Quoting yourself is the 1st sign of;
A) Boredom
B) Loss of sanity
C) Wanting more posts
D) Really caring about a thread
E) All of the above
Anyway, just because I have gone on a major binge over the past few months, I'll have a crack at how I feel about
Nine Inch Nails:
EssentialPurest Feeling (1988) - Honestly this album for me far surpasses Pretty Hate Machine. Title title track and Maybe Just Once just have such a wonderful groove, I'd describe the album as a more accessible Pretty Hate Machine, lighter, smoother, there is something really magical about this. For anyone wondering this is the pretty much the demo version of Hate Machine but its on the torrent sites if you search around.
Essential Track - Purest FeelingThe Fragile (1999) - People often complain Double Disc albums are over indulgent (Note: I adore the Illusions), it can be a risk, the general notion is, well there is filler so why not get rid of the filler and have one album, well I can't find any filler here. As I've said before, to be essential to me I have to like every track....mucho amounts, and to do this over 2 Discs is tricky but I think NIN pulled it off here, I've read a fair bit of criticism about it to be honest. I definately haven't seen it get the same acclaim as The Downward Spiral and that's a shame. One track that people who are new to the band proably won't of heard is
Please, definately worth looking up,
Essential Track - Into The VoidGhosts I-IV (2008) - I remember the first time I heard this album, I think I went to
Evolution, what is this crap?
I pretty much decided I wasn't going to bother with it again. About a week later I had a major assignment for University though and all the music I was listening to was distracting me, because of the lyrics/vocals, I thought to myself that silence sucks so I needed something Instrumental and this was all I had. Well it was a pretty long assignment so having gone through the entire of this album numerous times, It hadn't just grown on me a bit, I loved it, its so strange how you can change your view on an album so quickly, just a few listens and you see things so differently.
Essential Track - 13 GhostsVery GoodBroken (1992) - Has to go here simply because its my favourite EP of all time, many bands abuse the "EP" term and through out crap with little effort or few new tracks, this has some of NIN's strongest ever tracks though. Just like the full length albums take you through a journey, so does this EP whether the tracks a hard hitting and fast paced or slowed down the emotion remains, Gave Up is a prime example of a track that encapsulates both elements perfectly, the video for Happiness In Slavery is a cracker as well.
Essential Track - Happiness In SlaveryThe Downward Spiral (1994) - Although not 100% essential for me its not far off. A great album with an electic range. From classics like
Hurt that have been covered and taken to a bigger audience, to the world famous
Closer which every 14 year old kid liked because they thought it was cool to say "I wanna fuck you like an animal". I'm not too keen on track opener Mr. Self Destruct or Eraser and for something to be a total classic, for me, I have to like all the tracks...a lot.
Essential Track - March of the PigsWith Teeth (2005) - A return to a more accessible NIN, I know many diehard fans aren't too keen on this but you can't argue with quality tunes, much like a modernised version of Pretty Hate Machine, the dance and industrial elements blended really well together for a mainstream audience, I've seen several of these tracks, used in films, and used well, Every Day Is Exactly The Same in the extremely good film Wanted comes to mind.
Essential Track - Every Day Is Exactly The SameYear Zero/Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D (2007) - I know, I know, these are two seperate albums, Year Zero and the remixes but I view them as another double disc classic, overall I prefer the songs from the remix album, I also have a special affinity with the Year Zero album. Back when the album was first released I was very down and depressed suffering bad headaches and went to have my head scanned, I was very, very scared, Year Zero was the album I took with me as they said I could have some music playing during the scan, amusing thing was the sound on the machine blended well with the music.
Essential Track(s) - The Great Destroyer/Me, I'm Not (Olof Dreijer Mix)GoodPretty Hate Machine (1989) - Prior to listening to the demos I'd of probably ranked this higher, but this album hardly gets a look in now, Its still decent but I urge anyone who hasn't already, give Purest Feeling a try.
Essential Track - Sin (Check out the EP)
Fixed (1992) - A solid sex of remixes, although enoyable there are moments where tracks just go on a little too long, still I enjoy it so it has to be rated as good.
Essential Track - Screaming SlaveThe Slip (2008) - An album from last year I liked no doubt, but I haven't given it enough spins for it to totally sink in, emotionally so to speak, aside from the very good Discipline and the;
Essential Track - Corona Radiata"Ok"Further Down The Spiral (UK/US) (1995) - There are some nice remixes here but it doesn't come close to the original, its not that its bad, but no tracks stand out and strike me, I don't listen to a track and think; "Wow, that's better, that was worth doing". True you don't have to get that feeling off an album, but it doesn't really have any qualities that I feel deem an uber high ranking either.
Essential Track - Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)And All That Could Have Been (2001) - Maybe having the DVD would increase my interest, or maybe its my reduced interest in live albums, I used to enjoy them a lot but in recent years I have kind of stopped caring, I just find with most of these tracks I prefer the original studio cut, sans the crowd.
Essential Track - Starfuckers, Inc.Only if you want to complete your collectionThings Falling Apart (2000) - Funny how my favourite album was remixed into my least favourite album, maybe my love for The Fragile makes me overly critical, but I'd say this is pretty much redundent, not everything needs remixing (only most things
)
Essential Track - Slipping Away
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