- I again slogged my way through this year's 764 track SXSW torrent, and it was (again) quite a chore. But, while only about 50% of it qualified as "tolerable", around 9% of it ranged from "worth another listen" to "hey, this is kinda good", so I guess it was worth the time invested.
The new instrumental NIN opus is actually pretty fantastic. Certainly the best $5 I've spent in some time.
in re music
Tags: firstperson, music, sxsw
Current Music: Nine Inch Nails -- 23 Ghosts III ♬
18 Responses:
yeah, i'm argeeing with you on the new NIN. fairly decent production value, not as angry as a majority of their Pretty Hate Machine sound alike albums. I was one of the few who managed to get it the first day and it was a nice relaxing soundtrack to a transatlantic flight.
Best $ spend on music in 2008, I hope it only gets better.
Horray for self-publishing!
Odd, I wouldn't classify any of NIN's releases as "Pretty Hate Machine sound alike". Except maybe Pretty Hate Machine.
I'm unfamiliar with this SXSW torrent thingie. Highlights would be much appreciated.
Other than that I completely agree re: GHOSTS I-IV. I've been waiting for Reznor to put out something like this is Downward Spiral, and I'm impressed. It feels so much more mature than Year Zero. It feels like he's finally looking in the mirror (or, ghast, forwards) rather than looking back at ye olde industrial-pop cliches which belongs in a different era.
Not that I don't enjoy that stuff (as I'm sure Mr. Reznor does too), but it's time he took The Clint Mansell Serious Business plunge did into adulthood.
Looking forward to more such releases.
Good to hear about Ghosts... I thought the free one was kind of disappointing so I wasn't sure if spending money on the rest would be worth it.
I was a little non-plussed with the first 9 tracks too. Five dollars is worth a splash, though. It turns out non of my top 5 or so tracks from the 36 are on the first 9. In particular, 14, 19, 22 are great.
I too like the new NIN. I thought it was kind funny that the time signature for each song is in the comment tag.
I also thought it was a nice touch for each track to have its own artwork.
yes
I listened to the free song playlist on their site. I wouldn't mind buying the entire album when it's released on Cd.
How thorough are you as you listen to those samplers?
Would you like having some songs pointed out that I think you'd like, or were you pretty thorough?
I think I was sufficiently thorough, but if you've got suggestions, fire away.
Sure thing. I'm currently taking a breather, though, having just finished my first pass through the 2008 songs.
Couldn't agree more. $5 well spent indeed. Extra artwork, download in various formats, putting out a torrent because the download servers were swamped. Nicely done Mr Reznor.
I bought the $75 version of Ghosts because
1) I make a bit more than that much money per day, and I figured I'd get well more than a day of enjoyment out of the album.
2) I quite appreciate this "new" form of distribution.
3) I always include NIN in my list of favorite music.
I've listened through Ghosts I-IV straight through three times in headphones. A bit taken aback to not hear Trent's voice at first, I realized by the third listen I quite enjoyed the variety of tunes and wanted to hear more of several of the songs.
So, for those contemplating the purchase, I'd say definitely get it. And pay more than $5 unless you can't possibly afford it; it's nearly two hours!
I'm only on the "b's", but I'm starting to enjoy myself. It's pretty rough because the first 10 or so tracks (alphabetically) are almost all dire faux-rustic fake folk whatever, but once you get through that there's a bit of variety (though maybe a bit less than earlier years -- it was always fun to have a string of indie-by-numbers track broken up by death metal or hip hop in the 2006 and 2007 torrents.)
I went through it on shuffle, because I'm sensitive to alphabetical discrimination for obvious reasons.
I note that a track from the new Firewater album is on there. Any thoughts? I know you were a Cop Shoot Cop fan, but I'm not sure I've read you saying anything about Firewater.
My main complaint with Firewater is that I wish they were Cop Shoot Cop.
They're good, but CSC was so, so much better.