The Downward Spiral strikes just the right balance between obviousness and abstraction to serve as a major magnet for a wide variety of pseuds and intellectual underlings of all ages.
It's obvious enough for any emotionally stunted loser who still hasn't gotten over Nietzsche to latch onto it as a vehicle for his own vapid catharsis while being just abstract enough to become unpalatable for normal people who listen to Top 40 radio, thus encouraging a massively inflated sense of worth(of the record) and self-worth(of said pseuds because they "get it" and oh, the sheep just do not and can not and never will understand the genius of Trent Reznor's offensively banal "concepts") in the aforementioned pseuds.
The end result is an album which engenders intellectual laziness like not many other high-profile pop era records of its era, which is almost a sort of an achievement. At least with Oasis you knew what you were getting, there was no way to even attempt to intellectualize a song like Champagne Supernova(which doesn't mean it's entirely bereft of merit).
TDS is an "art rock" record which takes no musical/cultural knowledge whatsoever beyond the most basic bitch pop culture landmarks to properly digest and it offers next to no further encouragement for people to get into proper culture on their own, the end result being that they remain stuck in mid-to-late teen mindsets and tastes for the rest of their lives. They're still happy arguing about Nirvana(who did actively encourage people to look for real shit and deserve credit for that) and analyzing Marilyn Manson lyrics on Reddit well into their 30s, which is fucking pathetic any way you cut it. Their idea of apex culture are The Dark Knight and Fight Club.
and i think you will never be able to enjoy music because you think of it in terms of "oh these kinds of obnoxious people listen to it and oh this is the same regurgitated theme every other album has" when you completely forget the whole point of the album and music in general. It is a fun angry album, thats what i like about it. The violence is right in your face and not only can you hear it in the lyrics but also the music itself.
i know Trent Reznor has attained something of a reputation as an "experimental and intelligent auteur" among people who only got into NIN once their time in the spotlight had already passed, but NIN were indeed widely perceived in terms pertaining to "alternative metal" in the 90s, meaning that they shared their space first and foremost with bands like tool, fear factory, korn, soundgarden, marilyn manson etc. you look at them now, they're still playing festivals and co-headlining tours with those same bands, they're still being covered in the same schlocky rock/metal magazine that were covering them back then.
trent reznor was like the stereotypical image of the melodramatic, overwrought mallgoth in the public consciousness back then.
a lot of people seem to think that nine inch nails were part of the same conversation as, like, radiohead and aphex twin and shit, which is just completely hilarious and delusional. they were, as buzz osbourne put it, "music for baby rockers".
Are you referring to the long hippy rant or my response to it? Because if you are I agree, it's so bad I think it's bait just to shit on it because it uses so many long obnoxious words just so he can feel special but what else can you expect from LULZ
It's so shallow, people have really forgotten how to enjoy music. That's what's good about The Downward Spiral, there's a song for everyone to enjoy on it because everything is so catchy and well produced. My mom heard me play Closer and even she could enjoy how catchy it was despite how religious she is lmao
I agree. They really went out with those longer track. Knowhere? and Download really paint the picture of the band's mental state at that time. Its raw as hell and you can tell they're in their own hell.
The Downward Spiral strikes just the right balance between obviousness and abstraction to serve as a major magnet for a wide variety of pseuds and intellectual underlings of all ages.
It's obvious enough for any emotionally stunted loser who still hasn't gotten over Nietzsche to latch onto it as a vehicle for his own vapid catharsis while being just abstract enough to become unpalatable for normal people who listen to Top 40 radio, thus encouraging a massively inflated sense of worth(of the record) and self-worth(of said pseuds because they "get it" and oh, the sheep just do not and can not and never will understand the genius of Trent Reznor's offensively banal "concepts") in the aforementioned pseuds.
The end result is an album which engenders intellectual laziness like not many other high-profile pop era records of its era, which is almost a sort of an achievement. At least with Oasis you knew what you were getting, there was no way to even attempt to intellectualize a song like Champagne Supernova(which doesn't mean it's entirely bereft of merit).
TDS is an "art rock" record which takes no musical/cultural knowledge whatsoever beyond the most basic bitch pop culture landmarks to properly digest and it offers next to no further encouragement for people to get into proper culture on their own, the end result being that they remain stuck in mid-to-late teen mindsets and tastes for the rest of their lives. They're still happy arguing about Nirvana(who did actively encourage people to look for real shit and deserve credit for that) and analyzing Marilyn Manson lyrics on Reddit well into their 30s, which is fucking pathetic any way you cut it. Their idea of apex culture are The Dark Knight and Fight Club.
and i think you will never be able to enjoy music because you think of it in terms of "oh these kinds of obnoxious people listen to it and oh this is the same regurgitated theme every other album has" when you completely forget the whole point of the album and music in general. It is a fun angry album, thats what i like about it. The violence is right in your face and not only can you hear it in the lyrics but also the music itself.
i know Trent Reznor has attained something of a reputation as an "experimental and intelligent auteur" among people who only got into NIN once their time in the spotlight had already passed, but NIN were indeed widely perceived in terms pertaining to "alternative metal" in the 90s, meaning that they shared their space first and foremost with bands like tool, fear factory, korn, soundgarden, marilyn manson etc. you look at them now, they're still playing festivals and co-headlining tours with those same bands, they're still being covered in the same schlocky rock/metal magazine that were covering them back then.
trent reznor was like the stereotypical image of the melodramatic, overwrought mallgoth in the public consciousness back then.
a lot of people seem to think that nine inch nails were part of the same conversation as, like, radiohead and aphex twin and shit, which is just completely hilarious and delusional. they were, as buzz osbourne put it, "music for baby rockers".
It's really Just Like You Imagined™
I don't need to talk about the downward spiral. My life is a downward spiral
listen to The Downward Spiral. It will make things better.
>God is dead
>And no one cares
>If there is a hell
>I'll see you there
But you can't deny that it's a catchy song.
Cool why don’t you talk about how it’s inferior to Pretty Hate Machine
I like both of them, I like listening to the All That Could Have Been live version because it features both albums and it's really good.
Based. Are you also a patrician Year Zero enjoyer?
Yes.
Absolute Giga Chad right here. Luv 2 c it
i could not have written a more intellectually dishonest analysis about this album if you paid me money
Are you referring to the long hippy rant or my response to it? Because if you are I agree, it's so bad I think it's bait just to shit on it because it uses so many long obnoxious words just so he can feel special but what else can you expect from LULZ
i just think it's funny when people need to have hot takes so badly that they make no genuine attempts to engage with the art
It's so shallow, people have really forgotten how to enjoy music. That's what's good about The Downward Spiral, there's a song for everyone to enjoy on it because everything is so catchy and well produced. My mom heard me play Closer and even she could enjoy how catchy it was despite how religious she is lmao
I can't listen to Mr. Self Destruct anymore without hearing Trent say "I am a dipshit" over and over
what's that from
Mr. Self Destruct, he stole the song title from Soft Cell
No the "I am a dipshit" thing
Oh, he says "I am an exit" but it kind of sounds like "I am a dipshit" and now I can't unhear it
Skinny Puppy's Last Right album did the same thing two years earlier and was less cringe.
Knowhere? is objectively one of the best songs ever recorded by any band.
I agree. They really went out with those longer track. Knowhere? and Download really paint the picture of the band's mental state at that time. Its raw as hell and you can tell they're in their own hell.
Is The Centre Bullet considered one of their tracks? I like that too
That one is off Bites and its actually a mix of the Tear Garden's.
Tear Garden is a Cevin Key joint so its cool.
I want to talk about something else now.
Why is Ruiner so kino bros
boom ba chenk a runneeer vo chenk va
>HOWD YOU GET SO BIG
>HOWD YOU GET SO STRONG
>HOWD IT GET SO HARD
>HOWD IT GET SO LONG