If you think NIN needed more guitars, you haven't heard Broken.
"They" were just such an exhilarating presence back in the day. They were all over the place musically, with albums like Pretty Hate Machine, which was in the company of Depeche Mode and New Order, Broken, which was more metal than anything Pantera ever did, and of course The Downward Spiral, which really opened the door for mainstream appreciation of electronic music.
Also, Trent had some downright CLASSIC singles back in the '90s. "Closer" was in many ways the definitive Alternative single, as it contained really "edgy" and messed up lyrics, but had a disco beat and a real minimalist production... Remove the cursing and the video and it could have been a #1 Madonna song.
Also, the non-radio version had extended movements and stanzas... It was sprawling, but tight as fuck, even at the 7 minute mark.
And "The Perfect Drug" was just a killer acid/techno track -- befitting an Aphex Twin remix track and remix maxi single, but again it had pure pop in its veins, and it was catchy and funky as hell.
Really great shit. I started to dislike their singles when "We're in this together" came out (that was a bloated ass song), but most of the rest of The Fragile is great.
At first I didn't even try to listen to With Teeth and Year Zero, because I was in a real elitist phase, and those singles didn't have the "magic" of what I dug growing up. But eventually I came around. All those latter day NIN records are really quite strong, and The Slip was a surprisingly great album (and a surprise album in generall if I remember correctly).
I'm a lifer NIN fan. Like Nirvana, that stuff just grabbed me by the balls when k was an angsty little dude. I always admired Trent's range. Like touring with Bowie. It was like the "mainstream" version of Sonic Youth opening for Neil Young and Crazy Horse, only it was more palatable to fans of both artists. I caught them live together actually.
I was unimpressed by Hesitation Marks, but it's not like that's going to change my feelings about NIN in general. Really one of the best "big" acts of the '90s. Also got me into Aphex Twin and Autechre (and Plaid). Honestly I can pretty much thank Trent for sparking my enduring interest in and love of electronic music of all varieties.
Glad to hear some positive NIN talk.
