Year Zero

[Mr Biglesworth]

New NIN album... coming out in a week or two but already available online (both legally and illegally). Some really neat 'marketing' surrounding its release... read the wikipedia article on the album to hear about it. I just listened to it straight through, I gotta say its really good. I picked up With Teeth when it came out and I really tried to like it, and I ended up loving a few songs, but couldn't come to love the whole album. Year Zero is a much more interesting album. Some of it is less accessible, but most of it is quite agreeable. Definitely worth checking out!

[Bomer]

Dude, I've been so wrapped up in this shit. I've followed the marketing thing for a while and it's insane. It paints this really vivid picture of life in Year Zero(2022) and it's not pretty. I've been listening to the album and I really like it. Certain songs I can hear where they fit into the story and others I'm still trying to figure out. I recently got the Beside You In Time DVD and that's worth checking out as well. It may even make you see some of those With Teeth songs in a little different light. It did for me.

[Jesse]

Getting it now...

[thecreeper]

like every NIN album, i try to not listen to it until its released. i've only heard survivalism so far, and i've been pretty encouraged.

i'm hoping this is a great album. i liked with teeth a lot, but it never really hit me like the fragile did.

[Stormy]

I... I think I'm slightly disappointed with it.

[Mr Biglesworth]

I'm so not. I've been listening to it since I made this post.

[johnny]

i never got into nin.. what's the big attraction, anyways?

[Jesse]

My opinion on NIN may not hold as much value, cause I've never really been into them, save a few of their singles (Closer {duh}, Perfect Drug, and a couple others). I've never been able to listen to one of their albums and be at all interested in the music. So of course, this album doesn't do much for me at all. I might give it a couple more plays though.

[raublekick]

Originally Posted by johnny

i never got into nin.. what's the big attraction, anyways?

dirty words.

well, that was like the middle school reason, i guess. i'm not the biggest NIN fan at all, but i do think if you can get past the initial immature impression, there is a lot to like. if you like pretty harsh music.

[Mr Biglesworth]

It is harsh, and much of it doesn't follow a standard form for song construction, which I like. It's very layered and textured, and its pretty badass. I've only gotten into it in the last few years, so there's a lot of his discography to sort through.

[Stormy]

Originally Posted by Mr Biglesworth

I'm so not. I've been listening to it since I made this post.

I only listened to the first half of the album before running off to a meeting, but I wasn't very impressed. It seemed a bit too standard.

I hate that argument, ordinarily. I remember when people said that about Beck's "Guero", and how the album didn't show any musical or artistic progression. I agreed that much--the music SOUNDED like Beck sans his usual sprinklings of musical innovation--but regardless it was a good album. The lack of a novel sound did not hinder the album; contrarily, it provided something unexpected: an album that steered fans out of the normative reinvention of Beck's sound.

But Year Zero seems too regular, too expected. It's no more harsh than it has been in the past, but it seems less raunchy and more disjointed than I would've wanted. The Beginning of the End is a really weak song to have as the second track; it slows down the plunge into YZ's riffed depths. It's like the asthmatic kid in gym class who costs you the dodge ball game because he messes up early. I'll certainly give the album more listens, but so far it comes across as fattened off the modus operandi of more than a decade of fandom.

[Artmead]

I always think that the Johnny Cash cover of Hurt is better than the NIN version, by a whole bunch...

I like some of the NIN stuff I hear, but I've never been a huge fan, and can't see myself paying for one of their albums.

[Bomer]

Anyone ever seen 'em live? I never got into them that much until I got the chance to see them. Their live show is amazing and it made me appreciate the music more. And Stormy, I can understand what you are saying about The Beginning of the End (though I still like it) however, I don't follow you on it being too ordinary. This CD has some of the craziest shit I've ever heard in alternative music. Some songs I was amazed at how he kept it cohesive. Sometimes the songs feel a bit as though they are going to fall apart while you are listening to them and yet somehow he keeps it together. I personally feel this is one of the most interesting CDs to come out in some time, especially with the whole storyline/marketing campaign behind it.

[Mr Biglesworth]

It's good, but its not a Knife Party.

[Bomer]

well, what can I say...?

[thecreeper]

i gotta say, at first i didnt know what to think of this album. but its really been growing on me. a lot to like about it.