NIN - Year Zero Options

[precurser]

as i keep listening two tracks are really jumping out at me, The Great Destroyer is easily my absolute favorite NIN song right now, and after bumping Meet Your Master in my car i am really loving that song as well.

but all in all again, i am in love with this album. wayyyyy moreso than With Teeth.

ps: http://thegreatdestroyer.ytmnd.com/

[Camzor]

I really have to agree with you, Jeff. You know I look up to you and George, anyway, so it's cool that you guys like it this much. ;)

On my first few listens of the album, I really tried to get myself in a state of mind in which I wouldn't judge the album purely on my excitement. That actually helped quite a bit, and I pointed out things I disliked as I went through them. On subsequent listens, however, the songs I didn't much care for or the ones I found predictable instantly struck a chord with me. For example, "Meet Your Master" was a track that I passed off as simple, catchy filler. Now, it's one of my favorite tracks on the album.

This may be an early piece of judgment from me, but this is album isn't amazing to me because it's good—in fact, I'm impressed the most because the thing has sixteen tracks, and none of them are forgettable filler (to me).

Also, if I had to pick one word to describe this album, it would be "confident." With Teeth was a mess, whereas Trent is clearly in a confident state of mind on this one. It definitely shows, and the album is probably his clearest, most focused record to date.

Now, for me, the only thing that remains is the test of time. The Downward Spiral has over ten years on its belt, and the album is still fantastic as all hell. If I'm not bored of this one in a decade, it'll definitely be a good sign. I just gotta stop listening to the fucking thing so much. ;)

[james]

i like that trent has picked up some indie sensibilities in terms of how he treats guitars and drum machines. it isn't all about the oonts anymore as it is texture and melody. dugg.

[fknjeffoakley]

the thing i like about nails is that i have never heard a song by them that i would consider filler. when i say there are a couple of unremarkable tracks on year zero, i mean unremarkable for trent. even his "filler" is better and more genre-bending than the best offerings from many mainstream artists.

i gotta disagree about with teeth being a mess. year zero is certainly more focused, and has the concept album feel that teeth lacked. i think calling a mess is pretty harsh though. it's definitely different for nails... but for the most part it's a great little rock and roll album. i'm very fond of it. i think trent has proven that he can succeed at any type of music.

but in contrasting teeth and zero, you're absolutely right. zero does feel like nine inch nails the way we remember the band when they first broke through.

[james]

with teeth is indicative of a huge step forward from the fragile - trent got more focused and cared less and less about the conventional NIN sound, lyrics, subject matter, or whatever. if the downward spiral was the lullaby, the fragile was the deep sleep... and with teeth was the rude awakening. year zero is what happens when our hero walks out of his front door.

[Camzor]

Hmm, I disagree, but I see where you're coming from.

I didn't really enjoy With Teeth because of how rushed it was. It was originally going to be this big concept album called "Bleedthrough," but (as per usual, I suppose) Trent ended up changing his mind halfway through. He said he wasn't really confident enough in his abilities as a songwriter after getting cleaned up and whatnot, and that With Teeth basically was a test of sorts. He even admits he was really lazy with the album—he'd go in to record the demos, and he wouldn't bother to record a "final" version. Not that it needed it, mind you.

I dunno. It's not a bad album at all, but it's pretty obvious that Trent wasn't really confident when he made it, and the album ended up being a mix of really focused songs that were left over from Bleedthrough, and others that he wrote on the spot. It's really bumpy.

Trent actually explained it all to me in a chat I had with him a month or so ago, but I think that most fans, including myself, and especially Trent, consider Year Zero to be a much bigger album, whereas With Teeth was just a stepping stone, a la Broken or something similar.

[Camzor]

I just got interviewed by a certain major publication. ;) Pick up your USA Today magazines on April 17th or 18th (they have no clue right now, I'll let you know specifics) to see my name in it, surrounded by ARG talk and NIN euphemisms.

[james]

good shit, bro! i'll keep an eagle eye out of it.

[odelay]

I give this album a thumbs up. Good stuff, I never really got into NiN in the past. This album drew me right into it.

[Superdude]

I've always needed a gestation period of about a month or so for any NIN album (with the exception of The Fragile which I "got" right away). I didn't care for With Teeth until about 6 months after it came out, and now (next to The Fragile) is my favorite album. I'm the same way with Year Zero right now - I'm very unimpressed so far, but I'm sure like in June or so it'll "click" for me.

[precurser]

anybody near LA going tomorow? ryane and i will be there...

UPDATE: A few of us are talking about organizing a meeting here in LA. If you’re interested, show up
near Melrose and Ogden at or a little after 7 pm on Friday evening (April 13th). Wear something that shows you’re
one of us. Stand under the big pig and follow the revolver across the street to the marked van. Knock twice.
When you’ve got the stuff, get out of there fast. Don’t attract attention.

Don't be Followed.

http://www.opensourceresistance.net/

[fknjeffoakley]

um... what? you're an activist? is this another fake website / part of the "viral marketing" campaign?

i don't think you are going to get any NIN swag at this event george. if you do, then lame.

[precurser]

um... what? you're an activist? is this another fake website / part of the "viral marketing" campaign?

i don't think you are going to get any NIN swag at this event george. if you do, then lame.

the resistance needs you jeff.

[fknjeffoakley]

wtf does this have to do with nine inch nails? am i missing something? i'm not dogging on that site or their mission, or even necessarily on you, but i don't understand why it appeals to you.

[precurser]

wtf does this have to do with nine inch nails? am i missing something? i'm not dogging on that site or their mission, or even necessarily on you, but i don't understand why it appeals to you.

its part of the ARG foo.

[fknjeffoakley]

SFS.

[precurser]

SFS.

jeff, listen.


stop it.

[james]

worst comes to worst, you'll get an ARG stencil to spray-paint on the side of buildings.

[fknjeffoakley]

jeff, listen.
stop it.

ok michael douglas.

[digitalcunt]

Well, we made the trek to LA... my stomach was in knots the whole day cause people in message boards were speculating that it could be a secret show of some sort or something, which I was REALLY hoping would be true....

It took us about an hour to get from our place in Chino Hills to Melrose and Ogden, we stood under the mural for a few minutes, there were about 40 people there before us, maybe less... an older guy came up to us and asked us if we wanted (or needed) a button... we said "sure" and he handed us each one saying that the yellow buttons were special and to make sure the "guys" saw them... I thought he was just bullshitting us... the guy next to us didn't get a yellow button, and as I looked around I realized most people DIDN'T get a yellow button, but I didn't think a LOT of it... YET.

We waited a bit longer and ended up talking to Jason, the guy next to us who hadn't received a button (why oh WHY do we know SO MANY JASONS???) Anyways, he came from work or something on his bike and he spotted an odd vehicle across the street, rode over and gave us the thumbs up, we walked, then RAN to the van, with all the other 100+ people who had arrived between 6:45 and 7 o'clock... we were about 5th-6th in line behind the van... the guys inside were keeping what they were doing in there on the DL, but when they opened both back doors, they were giving people ammo boxes... I went before George and when they saw my button, the one guy says to the other guy "YELLOW!" He handed me a black spray painted ammo box with a resistance flag stenciled on it. The star on the flag was painted red. I walked over to the sidewalk and opened my box, I first saw a black military style cap, a stencil, HUGE, FAT black marker with a resistance flag sticker on it, then a clear plastic baggie... with what looked like a charger of some sort, I reached into the bag and wrapped in a note was a CELL PHONE!!!! The note reads as such:

If you are 18 or over, and will be in the Los Angeles area Wednesday, April 18th we need you. If not, give this hardware to someone else.

This phone is your membership card to the resistance. Within the next few days, we will use it to contact you with details of this first resistance meeting. It will get you and one friend through the door.

Keep it charged, and keep it with you at all times. Most importantly, there are only 100 minutes on these phones, so use them up and you'll be SOL.

We'll be in touch.

As I was discovering this, a bunch of people crowded around me, realizing I had received a cell phone and they had not, everyone was gong BACK through their boxes, making sure they hadn't missing something... They asked me to read the note aloud, which I did. Soon everyone began to realize my ammo box with the red star on it had everything to do with the yellow button I was given. (I later saw the man who handed us the buttons, I patted him on the arm and thanked him.) People were asking us for our phones and our yellow pins, but we had to say no... In hindsight the only thing I can think of is that people with resistance flags, etc got the yellow buttons, so I am REALLY glad George and I made the effort last night to make these patches:

(IMG:http://www.endeffect.com/tEEmp/ninyz/ryaneyz.jpg)

I think these are what got us the yellow buttons, and therefore, the phones. Because the flyer states you need to be over 18, I am thinking it could very well be a video shoot. You'd have to be 18 to sign a waiver... So, yeah, being in a nine inch nails video would probably be one of the highlights of my life, next to the other 2 times I met/saw Trent in person, (and I'm assuming the days I get married and have kids).

I am calling in sick most likely on Wednesday cause I wouldn't miss this opportunity for the world. I am SO glad we went. Even though I was nervous/excited all day, I kept having this feeling that it would be worth it and that we were supposed to go, traffic was good almost the whole way home from work and the whole way there... cheesy as it sounds, everything just fell into place... George actually said he thought the guy handing out the buttons gave us the LAST TWO IN THE BAG! Not sure if George is correct or not, but then again, George was te one who was paying attention to the guy, I didn't think much of it at the time...

George got a box with a cell phone as well, the guy, Jason, with the bike, didn't, so George told him he'd call him and he could be George's +1. I'm taking my friend, Andrea. So, that was our experience in LA this evening. I am going to have butterflies in my stomach till Wednesday... :) Next post is all George's photos of the ammo box stuff we got (and cell phone pics as well)