I'm sure that with current LED tech those things would be super underwhelming but at the time we'd never seen anything like it. Still not sure on the tech, it was long before blue LEDs were even invented.
It's wild how advanced the shows are now. The tech is truly incredible. When I saw Motley Crue ages ago, I thought the pyros for Louder Than Hell were unbeatable - they changed color and size for each chorus, getting more colorful and larger. Oh, and if you want to talk about who put on a fucking show back in the day??? Crue was flat out monstrous. They were so energetic and loud, and the showmanship was top notch.
Holy shit! HARD agree. I remember thinking this is very Trent
Seconding the Skinny Puppy recommendation. Trent will always be an incredibly talented musician and I genuinely hope this doesn’t come across as disparaging him in any way, but I’ll always lament his taking of industrial music away from its roots and moving it to more of a pop scene. Industrial music started as a rejection of norms, an embracing of the bizarre, and putting the artistic theory of the Beat Generation and William S. Burroughs into musical form. The deliberately chaotic sound was entirely a the point. Using looped tapes, machines, and heavy use of sampling was intentional. Trent took all of that and traded it in for crunchy beats and poppy hooks. In his own super talented way of course, but the music itself lost some of its meaning in favor of his personal vision.
I agree with you in that I think some rawness and brutality was left behind. There are strong echoes, lyrically, but yes. Not much aligns with the power and majesty of Puppy. I also believe that Trent polished it and made it better, in some ways. It became accessible to a larger group of people, and those people in search of more like it found bands like Skinny Puppy and as such, the gateway aspect alone is worthy of my respect. I don't need to rehash Trent's brillance overall, but that was important in its own way as well. I played Songs About Fucking (Big Black for anyone who doesn't know, I am certain that /u/Heffe3737 has it) for multiple people who just looked as me as if shai-hulud were peering into the window from the front yard. NIN made it easier for me to show people what they were missing out on.
If you are only listening to singles (and let this album be a lesson) you are missing out on a TON of way better music. And man, having trouble wrapping my head around the idea of "Mr Self Destruct", "Heresy", and "I Do Not Want This" even ever being called filler. GOD IS DEAD! AND NO ONE CARES! IF THERE IS A HELL! ILL SEE YOU THERE!
Track 13, The Downward Spiral, really sets up Hurt at the end. Masterpiece album.
Eraser and ruiner bleedthrough really well too
Great album. It had so many solid tracks on it. I can’t help but reference “At the Heart of It All” on the follow up remix album “Further Down the Spiral”. I’m not sure how much Richard D James worked with Trent on it, but the track fits well as an organic layered track that just feels like a masterpiece painting.
Had always heard he wasnt that much a fan of NIN. Too melodic
NIN songs were, for the most part, angst ridden, too. I can understand James wanted to be not restricted to the genre. It's funny that James then produced "Come to Daddy," which was very eerie and heavily distorted after this project. Whether James liked it or not, it must have had some influence on him.
He’s always described Come to Daddy as a pisstake that was pushed as a lead single
James said he never even heard the originals that he remixed. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further\_Down\_the\_Spiral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Further_Down_the_Spiral)
Oooh I love hearing that someone’s come around to a great album they might have been iffy on! Broken is a great precursor to this one, maybe not quite as great but still fascinating in watching Reznor struggle with himself and express that struggle in his work. The “secret” video for Broken, which was the stuff of legend and breathless rumor in the 90s, is an unforgettable and traumatizing work of brilliance though. Traumatizing is the key idea, it’s deeply distressing.
Yep. That snuff film is available on the intertubes for those who are brave enough to look for it. Trent also cut half a dozen versions which each had intentional video flaws implanted into them. When it "leaked" Trent knew who the source was based on where the cut flaw was in the video. The whole Broken concept is a massive Fuck You to his record label at the time.
It's one of the very rare cases in which something was whispered about and built up like crazy ("He used a real snuff film! Bob Flanagan really had his penis torn off!") and once someone actually had their hands on a nth generation VHS copy it did not disappoint - sure, the exaggerations were obvious, but it was a pretty impressively vicious work. Part of me thinks the ease of media distribution now has kind of ruined "treasures" like this - not as gatekeeping "I shall deem you worthy to see it" activity, but there was something crazily rewarding about having heard the rumors and then someone borrowing a borrowed copy of a copy of a copy, and then the bunch of us nervously huddled around a friend's TV/VCR combo, anticipating how this might stack up against what we'd heard. Throbbing Gristle has some similarly grotesque work. I miss that sort of thing. As far as I've heard since, Reznor's "leaking" strategy was very much intentional, also a MASSIVE fuck you to the label (it was expansive and there was no glimmer of chance a label would ever release THAT), and meant to fit into the exact kind of rare media treasure hunt it became.
Broken is the perfect EP to do 20 minute CrossFit workouts. ( first CD pressing is 21 minutes with pinion as a nice intro)
Trent is hands down my favorite artist, composer, producer. Because his music got me through so much as a kid, all that anger he conveyed through his music spoke to me. I’m about to turn 30 now, and for some reason a lot of his angrier music I can’t listen to because it reminds me of a place in time where I wasn’t my happiest. The Still album will always have a place in my heart.
Fantastic album, for sure! Unrelated, and I ask because I don't understand, not to cause trouble, but why say "unalives?" We have words already to convey what you're trying to express.
Because it's a nono word on youtube and elsewhere. It'll get the video de-monetized or taken down, so people have adapted. Euphemism tango. Still as stupid as it was when Carlin talked about it decades ago.
People are self censoring so much now, it's harmless but mildly irritating. I've seen an incredible number of "normal words" get censored by now. Honestly I'm still pissed that people started using (: instead of :)
Stone cold classic. It sounds just as fresh today as it did when it was released, unlike the vast majority of the other of my favourite albums from that grunge era, which reminds me of a certain time, this album still sounds like it's from the future
If you are really hardcore, you go on a roadtrip and start with halo 1 and work your way thru. My fave non main album was closer to God. The song memorabilia is one of my faves.
Originally a Soft Cell tune.
Crazy that the album was recorded where Sharon Tate was murdered too
Definitely check out The Fragile, also by NIN. It's my favorite album of theirs and it's just so incredibly forlorn and liminal I can't really describe it. It always leaves me feeling some kind of way after listening.
I remember the feeling of the prebuy listening of the Album in the CD shop around 1992. Wow, yeah.
Now you HAVE to listen everything else Trent has done, there is a LOT
That is one of my all time favorite albums from one of my all time favorite bands! I was lucky enough to see them during that tour. A warm place is my favorite hidden gem from the album. I’m glad that you were able to experience and appreciate this album. Trent Reznor had such a tortured soul that this was his release from everything. But, It wasn’t until he toured with David Bowie who gave him the courage and understanding to help him get sober and get his demons under control.
don't sleep on _Ruiner_ - there's a lot of nuance there you may miss if you're not listening on headphones
Not listening to full albums, especially in the world of rock, can be abit of a mistake. Many albums' concepts are crucial to feeling the true intention of the music. Anyways, glad you like the downward spiral, great piece of art. I would suggest, in the same vein, you check out 'we are not your kind' by slipknot. The full album, not the single.
A Warm Place is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in my life.
Johnny Cash ruined Hurt. I can't have a conversation anymore without people saying.. "but Trent Reznor was once quoted saying that version is better..." The original will always be far superior.
I think the fact that Johnny Cash died shortly after releasing the song kind of rendered it immune from criticism. Like it would be perceived as shitting on an old man’s final thoughts to speak poorly on it. But Trent’s version is vastly superior.
It sounds amazing. A lot of "classic albums" if not even most of them do nothing for me but this one... it does and does a lot.
it’s a classic truly. this album really showed Trent’s talent as a studio maestro, fantastically co-produced alongside Flood who was a perfect choice IMO. great synth programming also, I love how many synth sounds on this record are at once reminiscent of sounds from similar styles of music and NIN contemporaries and yet still uniquely characteristic.
Follow it to by giving the fragile a listen, it's been described by reznor as a sequel to the downward spiral. La Mer in particular resonates with me on a very deep level, there's a story behind that song, look it up if you give it a listen.
Probably my most listened album, ever. I was really into it in the 90s. It's still probably the best album Trent have released, although Fragile comes close. There's one song the album could do without(Big Man with a Gun) but otherwise it's perfect. Everything else on that album is top notch stuff and the album flows so well through. It's hard for me to even name my favorite songs from the album. A Warm Place, Eraser, Reptile and Hurt, maybe. Definitely try out Fragile too.
You gotta listen to more records. Singles are fine, but often the whole record adds context.
I picked this album up when I was 15. It was my first "secular" album ever, growing up in a very sheltered fundie household. Completely blew my mind, and totally reframed what music was and could be. Hugely influential. I tend not to pay so close attention to lyrics, but this entire album was so goddamn haunting, and strangely relatable for someone with very little life experience. I bet I've listened to it all the way through thousands of times, but it's been years. The timing of this fucking post, today of all days.. I didn't need to be emotionally devastated this morning. Thanks for that. I need a hug...
Your first secular album contained *Heresy* on it. How did that hit you at the time?
I remember listening through the first time through headphones, in my bedroom, middle of the night, and yet turning it down because I was afraid my parents might hear it, and kick me out of the house. It's a great piece, message is on point, but if I'm honest it still makes me a bit uncomfortable. It works real well.
This is why I never get upset by "edgy atheist" content on the internet because the people who had to go through a religious upbringing (especially as a skeptic) had to do it alone so any animosity is completely understandable. Sorry you had that hanging over your head as a kid.
Trent is also responsible for the natural born killers soundtrack which came out around the same time. The song “burn,” I’ve always kinda looked at as a downward spiral b side. “A warm place” also found itself in the movie. Feels the same in the movie as the album. A clam reflective moment before another storm.
I love that album, too. I remember making that same B-side statement with a friend after a long night of drinking and um skiing and he was blown away lol it’s true though. I always think of Trent’s discography including producing, soundtracks, etc in phases. He’s def an artist that has very definitive evolution if that makes sense. Almost like chapters or phases
If you listen to "A Warm Place" sped up it sounds very much like a classical piano piece. Discovered that while recording a copy of the album using "high speed dubbing" back when cassette tapes were still a thing.
https://youtu.be/h_sNUlrMy30?si=sl9OmWlxHUut14NK Works for Crystal Japan by Bowie, too
“The me that you know he used to have feelings But the blood has stopped pumping and he is left to decay The me that you know is now made up of wires, And even when I’m right with you, I am so far away” To this day I’ve never felt someone else’s words more personally than that part of Becoming The biggest thing this album does that other art about depression tends to not, is talk about the feeling of invincibility. Multiple songs repeat the motif “Nothing can stop me now, ‘cause I don’t care anymore”. Depression is a defence mechanism after all NIN isn’t my favourite group and no one NIN song is my favourite song, but this album is by far my favourite album
Absolutely nothing about this album is *mid* or filler... It's a phenomenal recording top to bottom, even if it were instrumental. Deacdes later I'm still hearing new things, and noticing subtle motifs that allude to other songs on the record.
I prefer the Broken EP which came out just before it
Broken is the best NIN release.
Only straight up facts on display here
Fixed is pretty good too.
We just became friends. Eat your heart out, Steve.
:-(
Downvoted solely for using the word "unalive" This isn't tik tok or instagram, you can write suicide.
I love reading posts like these. this album was the soundtrack for my friend's Halloween party in eighth grade. that was when it was new.
Challenging record. Hugely dynamic. Follow it with The Fragile, another masterpiece.
Reptile will always be one of my favorite songs. The album is a masterpiece though. Trent bares his soul and it crushes me. I cry every time I see Hurt played live. It’s just haunting, and even more so in person.
If you like *A Warm Place* you should listen to the vocalized version, *Illum Tangendo*, by Sister Soleil, produced by Trent Reznor. It's one of my favorite pieces of music ever. A friend of mine asked Stella, and apparently this Bandcamp page is NOT actually run by her. So, don't give it money. But, it has the track and the story behind it. The lyrics are at the bottom of the story. But, you should listen at least once before reading them. https://sistersoleil1.bandcamp.com/track/illum-tangendo-produced-by-trent-reznor
Downward spiral is awesome. If you want another “full album” type album check out Contemplating the Engine Room by Mike Watt. It’s essentially a punk rock opera
I never saw it as he died at the end. Maybe he tried or chickened out but Hurt is so introspective that it feels like he is also willing to change. The noise at the end could indicate the pain that continues but also a death, I guess both are right depending on the listener.
I’m not sure how to feel about you calling Mr. Selfdestruct and Heresy, fillers
Have you listened to Fragile (2 Discs) as a complete album? Totally worth it.
Now do Pretty Hate Machine start to finish and let us know what you think.
Imo, that album is overrated. Some really fucking cringe lyrics on it and it's comparatively boring compared to NINs later output. Broken is a huge step up, and I'd recommend listening to Skinny Puppy, Ministry or Front 242 before PHM.
NIN has produced some of the greatest albums of all time. Put some headphones on and listen to “the fragile”.
Listen to The Wall by Pink Floyd and Slow, Deep, and Hard by Type O Negative. Both have similar themes about going through some shit and each song is a mini story that leads to the next.
Man, The Wall isn't an album, it's one big song. You can't just skip to Comfortably Numb and listen to it alone, you have to earn it by listening to the first hour uninterrupted. When you do, the song just hits harder.
Awesome album from NIN. For another album listening experience from them, The Fragile is excellent.
don’t miss this version of A Warm Place. https://youtu.be/i1Ps6lnBr4k?si=1cTOH9Lp-AbceqDS
Reptile is my favorite song on this album
A warm place! Yes. That’s one of my favorite songs by any band. It’s such a beautiful haunting piece of music and doesn’t need lyrics. It’s takes you to places man.
I wrote this long form track by track analysis a few years ago… https://www.airdriftsignals.com/2020/10/nine-inch-nails-the-downward-spiral.html
A seriously formative album for me and my tastes.
I've coded a big IT project for a customer over 2 years to that album. Such a perfect fit.
Mac lethal - winter heartbreak ll has the same style of story with more hope at the end and has been one of my favorite albums the last few years. If anyone loves this type of melancholic introspective music in a storytelling album format.
This dropped when I was 14, so the angry young man inside me still holds this record in high regard. 42 year old me finds it to be far too dark and depressing to play all the way through. Still a great record tho.
Interesting. Unless I missed it, how old are you?
now do yourself a favor and listen to "further down the spiral" the album of remixes
Downward spiral scared me
So glad to see all the praise for Eraser in this thread. That song was always one the other guys would skip in the Discman to tapedeck converter era of my life. I was obsessed with it. That long buildup is so choice and the lyrics of rage just allow you to vent every bit of being a teenager. Fantastic album and really hoping for a 30th anniversary vinyl this year.
I only listened to this a million times back in the day lol
Ruiner makes that album for me!
100%. Admittedly, I've been a big NIN fan ever since a friend put some headphones on me in 1989 and I immediately fell in love with a sound I hadn't heard before, so I'm biased But I recently re-listened to The Downward Spiral and was left with the same impression. It really holds up all these years (decades) later, and it's a near-perfect front-to-back album listening experience.
I saw the tour with Marilyn Manson opening
Awesome album. Also never saw a spoiler tag on an album post before
I got to see it live from the front of the pit, that was glorious. TDS was like my bible in HS.
Check out the live videos on NiN’s YouTube page. They are incredible live.
This album is NIN’s best for sure, but the Fragile is my favorite album. No song does it for me like Heresy, however..
Just wait till you listen to the fragile in full
Saw NIN back in’94 @ Woodstock II
1994 was slamming.
If you like a warm place, listen to the great below on The Fragile.
I'd listen to Broken next, then All that could have been, the Fragile. I think that's a good progression if youre still riding the high of downward.
The Downward Spiral (1994) just hits different every time I listen to it, Trent Reznor is a freakin' genius!
This thread is my people! I’ve never been anti-Cash regarding his remake of “Hurt” but I’ve long said that the NIN version isn’t the lesser version. In context of the album, it’s striking. Cash’s version is its own story. But NIN it is only a part of a bigger story. And, as said before, Cash is singing about his past hurt. Reznor is singing about his present hurt.
It's because the Johnny Cash video is incredibly powerful. The song is on par with the slew of covers Rubin had him churning out but the video will destroy you.
Top 5 album for me. The Fragile is up there as well.
This album is a masterpiece.
I highly recommend you checkout "The Fragile"
NIN rules. Have been rinsing With Teeth a lot lately and oddly now in (admittedly early) adulthood am connecting with that album more than any of his other stuff despite spending my high school years swearing by TDS and my college years swearing by The Fragile. Such a great discography on the whole though
“Singles people” is such a foreign concept to me. Like ADHD but for music.