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A Plump, Unattractive Poll
Poll A Plump, Unattractive Poll -
day 54, halo 8, track 11
"Eraser" is another song with an interesting time signature. It goes from 6/4 in the intro to 4/4 when Trent starts singing. I wonder if he plans out time signatures, or if they just fall into place.
I haven't seen much speculation on the meaning of this song, so here is mine. The narrator uses the euphoric feeling of infatuation as a kind of high, ( Read more... ) -
day 53, halo 8, track 10
"A Warm Place" is the only instrumental (other than a short, barely audible phrase) track on TDS. It bears a marked resemblance to a David Bowie song, "Crystal Japan."
After lashing out, the narrator is alone, physically exhausted and in emotional pain. The only solace he can imagine is death, a return to the warm place (womb) before birth.
This song ( Read more... ) -
day 52, halo 8, track 9
"Big Man with a Gun" always makes me think of other songs. It brings to mind "Sex Type Thing" by the Stone Temple Pilots, "Date Rape" by Sublime, and "Me and a Gun" by Tori Amos. The first two are criticisms of misogyny and rape, and the third is an account of the artist being raped.
Like the rest of TDS, this doesn't seem to be something that Trent ( Read more... ) -
day 51, halo 8, track 8
"I Do Not Want This" oscillates between depression and anger. It's a good song, but "The Becoming" is tough to follow.
Live 1994. The whispered parts seem to be pre-recorded.
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day 50, halo 8, track 7
"The Becoming" is my most-played song on Last.fm. It has a cool time signature, switching from 6/8 and 13/8 and back, giving it the feeling of a ballad that's off-kilter, switching from man to machine and back. Too damaged to relate on a human level, the narrator is in the process of withdrawing into a mechanical shell, attempting to avoid further ( Read more... ) -
day 49, halo 8, track 6
"Ruiner" continues (and maybe accelerates) the downward spiral of the album's narrator. This is a dark song on a dark album, though a poppy sample belies the lyrical intensity. Is it about having been sexually abused? Or is it a strong metaphor for an emotionally-wrenching event? "My perfect ring of scars" is a disturbing phrase, when you think ( Read more... ) -
day 48, halo 8, track 5
We already talked about "MotP," so today's track is "Closer." It's MTV's favorite single, and it's the song people think of when you say that you like NIN. I have to admit, I still like it and think it's not only catchy as hell, but still sounds edgy 15 years later. It was also sort of my baptism into being a NIN fan - I had a minor car accident ( Read more... ) -
day 47, halo 8, track 3
Today's song is "Heresy." From what I can gather, the lyrics are about anger at conservative Christianity's depiction of the AIDS virus as some kind of punishment for homosexuality.
This song has some common ground with Year Zero's Vessel, in that both reference God and what the TR or the narrator can put inside of himself.
"Heresy" live in Brixton.
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day 46, halo 8, track 2
"Piggy" is unlike any NIN song that precedes it. Subtle and well, jazzy... its menace is no less real for being understated. The drum solo toward the end is played by Trent.
This "piggy" seems more personal than MotP's pigs. A bad break-up, maybe? And then feeling like there is nothing left to lose, we are introduced to the famous "nothing can stop ( Read more... )
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