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Originally Posted by Peterpuff
NIN are integral part of my musical development, for sure. I was late jr. high when Downward Spiral came out. They were one of those bands where the older brother of a friend said at the time, "Oh, you are liking that album? Check out some of the earlier work..." Broken kicked my ass in it's intensity, and the bass line of Sanctified alone grabbed me hook, line, and sinker (still one of the sexiest simple lines ever). I dug them instantly after hearing those albums, which was pretty much also my introduction to anything "electronic". They also opened the path to many other things like Ministry and Massive Attack and such.
March of the Pigs blew my mind at that age. I was just starting to "get into" music, was starting guitar, in the school orchestra, etc... And I remember seeing something on TV with him explaining the 7/8 time signature, and how his philosophy behind that was a constant feeling of being propelled forward by lacking that resolving beat, juxtaposed with the mellow 4/4 parts. Blew my young little mind that is for sure. (so much so I still actually remember it). The one-take video of a live performance really got me off too. I really thought that was totally badass. I think it was the very first "official release" video showing an actual live song performance I ever saw, now that I think of it.
I was just a little too young for mom to let me go to the NIN/Manson/Jim Rose tour, but all the older brothers could not stop talking about it and how awesome it was afterwards, ha.
I do think they are one of those bands that people find easy to write off though, which I have always found a little sad. Sure, his lyrics can get a little whiny and emo at times, but musically I have always been impressed.
The Fragile is brilliance. A very, very, very overlooked album, imo.
I have been lucky enough to have seen them for Fragile, With Teeth, and The Slip tours, and I will say HANDS DOWN, that those NIN shows have been some of the most impressive visual experiences I have ever witnessed.
I am kind of jealous of the idea of going back and experiencing the earlier stuff today with an unfamiliar ear. I would imagine it actually holds up quite well...
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Wow. Your experience with NIN is so similar to my own that, for a moment, I actually suspected you of trolling me, digging up one of my older posts, and copying it as some kind of really lame insult.
I started going to concerts when I was very young (8, 9 years old), so I was lucky enough to catch NIN with Bowie as I mentioned previously. My parents were pretty unconcerned about that kind of thing, and trusted me to think for myself (though in fairness, neither has ever seen the "Pinion" or "Happiness in Slavery" videos... Can't imagine they would have been nuts about me going to see NIN after watching either of those.
I too was introduced to NIN through my really close friend's older brother, and his group of stoner buddies. "March of the Pigs" was one of the first songs by NIN that really hit me too. And I don't think it would have had the impact it did without the little snippets of beauty tossed in the grinder with all the madness. For a song and video that frequented MTV and radio, that's a real fucking thrasher. Just loud as hell.
For a time, I actually preferred NIN to Nirvana. This was in'95, maybe '96... I was looking for a replacement Kurt, and NIN and Beck kind of filled the void together for a while. I always preferred NIN to Manson, and I think one of the main reasons for this was my own music education. I played several instruments in band, and was interested in theory from a pretty young age. I just really loved the symphonic elements of the music, the complicated time signatures and dynamic shifts that went beyond "loud-soft-loud" and into something totally different, where the quietest and softest moments could be the most sinister and "heavy," and where there were multiple dimensions upon which to gauge and measure the different sections. The drumming on "Piggy" drove me NUTS for a while when I was younger. I didn't understand how anyone could play like that, fall in and out of time like that, and have it sound so effortlessly good. Little did I know that was more Trent's programming than anything else (to this day I'm not sure if a human being had anything to do with actually generating those sounds, but if so, it was all manipulated to hell).
I waited for The Fragile for what felt like a decade. I dug into everything related to NIN and Nothing... Got into Ministry and (briefly) KMFDM, Pigface, PIG, Atsri Teenage Riot, etc. all the time waiting for some new NIN. When The Fragile finally did drop, I think I would have been disappointed if I hadn't had OK Computer to compare it to. I would have wanted it to be heavier, more punchy and direct... But Radiohead and Pink Floyd (and by that time Sonic Youth) had kinda taught me how to listen to more complicated music.
I still think "We're in this together" and "Starfuckers, Inc." are two of Reznor's worst songs, but "Into the Void" was a single worthy of the NIN legacy of ass kicking disco numbers that are systematically vaporized by the time they end.
Also, "La Mer" is one of my favorite NIN songs ever, still.
Yeah, people write them off and still do, despite Trent "proving himself" to be a "serious musician" by winning that Oscar. But they helped shape my entire musical philosophy. Like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Radiohead, The Beatles, Aphex Twin... The Downward Spiral was one of the most important albums of my youth, and ultimately, my life. Great stuff, truly. Though it's a little bittersweet to listen to it now.