March 8, 1988 was the day I went to the Fox Theatre with my parents my younger sister Stephanie to see Linda Ronstadt when she was promoting her Mariachi album Canciones de mi Padre . I don’t remember much about the show other than Ronstadt singing songs from that album as it was entirely in Spanish yet the venue was tremendous. I haven’t been to the Fox Theatre since then as I have no idea why until this past May when I went to collect tickets to see Nine Inch Nails and the Jesus & Mary Chain in the second of two shows both bands are playing at the Fox Theatre making it my first time at the venue in 30 years.
Since this is the fifth time I will have seen NIN, I knew it was going to be a big deal yet at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta is an even bigger deal as they’re sharing the bill with the Jesus & Mary Chain whom NIN had opened for back in 1990. 28 years later, the two share the bill as arriving into the Fox Theatre around 6:40 PM as once I walked in. I went to a place that is very special. Other venues I went to have their moments but there is something about the Fox Theatre that carries an air of history and beauty that is indescribable. From the staircases, the lounges, and the halls. It’s a place that has a special aura that can’t be duplicated as I was in awe of what I was seeing. Once I found my seat which was the farthest nosebleed seat of the venue but directly in front of the stage. Just seeing the entire theatre, the balconies, and lights is really a thing of beauty.
At 7 PM, the opening act in Tobacco appeared on stage for a 30 minute set that had some interesting visuals with a couple of 3D spheres at each side of the stage with strange visuals. The music had its moments but I eventually found myself becoming bored by it as he got a decent reception. There were a few cuts that were danceable but the rest was just noise that I found to be un-engaging. After a break between performances, the Jesus & Mary Chain arrived at 7:50 PM to the sounds of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds as a great introduction as the lights dimmed. Then comes the opening bars of Just Like Honey which shocked me as that song is really my favorite song of theirs as once Jim Reid’s voice appears. I knew I was in for a trance as this was a band that delivered from start to finish.
Consisting of Jim and guitarist William Reid along with guitarist Scott Van Ryper, bassist Mark Crozer, and drummer Brian Young along with a female backing vocalist for Just Like Honey . Things got more intense in the song Head On as I knew I was in for a damn good performance from a band that was once notorious for playing 20-minute sets in the past due to the Reid brothers’ notorious onstage fights. Instead, they played a 50-minute set filled with such classics songs as Blues from a Gun , Far Gone and Out , I Hate Rock N’ Roll , Reverence , Cracking Up , and a couple of deep cut in In a Hole from Psychocandy and Between Planets from Automatic . From their most recent album in Damage and Joy , two songs Amputation and All Things Pass are played as it showed the band still offering the goods. The band itself was loud and intense though their performance didn’t show it with Jim Reid just being straightforward and always clutching on the microphone stand while William Reid focuses on the guitar.
The Jesus & Mary Chain as a whole are just phenomenal as the chemistry in the entire band is solid in terms of the musicianship and energy. If one was to put this band against anything else that is on the charts right now or trending on radio and YouTube. The Jesus & Mary Chain would put everyone to shame as they were just tight in the performance as my ears were ringing a bit after the performance but it felt good. Not since Bauhaus in 2006 when they toured with NIN had I not been impressed by a band from the past just deliver as if age didn’t slow them down. After their performance ended at 8:45 PM where they got a great reception, there was a break between performances where I walked around the theatre and the lounges just soaking in the atmosphere of the location.
Everyone in the theatre were cool as I chatted up with a couple who had last seen NIN five years ago at the Philips Arena which I also attended as they too preferred this venue. The guy I think was from South America as he had seen David Bowie during the Sound + Vision tour of 1990 and still had his old T-shirt as I was envious of him as I had the chance to see Bowie in 1995 but unfortunate events happened. At around 9:10-9:15 PM, the lights at the theatre turned off as NIN arrived onstage with the opening bars of the infamous live-only track Now I’m Nothing which they haven’t performed since 2009. It would lead to Terrible Lie as it kicked things off with a bang though I think I saw Trent tripped before the end of the song when he was walking past Ilan Rubin’s drum riser.
VIDEO The band that consists of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Trent Reznor, guitarist/keyboardist Robin Finck, keyboardist Atticus Ross, keyboardist/bassist/guitarist Alessandro Cortini and drummer/keyboardist/guitarist Ilan Rubin is definitely the most intense and blistering line-up of NIN that I have seen in the five times I had seen them live. I always felt that NIN in a five-piece outfit is at its strongest and they just kicked a lot of ass from start to finish. The musicianship is top-notch as the chemistry within the band is incredible with Finck always running around on stage while Rubin is just a beast on the drums. Cortini on his own set-up riser of keyboards and guitars had a presence of himself while Ross doesn’t really do much movement yet he manages to do a lot with what he’s doing as a musician.
VIDEO Known for also putting on immense lighting and such, NIN has once again delivered in terms of what they can do visually where the lights and stage set-ups are on point. The usage of colors in lights definitely help set a mood yet it is the performance of Copy of A that is really the most impressive with its homage to the stuff Talking Heads did with Stop Making Sense . The lights they used in front of the stage would create these amazing shadows that would keep moving at a certain frame speed definitely shows a band that is willing to take risks to put on a show that delivers on what an audience would pay for. The attention to detail in the lighting and moods help solidify NIN as a live act that continuously pushes the boundaries of what can be done.
VIDEO While I admit to being a bit disappointed in the lack of new material from the recent trilogy of new records that NIN has released in the past two years with only one song in This is the Place from Add Violence being played. The material that was played was still incredible as surprises in a few deep cuts like La Mer from The Fragile was played that featured Finck playing marimbas which was a surprise. Another big surprise that shocked me was playing a cover of Joy Division’s Digital as I tried to do the Ian Curtis dance. I don’t think I did a good job but I was having too much fun. The reception the band received from the audience that night is astounding. Especially during the encore as Reznor is happy to know that NIN still matters and that there’s people who are still willing to see NIN as they end the whole set with Hurt just minutes before the nighttime curfew ended at 11 PM.
VIDEO NIN as a live entity is a completely different version than what Trent Reznor does in the studio. This was close to being better than the first time I saw them in June of 2006 when they toured with Bauhaus and TV on the Radio as that remains the best show I’ve seen from them. Yet, I think because of the venue as well as the overall performance of NIN has me wanting to say it’s the best show that I’ve seen. My only gripe is that the set list didn’t do enough new songs while I still have a few mixed feelings towards Tobacco. The Jesus and Mary Chain were definitely intense and incredible as they made the show a whole lot of fun and loud as the double-bill of them and NIN is really something any fan of good music should check out. More importantly, it was at the Fox Theatre as it’s just a perfect venue with a great sound system, atmosphere, people, and its sense of history. I hope the band does another show at the Fox Theatre soon as I hope to see them again real soon.
Setlist: Tobacco: Human Om/Streaker/Lipstick Destroyer/Can’t Count on Her/Warlock Mary/Stretch Your Face/Creepy Phone Calls/Smoky Mountain Neverthing
Jesus & Mary Chain: Just Like Honey/Head On/Amputation/Between Planets/Blues from a Gun/All Things Pass/Some Candy Talking/Far Gone and Out/Cracking Up/In a Hole/I Hate Rock N’ Roll/Reverence
NIN: Now I’m Nothing/Terrible Lie/Last/Letting You/Piggy/This Isn’t the Place/The Frail/The Wretched/The Becoming/Closer/La Mer/Reptile/Copy of A/The Good Soldier/Survivalism/Digital/Wish/Head Like a Hole
Encore: Help Me I Am in Hell/Happiness in Slavery/Even Deeper/Hurt
The Jesus & Mary Chain: Studio Albums: (Psychocandy) – (Darklands) – (Automatic) – (Honey’s Dead) – (Stoned and Dethroned) – (Munki) – (Damage and Joy)
Live/Compilations: (Barbed Wire Kisses) – (The Sound of Speed) – (Hate Rock N’ Roll) – (The Complete John Peel Sessions) – (Live in Concert) – (The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities)
Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11 - halo 12 - halo 13 - (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)
seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) – (null 7)
Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Quake OST - Lost Highway OST
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
© thevoid99 2018
Released on July 20, 1999 from Nothing Records and Interscope Records, the single for The Day the World Went Away (halo 13) is the first single from Nine Inch Nails from their group’s third full-length studio release The Fragile . The single marks a departure as well as a preview of what is to come from NIN as it would feature the song plus a remix of the song and a B-side that would also appear on the album. The result is one of the group’s finest singles.
VIDEO The single opens with a slightly shortened version of the song as it is this haunting yet drone-based track led by its soothing sounds of synthesizers and followed by layers of dreamy yet distorted guitars that include a few melodic notes. The song then goes into a quiet tone with its synthesizers as Trent Reznor sings lyrics that are filled with loss that play into the idea of the unknown following death as he’s later joined by a group of singers singing along with for its coda. The remix known as the (quiet) mix opens with Reznor singing the melody with other vocalists from the original song plus Kim Prevost as it is a more somber take of the song driven by atmosphere textures of wind noises, soft guitar strums, and a piano as Reznor sings the song as it is later followed by soft percussions to close the song. A second remix from the single’s 12 inch release is from Porter Ricks that is essentially a dub-based remix driven by a thumping beat and distant vocals that is presented through a low mix.
VIDEO The single’s B-side in Starfuckers, Inc. is a fast-paced rocker co-written with then-NIN programmer/keyboardist Charlie Clouser opens with bopping and fast-paced beats with Reznor snarling through lyrics in his disdain towards stardom and celebrity with a chorus that goes into rock mode with hard-hitting drums and driving guitars. The chorus feature a group of backing vocalists that say the words “starfuckers incorporated” as it includes a quiet section of Reznor singing lyrics from Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain as it play into the idea of fame and celebrity as the single version of the song features a sample of Shout It Out Loud from KISS at the end of the song.
VIDEO The single for The Day the World Went Away is an incredible release from Nine Inch Nails that marks a new and daring direction from the outfit. Notably as it showcases ideas of what is to come as well as providing ideas that are familiar but also with something fresh. In the end, the single for The Day the World Went Away is a remarkable record from Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11 - halo 12 - (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)
seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 12 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) – (null 7)
Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Quake OST - Lost Highway OST
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
© thevoid99 2018
Released on November 25, 1997 from nothing records and Interscope Records, Closure (halo 12) is a 2-VHS set home video release from Nine Inch Nails that features a documentary of the band’s tour in 1994 and 1995 in the first VHS tape and a collection of their music videos from 1989 to 1997 in the second VHS tape. The release would mark the end of a successful period for NIN and its mastermind Trent Reznor as it is a retrospective release of sorts of the band’s career from that point on. The result is one of the finest home video releases for any musical act.
Self-Destruct (tape 1)
Nine Inch Nails: "Closure" part one: Self Destruct (1997) from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo .Directed, edited, and shot by Jonathan Rach with additional footage from Jeff Richter, the documentary film doesn’t really have a narrative as it’s a collection of performances and backstage footage during the band’s tour for The Downward Spiral in 1994 and 1995. Throughout the entirety of the tour, Reznor would struggle with stardom while trying to have a good time whether it’s backstage antics with members of the live band at the time such as drummer Chris Vrenna, guitarist/keyboardist Robin Finck, keyboardist James Wooley (who would leave the group in December of 1994), Wooley’s replacement Charlie Clouser, and multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner. Along with shenanigans with one of the opening bands in Reznor’s protégé Marilyn Manson as well as the Jim Rose Circus, the film would feature cameo appearances from El Duce of the Mentors and Lou Reed who compliments Reznor’s approach to rock music.
The footage that was shot on video at was the norm at the time where it would look grainy but there is something unique to the way it looks. Even as it has a sense of realism into the performances that includes a duet of the song Hurt with David Bowie who would also appear in a backstage scene talking with Reznor and other members of NIN at the time. The video would also showcase Reznor and Clouser doing work on music for the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. It’s a documentary that is filled with a lot of excitement even though alternative music at the time was trying to avoid the antics of rock stardom and the usual forms of debauchery including trashing dressing rooms and groupies.
Music Videos (tape 2)
The collection of videos is presented with footage directed by Peter Christopherson that mixes stock footage with material that comes in between the music videos the band did from Down In It to The Perfect Drug as the only music video from that period that doesn’t appear is Burn from the Natural Born Killers soundtrack while Sin appears in a partially-edited version. While many of the videos on the tape do appear years later on YouTube uncut and uncensored (including the widely-popular video for Closer in its uncut form), the collection would also include three video clips exclusive to the release such as a different video for the song Gave Up that is completely different from the video made for The Broken Movie that is directed by Jon Reiss which has the band recording the song at the infamous home where Sharon Tate was killed by the Charles Manson family as it features a young Marilyn Manson playing guitar on the track.
The collection included three live videos for the songs Wish , Hurt , and Eraser as Hurt was an official video release as these three live videos directed by Simon Maxwell for what was supposed to be a live video concert film that was eventually rejected by Reznor aside from the three videos that appear. Both Hurt and Eraser have the band performing behind a projection screen with footage appearing for the audience to see.
Halo 12-DVD appendage
In August of 2004 while recording the fourth full-length album With Teeth as well as doing remastering for a 10th Anniversary release of The Downward Spiral , Reznor announced plans for a DVD release of Closure with additional material that would include additional rare footage, rehearsals, a photo gallery, unreleased versions of scrapped music videos for March of the Pigs and Hurt , making-of footage for a couple of music videos, and live footage from Lollapalooza ’91 and Woodstock ’94. It was supposed to come out later that year but issues involving Interscope Records postponed the release indefinitely as a DVD/Blu-Ray release as of 2018 still hasn’t come to fruition. The main bulk of the bonus feature is a 50-minute compilation of live footage from the band’s early tours from 1989 to 1991 including news snippets and interviews with the band during that time that included future Filter co-founder Richard Patrick, Wooley, and the late Jeff Ward of Lard. The section also showcases the band’s very first show back in 1988 as well as tour antics from the Self Destruct tour including a hilarious tribute to This is Spinal Tap .
Then in 2006, material for the 2-disc DVD release was leaked through the Pirate Bay BitTorrent site that would include an audio commentary track by Mark Romanek for the making of the Closer music video who reveals many of the tricks that he did on the video including information of the film stock. The most popular rumor about the leak is that it came from Trent Reznor himself who hasn’t denied nor has he said that he was the one who leaked it.
Closure is a tremendous home video release from Nine Inch Nails as it showcases the outfit at the time when they were extremely popular as well as creating music that was daring. Though it’s unavailable publicly in a physical component, it does remain one of Trent Reznor’s finest releases as well as marking the end of an era for NIN. In the end, Closure is a spectacular release from Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)
seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) – (null 7)
Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Quake OST - Lost Highway OST
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
© thevoid99 2018
Released on May 13, 1997 from nothing records and Interscope Records, “The Perfect Drug” Versions is a maxi-single release devoted entirely to remixes to the Nine Inch Nails song The Perfect Drug . Featuring a remix from NIN in its leader Trent Reznor with Keith Hillebrandt as well as remixes from two acts from the nothing records label in Meat Beat Manifesto and Plug plus Spacetime Continuum, the Orb, and Aphrodite in an extra track from the record’s vinyl release. The result is one of the strongest single releases from NIN.
VIDEO The first remix by Jack Dangers of Meat Beat Manifesto is a dub-based mix with pulsating sounds of cymbal crashes and break-beats along with bleeping synthesizers and vocals that drive through the song as well as putting Reznor’s vocals in parts of the song with some warbled mixes on the vocals. The second remix by Luke Vibert in his Plug moniker is a more rhythmic mix with its emphasis on whispered vocals, pulsating beats and synthesizers as well as layers of textures in the mixes of the vocals as well as instrumental breaks in the middle of the track. The NIN mix by Reznor and Keith Hillebrandt along with additional mixing by Brian Pollock opens with a slow and warbled mix of Reznor’s vocals with distorted rhythmic beats accompanying the vocals and wind sounds before being covered by sounds of swirling electronics and pulsating drum n’ bass beats where its rhythm would heighten up by its driving synthesizers and distorted beats.
VIDEO The remix by Jonah Sharp in his Spacetime Continuum moniker opens with chiming instruments and mid-tempo percussion beats with Reznor’s whispering vocals as it would include melodic synthesizer textures and rhythmic electronic swirls that include layers of percussions in the mix. The Orb’s remix from Alex Paterson, Andy Hughes, and Thomas Felhmann with Hughes doing the engineering work opens with warbled electronic sounds and vocals presented in different speeds and pitches which would later include pulsating beats and swirling synthesizers. The final remix by Gavin King in his Aphrodite moniker is from the single’s vinyl release as it include bits of the song’s lyrics in the vocals to a rhythmic and fast-paced track with its pulsating beats, wavy synthesizers, and throbbing bass lines. Added as an extra track for the single’s release in Europe, Australia, and South Africa is the original song from the Lost Highway soundtrack which is this mixture of industrial rock and drum n’ bass elements as it was a transitional single for NIN at the time.
VIDEO “The Perfect Drug” Versions is a brilliant maxi-single release from Nine Inch Nails. Featuring six incredible remixes of the song that was to represent a thrilling emergence of electronic music in the late 1990s. The single is a reflection of this emergence while managing to give some of these artists the chance to deconstruct one of the group’s most popular songs. In the end, “The Perfect Drug” Versions is an amazing single from Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 12 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)
seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) - (null 7)
Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Quake OST - Lost Highway OST
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
© thevoid99 2018
Released on February 19, 1997 from nothing records and Interscope Records, the soundtrack to the David Lynch film Lost Highway is an audio companion piece to the film produced and assembled by Trent Reznor. Featuring two score pieces from Reznor as well as a new song from Nine Inch Nails, the album also include original score pieces by longtime Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti as well as contributions from Marilyn Manson, the Smashing Pumpkins, Barry Adamson, David Bowie, Rammstein, Lou Reed, and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The result is a thrilling and eerie soundtrack from Trent Reznor and David Lynch.
VIDEO The album opens and ends with David Bowie’s I’m Deranged from his 1995 album Outside as it is this ominous track with pulsating synthesizers and drums along with driving guitars and Mike Garson’s piano flourishes as Bowie sings the song’s haunting lyrics as the opening version of the track fades out in the middle while the closing track opens with a fade-in of Bowie’s vocals in its reprise version. The first of two instrumental tracks by Trent Reznor in Videodrones: Questions is a forty-four second instrumental piece of wind-like textures and loops with contributions from Peter Christopherson of the industrial group Coil. The Perfect Drug by Nine Inch Nails is the first song by the outfit to not be written solely by Trent Reznor as it was written with then-live band members in multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner, keyboardist/programmer Charlie Clouser, and drummer/programmer Chris Vrenna as it is this mixture of industrial rock with the drum n’ bass electronic sub-genre as it feature cryptic lyrics from Reznor with driving guitars, pulsating beats, hammering live beats with a drum solo, and flourishing synthesizers.
VIDEO The first of seven score pieces by Angelo Badalamenti in Red Bats with Teeth as it is this jazz piece with as it includes a bopping rhythm with flourishing pianos, layers of saxophones including a blazing solo by Bob Sheppard as it play into the world that Bill Pullman’s character is in as his character is a jazz musician. Badalementi’s Haunting & Heartbreaking is this soothing ambient piece that is performed by Badalamenti with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra as it is a haunting track that play into the sense of horror that Fred and Patricia Arquette’s character Renee is encountering. From the Smashing Pumpkins is the song Eye as it is this somber electronic ballad with a rhythmic drum machine beat and warbling synthesizer melodies as Billy Corgan sings the song’s melancholic lyrics as it is one of the strongest cuts on the album.
VIDEO The third Badalamenti score piece in Dub Driving is this bass-driven cut co-written with David Lynch that led by a melodic bass line from Peter Richards with as it features backgrounds of soothing guitars along with some percussions from Lynch and soothing keyboards from Badalamenti and Robert Muller. The first of four contributions from Barry Adamson is the first variation of a music theme for Robert Loggia’s character Mr. Eddy as it features dialogue of Mr. Eddy driving his car as it is this cool, jazz-like track with eerie horns, melodic organs, and a smooth and steady percussive track that delves into different time signatures as it builds up some momentum. The second version of the theme is a more menacing version that play into Mr. Eddy’s notorious temper as it relates to a reckless driver as it features some woodwinds to play up the atmosphere of the track. A cover of the Drifters’ song This Magic Moment from Lou Reed from a Doc Pomus tribute album is another standout cut as it has Reed singing the song with melodic guitars and driving power chords as it is a snarling yet somber cover from Reed.
VIDEO The fourth Badalamenti piece in Fred and Renee Make Love is a haunting orchestral track led by soothing bass and atmospheric textures during a sex scene between Fred and Renee. The first of two cuts from the shock rock industrial group Marilyn Manson is Apple of Sodom as it is this bopping mid-tempo track with its steady drum beats, warbling guitars and keyboards, and Manson’s creepy vocals as it play into lyrics of temptation and terror as it is another of the record standout cuts. Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Insensatez is a soothing bossa-nova track led by soft percussions and a melodic piano track as it play into the tired mood of the character Pete Drayton who is played by Balthazar Getty. A shortened version of Adamson’s piece Something Wicked This Way Comes is this groove-based instrumental with samples from Massive Attack and a couple of tracks as it this mixture of jazz and trip-hop that appears in a party scene in the film where Fred meets the mysterious man that is played by Robert Blake.
VIDEO A cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ I Put a Spell on You by Marilyn Manson from the group’s Smells Like Children EP is this fierce and menacing version of the song with driving guitar riffs, Manson’s screams, and heavy rhythms as it plays into the character of Alice, also played by Arquette, as she tells Pete a story about Mr. Eddy. The next two score pieces from Angelo Badalamenti in Fats Revisited which is a piano-based track that is a darkly-comical piece with string flourishes while Fred’s World is a more eerie piece with haunting synthesizer textures that play into the horror that Fred is about to encounter that would end with a laugh from the mystery man. The first of two tracks from the German industrial metal group Rammstein from their 1995 debut album Herzeleid is a shortened version of the song named after the band as it is this fierce and intense track with driving metal guitars and hard-hitting beats with vocalist from Till Lindemann.
VIDEO The fourth and final score piece from Barry Adamson in Hollywood Sunset is this soothing ambient piece with some throbbing percussive beats and warbling organs to help set a mood for the dark aspects of the film. The second Rammstein contribution in a shortened version of Heirate Mich is bopping yet driving track led by rhythmic drums and metallic guitar riffs with Lindemann providing a dark mood to the song as it help play into the suspense of the film. The final Badalamenti score piece in Police as it has these sounds of police sirens created by strings as it play into some of the mystery of what is happening as it closes with dialogue from the film where a character says “Dick Laurent is dead”. The second Trent Reznor score piece in Driver Down is this instrumental piece produced with Peter Christopherson as it is this industrial-metal track with driving guitar riffs from Danny Lohner and hard-hitting drums from Chris Vrenna as it include wailing sounds of loops and synthesizers with Reznor also playing a saxophone on the track as it fades into the album closer in the reprised version of David Bowie’s I’m Deranged .
VIDEO One song on the film that doesn’t appear on the soundtrack album is a cover of Tim Buckley’s Song to the Siren from the 4AD label outfit This Mortal Coil that is performed by Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie of This Mortal Coil as it this devastating and haunting version due to Fraser’s vocals as it plays during a sex scene between Pete and Alice.
VIDEO The soundtrack to Lost Highway is an incredible soundtrack album from Trent Reznor. Along with the score contributions from Angelo Badalamenti and Barry Adamson, the record is definitely an adventurous and eerie album that play into the dark world of David Lynch with songs from David Bowie, NIN, Lou Reed, Marilyn Manson, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Rammstein. In the end, the soundtrack to Lost Highway is a sensational album from Trent Reznor and David Lynch.
Related: Lost Highway
© thevoid99 2018
Released on June 22, 1996 from id Software, the music soundtrack to the video game Quake is a soundtrack album of instrumentals written by Trent Reznor and performed by members of the live version of Nine Inch Nails in Reznor, drummer/programmer Chris Vrenna, guitarist Robin Finck, multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner, and keyboardist/programmer Charlie Clouser. The album would be a mixture of industrial rock that NIN had popularized along with some ambient music that Reznor would later explore into his film score work more than a decade after the release of the soundtrack.
VIDEO The album opener is its main theme as it is driven by pulsating beats, looped guitar riffs, soothing synthesizers in the background, and looped screams by Reznor as it would soften up into this eerie ambient piece in the middle. Aftermath is this haunting track filled with sounds of winds mixed in with warbling and soothing synthesizer textures with soft beats in the background as it help maintains a mood for the game. The Hall of Souls is another ambient-based piece with sounds of droning and buzzing synthesizers in the background with some siren-like textures in the background and other warbling noises that help add to horror of the game as the sound would intensify as it goes on with sounds of dripping synthesizer drones. It is Raped is a mesmerizing track that is also ambient-based but with its layers of buzzing synthesizers and pulsating beats in the background under the sound of soft yet siren-like synthesizer swirls and electronic textures that fade in and out as it includes bits of saxophones.
Parallel Dimensions is based mainly on loops though sounds of a thumping beat and fan-like sounds in the background with warbling synthesizers as it maintains this repetitive sound of loops as it appears on one of the game’s levels to help maintain that dark atmosphere. Life is this hypnotic track led by this sound of warbling yet heartbeat-rhythmic synthesizer loop with swirling electronic backgrounds that appear as it help add to the sense of terror and suspense. Damnation is a cut that is largely-based on dark ambient textures with its eerie and soothing synthesizers, buzzing electronic sounds, soft yet metallic percussive beats, and sounds of insects that would intensify in sound as it help play into the suspense.
Focus is this cut that slithers with its synthesizers and warbling electronic textures that would build up with sounds of bubbling guitar textures as it would maintain this atmosphere of terror that goes on in the game. Falling is a short three-and-a-half minute piece of droning and ominous sounds of electronic textures with low-key beats in the background that appear in the middle with windy and machine-like sounds. The album closer The Reaction is a track that feature crackling sounds that would appear in the background with soft metallic percussion loops and dissonant electronic textures that would by layered by sounds as if it’s playing underwater which add to the dark atmosphere during the game.
The soundtrack to Quake is an excellent album from Nine Inch Nails as well as fans of the game series. Though it’s more of an experimental record of sorts that would later pre-date some of the recordings Trent Reznor would make more than a decade later. It is still a fascinating album that showcase a brief period of Reznor doing a small project that would later be a precursor of the work he would do in the world of film. In the end, the soundtrack to Quake is a superb soundtrack album from Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11 – halo 12 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)
seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) - (null 7)
Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Lost Highway OST
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/18 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
© thevoid99 2018
Released on June 1, 1995 from nothing records and Interscope Records, Further Down the Spiral (halo 10) is a remix album that feature many remixes of material from The Downward Spiral that are mixed by not just Nine Inch Nails but several other artists and producers. Among them are NIN cohorts Sean Beavan, Brian Pollock, and then-live keyboardist Charlie Clouser as well as Rick Rubin, members of the industrial group Coil, J.G. Thirlwell, and a couple of original compositions by Richard D. James as Aphex Twin. The record showcases new interpretations of the songs from The Downward Spiral as well as pushing the art of what remixes can be in what is certainly one of the finest records from NIN.
VIDEO The album opens with a remix of Piggy subtitled (Nothing Can Stop Me Now) that is produced by Rick Rubin that starts off soft with sounds of creaking noise loops and smooth yet distorted beats by famed session musician Kim Bullard that is followed by melodic pianos until the chorus kicks in with pulsating beats and thrashing guitars by Jane’s Addiction/then-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro as the remix moves back and forth in structure. The Art of Self Destruction is a remix of Mr. Self Destruct that is featured in three different mixes. Self Destruction, Part One by the then-live line-up of NIN in vocalist Trent Reznor, guitarist Robin Finck, multi-instrumentalist Danny Lohner, keyboardist/programmer Charlie Clouser, and drummer/programmer Chris Vrenna along with engineers Sean Beavan and Brian Pollock is really a re-interpretation of the song with Reznor whispering the song’s lyrics with wailing and layered guitars from Finck and Lohner, warbling beats from Clouser and Vrenna, and other electronic textures as well as a noisy guitar solo by Finck and a hammering and thrashing instrumentation towards the end.
VIDEO The other two remixes in The Art of Self Destruction are by J.G. Thirlwell as Self Destruction, Part Two emphasizes on the chugging beats, layers of electronic noises, and Adrian Belew’s wailing guitar work as it would include other layers of sounds including samples of different percussions and noises that include a sample of Time by David Bowie. Self Destruction, Final is a continuation of its predecessor by Thirlwell with its emphasis on bopping percussions, noisy synthesizers, and looped guitar tracks by Belew that starts off as an instrumental until Reznor’s vocals appear after three minutes of instrumental as the chorus would include more beats and guitars as well as samples of Bowie’s Time that would pop up later and in a loop.
VIDEO A remix of The Downward Spiral subtitled (The Bottom) by Peter Christopherson, Jhon Balance, and Drew McDowall of Coil with Danny Hyde is an atmospheric remix that starts off with warbling sounds of synthesizer textures and Reznor’s soft vocals with some distortion that would then be followed by sounds of sprinkling synthesizer melodies that is carried by sounds of guitars, pulsating beats, and synthesizers in the background as it is one of the album’s standout cuts. A remix of Hurt subtitled (Quiet) by Trent Reznor is essentially a cleaner mix of the song from its album version as it has less of a static filling in the background along with a cleaner guitar sound and a climax that is less impactful.
VIDEO The first of three remixes of the song Eraser by Coil and Danny Hyde feature different takes on the song as the first remix subtitled (Denial; Realization) opens with sounds of swirling guitar and electronic loops that becomes clearer by the song’s guitar riffs and screams in the background that would intensify with its beats and Reznor’s vocals in parts of the songs that he sings. The second remix subtitled (Polite) is a calmer version of the song that is driven by a melodic yet swooning synthesizer with some strings in the background as Reznor sings lyrics of the song. Erased, Over, Out is the third remix as it emphasizes on the warbling synthesizers being looped with slow screams that would reverberate throughout the entire track.
VIDEO The first of two contributing tracks by Aphex Twin in At the Heart of It All as it is this track with distorted yet throbbing beats with metallic drum beats as well as sounds of bass-drone synthesizers that is definitely inspired by NIN that has James emphasizing on atmosphere and distortion. The second Aphex Twin contribution in The Beauty of Being Numb is a track in two parts with the first by NIN with Beavan and Pollock is Mr. Self Destruct being played backwards with additional instrumentations that goes on for more than a minute-and-a-half until it becomes a completely different track by James that is largely an ambient pieces with warbling noises in the background to James playing a smooth piano track as it would crossfade into the album closer Erased, Over, Out .
The international version of Further Down the Spiral (halo 10 v2) is a different version of the album that is presented in ten tracks rather than the 11 in the U.S. version with some major differences. Tracks such as Self Destruct, Part Two , Hurt (Quiet) , Eraser (Polite) , Erased, Over, Out , and The Beauty of Being Numb are replaced in favor of a live version of Hurt , Self Destruct, Part Three , and two remixes of Heresy and Ruiner by Charlie Clouser. The live version of Hurt which was the version used for the song’s music video is powerful with the piano replacing the guitar on the song with Reznor being more emotive in the song vocally. Self Destruct, Part Three by J.G. Thirlwell is the remix that follows closely to the original song with additional textures in some of the quieter parts as well as in Belew’s guitar.
VIDEO The remix of Heresy subtitled (Version) by Charlie Clouser that emphasizes on a pulsating yet steady beat with warbling vocals and other textures such as samples from a TV show in the remix as it is standout. Clouser’s remix of Ruiner subtitled (Version) as it is a synthesizer-driven remix with Reznor’s whispering vocals as the verses are switched from the original as it include some rhythmic beats, pulsating live drums, and warbling vocals for the song’s bridge as it’s another example of Clouser’s brilliant contributions to NIN. The Japanese version of the album included an extra track which is a remix of Reptile in Reptilian by Dave “Rave” Ogilvie that appeared previously in the single for March of the Pigs .
VIDEO Further Down the Spiral is an incredible remix album from Nine Inch Nails. Not only the album, in its two different versions, is an exciting album that gives listeners ideas of what songs can be in their different interpretations but also show that NIN can do so much for others in manipulating their songs or be inspired by the group such as Aphex Twin in the 2 contributing tracks Richard D. James provide. In the end, Further Down the Spiral is a spectacular remix album from Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails: halos: halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 - halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 9 - halo 11 – halo 12 - halo 13 – (halo 14) – (halo 15) – (halo 16) – (halo 17) - (halo 18) – (halo 19) – (halo 20) – (halo 21) – (halo 22) - (halo 23) – (halo 24) – (halo 25) – (halo 26) – (halo 27) - (halo 28) – (halo 29) – (halo 30) – (halo 31) – (halo 32)
seeds: (seed 1) – (seed 2) – (seed 3) – (seed 4) – (seed 5) – (seed 6) – (seed 7) – (seed 8)
Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross Film Soundtracks: null 1 - null 2 - (null 3) – (null 4) – (null 5) – (null 6) - (null 7)
Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Broken Movie - Natural Born Killers OST - Quake OST - Lost Highway OST
Live Shows: (NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – (NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena) - (Jane’s Addiction/NIN/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater) – NIN/Godspeed You! Black Emperor-10/24/13 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena - NIN/Jesus & Mary Chain/Tobacco-9/27/18 Atlanta, GA Fox Theatre
© thevoid99 2018
Released on August 23, 1994 from nothing records and Interscope Records, the soundtrack to Natural Born Killers is an audio companion piece to the Oliver Stone film of the same name. Produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails with music direction from Stone and supervision by Budd Carr, the album is a mixture of songs that appear on the album as well as musical pieces that is mixed in with audio from the film. The result is one of the most intense and mesmerizing film soundtracks of the 1990s.
VIDEO The album’s opener and penultimate track both come from Leonard Cohen as the former in an edited version of Waiting for the Miracle is a haunting ballad while the latter in the more upbeat The Future play into the chaos and joy of Mickey and Mallory Knox as they’re top-notch songs from Cohen with the former seguing through dialogue of a man trying to flirt with Mallory as it kicks in towards the song Shitlist by L7 that is this intense, hard-rocking song. The song appears to introduce Mickey and Mallory in their element as killers as it would segue into Dan Zane’s instrumental Moon Over Greene County as it is this country music piece with dreamy guitars and harmonicas as Mickey and Mallory threaten the diner’s sole survivor. A remixed version of Patti Smith’s Rock N’ Roll N***er by Mark “Flood” Ellis appears in the film’s opening credits and in a scene at a super pharmacy as it is this blazing punk rock song that is fierce and abrasive.
Nine Inch Nails: Burn (1994) from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo .A shortened version of the Cowboy Junkies’ cover of Lou Reed’s Sweet Jane is presented in a somber ballad to express the love between Mickey and Mallory which is a standout track as is another ballad in a cover of the 1950s pop ballad You Belong to Me by Bob Dylan as it’s this simple acoustic ballad from Dylan that is one of his finest recordings. An edited version of Duane Eddy’s instrumental The Trembler with its electric guitar twangs and riffs is a standout as it play into Mickey’s escape from prison. One of the new tracks made specifically for the film’s soundtrack is Burn by Nine Inch Nails that feature these intense trash-can sounding beats, layers of melodic and droning synthesizers, Reznor’s angry vocals, and an odd structure that includes a fast-paced bridge with swirling guitars and keyboards that live drum tracks from NIN cohort Chris Vrenna. The track is one of three tracks Reznor contributes to the album that include an edited/expanded version of Something I Can Never Have that expands on the instrumental for a stark scene with Mickey and Mallory while the other contribution is the ambient-based instrumental A Warm Place that play into a confrontation between Mickey and Jack Scagnetti.
VIDEO Route 666 that is mainly a score piece by one of the film’s editors in Brian Berdan that features dialogue spoken by the character Wayne Gale who talks about a highway that is considered deadly as it segues into another audio collage piece in Totally Hot that features an edited excerpt of Kipenda Roho by Remmy Ongala and Orchestra Super Matimila as it is this vibrant Latin-jazz piece mixed in with dialogue of the film as it relates to the media coverage of Mickey and Mallory Knox. Patsy Cline’s Back in Baby’s Arms is a standout track as it is this upbeat country song that is a rich song that play into the love life of Mickey and Mallory. An edited version of Taboo by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Peter Gabriel is this eerie song filled with Ali Khan’s chants and Gabriel’s ambient background as it play into the dark world of Mallory as it would lead into another audio collage track Sex is Violent that features excerpts of Jane’s Addiction’s Ted, Just Admit It and Diamanda Galas’ cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ I Put a Spell on You that play into Mallory’s sexual desire and a bad encounter with a young man.
VIDEO The edited version of History (Repeats Itself) by A.O.S. is a haunting ballad that play into the dark journey of Mickey and Mallory that would segue into the edited/extended version of Something I Can Never Have and a score piece entitled I Will Take You Home by Russel Means that is essentially an audio version of a scene with Mickey, Mallory, and Means’ character as this Navajo doing a chant that would unfortunately give Mickey nightmares. An edited version of Drums A Go-Go by Hollywood Persuaders is a percussion-based piece with bombastic horns and percussions that play into the terror that Mickey and Mallory is dealing with. Hungry Ants is a music piece that features excerpts of two instrumentals by Barry Adamson in Checkpoint Charlie and Violation of Expectation as it play into Scagnetti’s meeting with Warden Dwight McClusky with the first part being this smooth yet pulsating piece and the second half being this ambient-like piece.
VIDEO Dr. Dre’s The Day the Niggaz Took Over is this throbbing yet sonically-intense song with its broad production of beats and electronics as the song feature lyrics about the 1992 L.A. riots with Dre, Snoop Dogg, RBX, and Dat Nigga Daz rapping about the riots as it plays into a scene in prison. A cover of Cissie Cobb’s Born Bad is a scene that has Mallory singing the song with Scagnetti entranced by her singing as it’s a great piece for the scene. Fall of the Rebel Angels by Sergio Cervetti is this dark ambient music piece that play into Mickey’s meeting with Wayne Gale as it would segue into the fast-paced industrial song Forkboy by Lard as it is this intense and aggressive song that features blazing vocals from Jello Biafra in a side-project from Al Jourgensen of Ministry. Batonga in Batongaville is an audio collage piece that features excerpts of A Night on Bare Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky that is performed by the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra as it is this intense track of Wayne Gale reporting a prison riot as it would lead into the NIN instrumental A Warm Place .
VIDEO Allah, Mohammed, Char, Yaar by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Party that features except of Diamanda Galas’ Judgement Day is a music piece that play into the prison riot as it this vibrant chant piece with traditional instruments that layered vocals from Ali Khan and Galas. Appearing at the end of Leonard Cohen’s The Future is a comedic dialogue that relates to Wayne Gale and his fate which would lead to the album closer in Tha Dogg Pound’s What Would U Do? as it is this song with its upbeat yet bopping beats, swooning synthesizers, and fast-paced raps from Dat Nigga Daz and Kurupt that features contributions from Snoop Dogg and Jewell which is this upbeat gangsta rap song that is really a bonus track on the album since the song doesn’t appear in the film.
VIDEO Among the material that isn’t on the soundtrack but appeared in the film are excerpts of Rage Against the Machine’s Bombtrack and Take the Power Back , Marilyn Manson’s Cyclops , Leonard Cohen’s Anthem , the Shangri-Las’ Leader of the Pack , the Specials’ Ghost Town , two cuts by Peter Gabriel in The Rhythm of the Heat and In Doubt , and the Cowboy Junkies’ If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man as they appear in brief moments in the film whether it’s in darkly-humorous pieces or something violent.
The soundtrack to Natural Born Killers is a tremendous film soundtrack thanks in part to the work of Trent Reznor. Not only does it serve as this great audio companion piece to the film but it also play into the idea of what a music soundtrack should be rather than just a compilation of songs from a movie. In the end, the Natural Born Killers soundtrack is a sensational soundtrack album from Trent Reznor and Oliver Stone.
Related: Natural Born Killers
© thevoid99 2018
