listening to The Fragile on vinyl in preparation for tomorrow’s show. this record sounds insane!!! I love 10 Miles High and think the album benefits from having it, as well as The New Flesh, here. literally the only thing I think this version of the album has against it is the (With Decay) section of Ripe being absent. I also like Please better with (Appendage) following it, and wish it wasn’t only on the cassette version. crazy that an album this long actually benefits from being even longer to me but this one does lol.
oh also, I’m Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally might be one of the most underrated NIN songs ever.
Been watching stubhub all days for a good deal and then someone in my housing area just put up a post giving away two free tickets, so... headed to the show tonight. Finally seeing them after being a fan since first seeing The Perfect Drug video when it came out. Edit: lol nvm they pulled back since I only wanted one of two tickets. Back to StubHub....
last night was truly incredible, still kinda processing it. I saw them back in ‘09 on the NIN/JA tour and, while that show was absolutely incredible and had arguably one of the most perfect setlists I could have asked for, I did always feel like I missed out on an essential part of a “traditional NIN show” — the elaborate visuals. it was just such an insanely awesome experience to finally get that, and I really hope I will get at least one more chance to see them before they call it quits for good. Trent is in amazing shape for his age, and sounds great too, so I could see them going a little longer still, but who knows. highlight of the night was undoubtedly Heresy, I was crossing my fingers for it.
if anyone wanted the elusive Peel It Back tour poster Peel It Back Poster - Nine Inch Nails Official Store
random question, but since we're 6 days from release, has anyone figured out how many songs on the Ares soundtrack will have vocals? i know they indicated there'd be multiple, and based on 7" rips of AAAYNMTB, Building Better Worlds and Empathetic Response are instrumental , but i'm curious how much of it will be vocal-driven.
Broken probably an easy place but you could probably do Pretty Hate Machine —> Broken —> Downward Spiral and you’d probably get the giat
id start at the beginning but if you’re not sold on the first album I do think they level up with Broken
With Teeth is imo the most accessible NIN record if you are more of a rock-oriented listener. Broken is a pretty good starting point too if you want something with more of an edge to it. I understand recommending people to start at the beginning but PHM is so incredibly dated (and imo mostly very corny) sounding, I could see it really being off putting unless you’re really into, like, new wave/80s music.
despite The Fragile being my personal favorite of theirs, you can't go wrong with The Downward Spiral as a good starting point. the three releases that came out before/after (Pretty Hate Machine, Broken, and The Fragile) are good places to look after depending on what sounds you're interested in from that album (although PHM is probably my least favorite NIN album). after you cycle through those releases, you can pretty much continue in semi-chronological order with With Teeth, Year Zero, The Slip, Hesitation Marks, and their EP trilogy (Not the Actual Events, Add Violence, and Bad Witch). the Ghosts albums are all instrumental, but a lot of that inspired/was inspired by their score work if that interests you.
I think TDS is a masterpiece and my favorite album of all time, but I don’t think it is a very accessible starting point.
I also feel like Add Violence is a super solid, it was one of the first ones that really clicked with me. Only 27 minutes if you want a quick preview of their sound
I'd add a vote for With Teeth, it covers so many of the sounds they do in a super accessible way. plus it's an under an hour long which is an easier listen for newcomers
I bought The Downward Spiral at Newbury Comics when I was 11/12, and the title track scared me so much I returned it shortly thereafter PHM and Broken are more accessible imo
i do think TDS is a pretty abrasive album for what it is, so i can see how it could be off-putting for first time listeners, but i think it really did feel like a solid blueprint for what would come on later albums, so maybe jumping in here might allow the listener to appreciate the other records in a different light. plus the legacy of that album feels more seminal compared to that of their others. so in that regard, starting with the album that has hits like Closer, March of the Pigs, Hurt, Reptile, and others feels reasonable enough. but what do i know? my first NIN album was Hesitation Marks, lol
With Teeth was my introduction to NIN and will always be the one I pick to convert someone else. Personally, I was almost exclusively listening to scene stuff back then so that album made for a safe transition towards industrial adjacent sounds. I remember blasting that one and The Slip first, but having a hard time with Year Zero as it was more out there. The earlier records would've been too outside my comfort zone at the time too. Kinda depends on the listener's broader music taste and what they're accustomed to.
What an insane discog definitely see what everyone means when they say PHM is dated lol so far The Fragile is #1 on my discog listen (just finished With Teeth)
per someone on Reddit who got their hands on the score early, looks like there are only 4 songs with vocals/lyrics on the soundtrack... one song has vocals from Spanish singer Judeline