Kevin's Watch

So a few short months after the internet release of Ghost I-IV, Reznor has yet more music to release. The new NIN album, entitled "The Slip" is available for free as a download from the NIN website as a "thank you" to the fans.

dl.nin.com/theslip/signup

I haven't downloaded it yet, but it seems like this is an album with lyrics (as opposed to the intstrumental Ghosts release). It should also be availble on a hard copy (CD) this summer, but I would expect most folks will just take the free download.

Even without hearing the music, I think this a darn cool move on Reznor's part.

well, not being a fan of NIN I was quite impressed with Ghosts...

nice, bold effort.

Yeah, I really liked Ghosts, too. I've always liked Reznor's instrumental stuff. One of the things that really draws me to his music is the way he takes sounds that would normally be thought of as just noise, and incorporates them into his music. Very cool.

I'm curious. If you're not a NIN fan, why did you end up listening to Ghosts?

LOL...
I am a sucker for any 'rock'-type instrumental music. Any time a 'rock' band is going to write a song without lyrics or using the standard crutch of lyrics/chourus/lyrics/chorus/lyrics/chorus/chorus/chorus has got my interest right away.

Take the intrumentals that Rush puts on almost every album ... they are usually the most interesting songs of the album ... it's where a musician has to THINK about how music will play a role --- not just the background to lyrics.
King Crimson is my absolute fave for taking instrumental 'rock' music in places no other band ever has (and for over 40 frik'n years!).

Ghosts made me a 'fan' of Trent's...

I see your point, and I agree with you. Sometimes bands can get too comfortable writing "normal" songs. It's good to see them stretch out periodically.

If you like Trent's instrumental stuff, you may want to check out The Fragile. It's long been a favorite of mine amongst the NIN stuff, mostly because there's a large number of instrumentals (I think 4 or 5 over the 2 CDs) and they're all really good. The song writing on the other tunes is really good as well, and there's not quite as much anger as on some of the other releases. Though there certainly is some.... NIN without anger would be, um, shocking, to say the least.

Thanks for the link. The album is pretty good.

Mortice Root wrote:I see your point, and I agree with you. Sometimes bands can get too comfortable writing "normal" songs. It's good to see them stretch out periodically.

If you like Trent's instrumental stuff, you may want to check out The Fragile. It's long been a favorite of mine amongst the NIN stuff, mostly because there's a large number of instrumentals (I think 4 or 5 over the 2 CDs) and they're all really good. The song writing on the other tunes is really good as well, and there's not quite as much anger as on some of the other releases. Though there certainly is some.... NIN without anger would be, um, shocking, to say the least.

Thanks. I shall definately check it out.

My oldest son bought Ghosts today; based on what you guys are saying, I think I'll make me some mp3's of it and give it a listen.

Hmmm... never heard of Ghosts. I stopped listening to NIN after Downward Spiral; everything that he released (although the Quake soundtrack was really cool if you ask me) was just crap. I am a sucker for instrumentals, though, and it really sounds as if you all are highly recommending Ghosts, so I might as well have a go at it, eh?

Is it anything like Black Aria by Glenn Danzig?

Usivius wrote:King Crimson is my absolute fave for taking instrumental 'rock' music in places no other band ever has (and for over 40 frik'n years!).

King Crimson and NIN instrumentals: you got good taste! I dunno about you, but the way Reznor layers stuff reminds me of Brian Eno, a recorder who's very disciplined and treats it as a craft.