Judith on 15/5/2008 at 17:24
Looks similar to Metallica Load/Reload case. Most tracks are forgettable but Discipline still bounces in my head from time to time.
Sypha Nadon on 16/5/2008 at 16:11
The new Madonna album is pretty good, actually. Well, at least the first seven tracks. After that the rest is pretty much filler. Not quite as cohesive as her last album, IMO.
I think NIN has become a bit too prolific... I know a lot of the fans hated the wait in between each album, but it kind of built up the suspense a bit. Now Reznor just tosses these things out on a daily basis it seems. Pitchfork said "The Slip" is his best since "The Downward Spiral." WTF? It's okay for what it is, but nowhere near as good as the albums that he's released "officially" (though these days the line has begun to blur about what constitutes an official release). "With Teeth" wasn't all that bad... it was interesting to hear Reznor attempt to do a more straightfoward album after the epic themed albums that came before it, and at the very least it had a few good tracks ("Hand That Feeds", "Only", "Sunspots", "With Teeth", etc.) And "Year Zero" was an enjoyable listen. Didn't really engage me on an emotional level, but at least it sounded good.
I don't know, maybe the problem now is that Trent is sober, middle-aged, and just kind of lacking the passion of his early work. I almost kind of miss the self-destructive, fucked-up Trent of old. You know, back in the days when his videos looked more like gay snuff porn. To me the first three albums are still the most moving... "Pretty Hate Machine", "Broken" (which probably has some of his best vocal work on tracks such as "Last" and "Happiness in Slavery"), and "The Downward Spiral" (which was the first NIN album I ever heard and still my favorite one).
Having said all that, I'd still love to see the band play live again... the last live DVD I thought was really impressive...
Rogue Keeper on 16/5/2008 at 16:39
He grew up or something... :angel:
Sypha Nadon on 16/5/2008 at 16:41
Great. What's next, an album of standards? Trent doing his own take on the great American songbook? I shudder to think...:p
Rogue Keeper on 16/5/2008 at 16:48
Err, not that I'd like to draw any panuniversal parallels or piss off the fandom core, but for me NIN is descending the same "downward spiral" as The Prodigy did. Avantgardists extraordinaire in the 90s - their old works should be remembered - but both projects are already burned out in my book.
Vernon on 16/5/2008 at 17:07
Quote Posted by BR796164
He grew up or something... :angel:
At least, he made the transition from an angry young man into a ridiculous angry old man. I can't enjoy his music and I can't relate to his 'lyrical' ranting and raving. What can you possibly whine about when you're a multi-millionaire? Even his early stuff was punk without the bollocks. The man lives in an ivory tower. So do a lot of musicians, but shut the
fuck up and say something grounded and relevant for once.
About the only saving grace of this guy is that Cash covered one of his songs, single-handedly saving it from petulant, tawdry irrelevance and transforming it into a timeless ballad.
I would sort of agree with the post above as well, although saying they were ever Avant-Garde is so far off the mark as to be farcical.
van HellSing on 16/5/2008 at 17:18
I know a lot of people didn't like The Fragile, accusing it of being "the same song over and over again", but it's only With Teeth and beyond is where that actually happened. The Fragile was consistent in style, but the songs were individual enough for me, in fact it's still one of my favourite NIN releases. With Teeth, Year Zero and The Slip on the other hand are all a blur, I can't even remember the most of the song titles or, heck, the actual songs. Ghosts I-IV is a different kind of animal - sure, it does get repetitive, but that's pretty much a given considering it's nature as a set of mostly short improvisations, rather than a thought-out, flowing album.
Sypha Nadon on 16/5/2008 at 17:57
van HellSing, I liked "The Fragile"... not as much as I did the first 3 but it does have a certain quality to it that I enjoy... maybe I have a fondness to it because the one NIN concert I saw was from the Fragility tour.
Martin Karne on 16/5/2008 at 22:14
I don't know what the hell is wrong with people, Year zero and remixed are good for me, very good.
Stitch on 16/5/2008 at 22:48
Year Zero was the best thing Reznor had done since "The Perfect Drug."
