This was such a treat! So much to unpack. Being a nine inch nails fan, with no gaps or falling-outs or drifting-aways, since I was around 12-14, with The Crow and “Closer” bringing me in but almost immediately becoming familiar with things like fixed, has been one of the greatest rides of my life. And sharing that journey with Frank has made for many memorable times and endless hours of conversation. I was a bit bummed to miss out on this one at first but when I heard Barrett was joining, I thought ‘Perfect! There couldn’t be a better person to fill out this episode.’ I loved how it was split (like The Fragile?) with intense fans/Lifers on the Left, occasional appreciators on the Right. I loved Barrett’s phrasings about “13 Ghosts II” (also a perennial favorite of mine since 2008) being like breathing made into music (yes, there’s audible breathing in that track which dictates the rhythm, and I’ve used it to self-regulate many times) and a machine becoming aware of itself to describe “at the heart of it all.” His contextualization of songs, singles, and albums within the perspective of nin’s ever-evolving live show and the way the online fan community received certain work when it came out added a lot to the conversation and was a crucial piece of adequately assessing this band’s oeuvre. Greg and Frank poured the love on The Fragile the way it deserves. Frank’s call-outs to various influences and samples was also enriching and deeply informed. I’m glad everyone took time to speak to certain songs and recordings on Still and what makes that release so special in their catalog. Also glad Frank took time to mention The Perfect Drug Versions EP, which I’ve listened to hundreds of times. Bret’s nostalgic storytelling was as warm and wonderful as ever, and I especially loved Bret’s music theory-music teacher perspective (very different from The Meathead Perspective) on interesting time signatures and time signature changes, in songs such as “The Collector” (one that took a lot of time to grow on me) and “Just Like You Imagined” (a ravishing forever-favorite from the first listen the day The Fragile came out). I always enjoyed the unique drumming and time signature and changes on “Please” from Right (and even moreso with “+appendage” on the cassette and Deviations). It was interesting to see what varying mileage the Cold and Black and Infinite-as I think of them-trilogy of EPs and mini-albums got amongst everyone. Partly because they got dropped at the beginning of covid, partly because there was never a physical release (and I have every halo except the “Only” single and Beside You in Time DVD), I’ve barely listened to Ghosts V and VI, Together and Locusts, so the discussion here made me want to revisit them as soon as possible, while also mapping with my memory of them. Sometimes, the not-being-a-fan-all-the-way-through was a fault, in my opinion, in maybe missing the bigger picture of Year Zero and how exciting it was (and I think still is), but sometimes it was welcome, in that, for example, Greg was able to appreciate [WITH_TEETH] on its own terms. Many of us spent a year complaining about “aWITHaTEETHa” and making fun of it (while also listening to it all the goddamn time and going to shows, so it must’ve been pretty great, eh?); I love the album now. Amazing and accomplished on its own terms; a disappointing follow-up to The Fragile six years on and age 23. I also appreciated the love some of “Hesitation Marks” received, particularly “Various Methods of Escape,” one of my favorite later-period NIN tracks. I was surprised no one included “While I’m Still Here,” one of my favorite NIN tracks, full-stop. I also love “Find My Way,” and-in terms of how the album is a response and reflection looking back on the downward spiral, with Russell Mills artwork and all-I love how this later, sober Trent’s spiritual searching lands as track three, which was occupied by “heresy” on the album’s antecedent. I could (ha, autocorrect just “fixed” that to “coil”) bang on about Reznor & Co. all day but I’ll stop. It was a long video! And deserves long comment.
Fantastic! I first heard it live at my With Teeth show in NYC (Hammerstein) but saw it open quite a few of those NIN/JA and Wave Goodbye shows! I think I caught it once or twice as an encore opener during the Cold Black & Infinite tour. Always a treat!
Absolutely fantastic! Still really, really should have been included as an EP. If so, Like Frank, it would be my numero dos. Thank you for putting this together and sharing with us Halo heads. 14. Ghosts Vl: Locusts (Run Like Hell, Around The Corner and Right Behind You) 13. The Slip (Discipline, Echoplex and The Four of Us Are Dying) 12. Bad Witch (God Break Down the Door, Shit Mirror and I'm Not From This World) 11. Ghosts l - IV (01 - l, 31 - lV, and 24, lll) 10. With Teeth (Love Is Not Enough, Sunspots and Every Day Is Exactly The Same) 09. Add Violence (The Background World, The Lovers and Less Than) 08. Hesitation Marks (Copy of A, Various Methods of Escape and I Would For You) 07. Ghosts V: Together (Letting Go While Holding On, Still Right Here and Hope We Can Again) 06. Pretty Hate Machine (Sanctified, Terrible Lie and Something I Can Never Have) 05. Year Zero (The Beginning of The End, God Given and Vessel) 04. Not The Actual Events (She's Gone Away, The Idea of You and Burning Bright (Field on Fire)) 03. Wish (Last, Gave Up and Happiness In Slavery) 02. Downward Spiral (Heresy, Reptile and Eraser) 01. Fragile (We're In This Together, The Great Below, Even Deeper) Top 10 Non-Album Tracks: 10. Non-Entity 09. Adrift and At Peace 08. Slipping Away 07. The Perfect Drug 06. Closer To God 05. Home 04. Burn 03. Persistence of Loss 02. Leaving Hope 01. And All That Could Have Been
Hey Matt, thanks for watching and for posting your own list. Frank fought for the inclusion of the Still EP, but at the end of the day it was decided to leave it out as some of the tracks were alternate versions of previously released songs. But nonetheless, and excellent release!
The Fragile is my favourite, yes it's not perfect but it's my one album IF i was horribly forced to listen to one album the rest of my life it's the Fragile
