[triggermuseum]

Album Review:Nine Inch Nails:Hesitation Marks.

Its been far too long since I last updated this blog..My laptop died for good,and I've had a bit of home life chaos,so I apologize,however it's not like I have many followers to let down,however,I still feel it's necessary to explain myself here...

Anyways,the much anticipated "Hesitation Marks" was released worldwide yesterday,and I don't know about everyone else,but I have greatly been looking forward to it,I'm a huge Nine Inch Nails fan,and I've wanted Trent to make a comeback with NIN for years now...(I wont even go into how excited I am about the tour that comes along with a new album release) 

About a month or so ago "Came back Haunted" was released as a preview to fans for what was to come,along with a dark,generally fucking weird video,directed by the lovely david lynch (woot woot)

you can view it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN6pT3zL44

personally I loved it,I found it very reminiscent of his older work,which was a relief as I had been fearing greatly that this album would sound just like his work with "How to destroy Angels" (I'm not a fan of HTDA,I tried,but I just cant force myself into liking it)  HOWEVER,as I said,I was pleasantly surprised to find that "Came back haunted" was pure Reznor,no let down...and to find that the same artist that did the cover for "the downward spiral" (IMO the best album ever created by NIN) and also that members from the downward spiral tour (Ex.robin finck) I had nothing but high hopes for the remainder of this album,I thought certainly if Reznor was going to somehow recreate the angst and raw emotion of downward spiral it would be this album that he achieved that with.

so,I'll stop rambling about my expectations and get to the point,

This is the cover:

Obviously,very very similar to that of the downward spiral,and also "broken" in fact I view it to almost be a combination of both covers combined...but seeing as its the same artist that would make sense ;)

The album starts with a abstract industrial melodic 52 second tune called "the eater of dreams" and personally I thought it was an amazing way to start the album,very reminiscent of the dark NIN I know and love..it almost has a "pinion" sort of feel to it,just not as quiet....

next is "copy of a" honestly,I'm not a fan of this song,

I find it to be redundant,and way too pop sounding,

I don't know,It's just not the dark industrial sound I expected and wanted,It's too trance euro pop sounding for me,and that's all i have to say about it...

the third track is "came back haunted" which I already briefly talked about,

I think this song is brilliant,I DO think it,too,gets a bit redundant,but its catchy enough,to make up for it,I do really love this song,

It sounds like Trents work from the early-mid nineties,no disgrace.

"Find my way" is next,a quieter,more earthy sounding song,

its quiet and different,Its's very tranquil,I think it would have fit in nicely with the songs on "the fragile",same with all time low,its not so tranquil sounding,but i think it certainly sounds like it could fit in with the other songs from "the fragile."

"disappointed" initially i did not like,because of the up beat pop sound it begins with,however when it transitions into the noise guitar/feedback,whatever that noise is,I actually came to love it...the lyrics are also very reminiscent of how trent used to write which makes me very happy.

as for the remainder of the album,nothing really stood out to me,its catchy,its rhythmic,however the beats in every song start to kind of sound the same,

I don't dislike this album,

in fact ive listened to it three times in the past 48 hours,

it's just different from other NIN music,which I suppose is good,because as an artist,you have to change things up from time to time

I'd certainly recommend giving it a listening to,

regardless of it's pop moments,I still think it's brilliant,and I can confidently say to you all that Trent Reznor has still got it!

If you're interested in hearing Hesitation Marks before purchasing,

It's currently streaming for free on NIN.com.

      be sure to follow for more music reviews and updates!:)

[triggermuseum]

an album review..

so I know I've been completely lagging on this blog,I apologize,things have been quite busy.

BUT today,I took a trip to Rasputin,it's been a while since I've been able to go and search out vinyls,so I was rather excited to go,I arrived to find that their vinyl section had been considerably reduced since my last time going there (it's been about 2 years...) so I was initially disappointed,I was hoping to find depeche mode,and EXTRA hoping to find depeche mode's album Violator,and had no luck..

However,I did find something else that might be as good in my book,

The Cure:Early BBC Sessions 1979-1985

I was unsure if I'd like it at first,as I'm really only a fan of the cure's first album "pornography" most of their music after that just isn't my cup of tea,and I so desperately wish the would have kept to their original sound,but that's irrelevant..

but,i figured it was their EARLY BBC sessions..EARLY as in before or during the time of their first album,so I spent the $21.99 and hoped for the best :P

the album cover itself shows a cure that many people may not even recognize,I myself can't get over how different Robert Smith looked when the cure started compared to how he looked once they reached the height of success...

Inside contains two 35s,that are two separate colors of purple,and both a bit tye dye looking....i personally found it to be the coolest looking thing in the world.

the first 35 features the following: SIDE A:

subway song

plastic passion (one i was particularly excited to hear..as i didn't notice it was on there until i was actually listening to it.) 

Grinding Halt

Desperate journalist

Accurracy

Seventeen second 

Play for today.

SIDE B:

Forever

All cats are grey

The Holy Hour

Cold Colours (primary) 

Funeral Party

The Drowning Man

Disc 1 was no disgrace,I think side B was my favorite,Side A was much more 70s punk rock sounding,side B reminded me much more of their first album,with a more unique sound,funeral party was by far my favorite...all cats are grey was quite good too.

Disc 2 featured the following:

SIDE A:

Faith

One Hundred Years 

Siamese Twins

the figurehead

SIDE B:

Just one kiss

ariel

inbetween days 

close to me

kyoto song

the baby screams

sinking

Side A was rather good,as it featured 3 songs from pornography in different versions,which i quite enjoyed hearing,it has the same feel as side be of disc 1 did,

side b however was not impressive in my opinion,you hear the transition from their early work to their later poppy sounding stuff,and I don't like it.

over all I loved this whole compilation though,I've always been a bit sad that their wasn't more music from them that sounded like the first album,but this makes me feel better,I couldn't be happier that I stumbled upon it,and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to get into the cure or already loves them and wants to hear more of their early music.

[triggermuseum]

sound of the day

Bestie boys-Hey Ladies one of my favorite songs/music videos of all time check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Naf5uJYGoiU&ob=av2n  

[triggermuseum]

at the risk of sounding completely lame,pass the dutchie by musical youth is the ultimate summer song. 

there's nothing not likable about it,yet another "make you happy" kind of song   listen for yourself,and see the video here:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUH1XmFb05Y

[triggermuseum]

Mainstream album review:The Downward Spiral

In honor of Trent reznor's 47th birthday,a nine inch nails review :)

I'll probably make an artist profile type thing on him later today too.

Anyone who knows me,knows I am a seriously huge fan of Nine inch nails,I personally think that Trent Reznor is the jesus christ of music,I think he's a genius,and odds are this isn't the last you will see about him or his music (I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he goes through with coming back to NIN and releasing an album for 2012)

Having said that,this will most likely be way longer and more detailed than necessary,and I apologize in advance for that :P

Nine Inch Nails opened a whole new door to a whole new kind of music,the downward spiral was the most emotional album I had ever heard in my life,and more than likely will forever be my favorite nine inch nails album of all time,I don't care HOW much coke Reznor was doing in that era,it worked,his music was real,and his shows were OUTSTANDING...

The downward spiral,also known as Halo 8 (all NIN albums are labeled with halo numbers) was released on March 8 1994...I was a whopping 2 years old at this time,it's agreed among many that this was the most successful album of NIN..no surprise as it's brilliant.

To me,the downward spiral is trent reznor ripping himself open and spilling his guts out to everyone,nothing is held back,it's raw emotion,the real feeling of everything being completely fucked and fading away to nothingness...a downward spiral...

when I first heard this album,I was in the middle of the shittiest time of my life,dealing with some of the hardest things I've ever dealt with,and I was in a dark,shitty place....as lame as it sounds,I truly wish I could experience hearing this album for the first time again,because there wasn't a single song that I didn't find moving.

"...it was during that tour (Self Destruct) that problems started to arise. Prior to that I would have considered myself pretty normal. With the Downward Spiral, I can remember where I was in my head, what I was thinking, and I can remember writing that record, and the mindset. This record that was about an extension of me, became the truth fulfilling itself."

-Trent Reznor

there are many interpretations to this album,I'll link them near the end,all I know is that there were too many times that I found myself relating to various songs on this album,and I hate being all "YEEAAH I CAN RELATE MAAAANNN" but,it's the truth.. now that I'm done on my novel's worth of feelings,I'll get to the actual review already.

1.Mr.Self Destruct

This song begins with what sounds like someone getting the shit beat out of them, and then escalates into an industrial,quick tempo,intense,fucking amazing song,

with lyrics like "I take you where you want to go,I give you all you need to know,I drag you down I use you up,Mr. Self-destruct"

about 2 minutes into it there is a quieter moment where reznor is nearly at a whisper,but it picks back up after the verse is over,and continues into where it was previously,a perfect song to intro the beginning of the album. 2.Piggy

This song is perhaps THEE song that drew me towards purchasing the entire downward spiral album,I thought the lyrics were quite something,it's a slower beat,as the song continues,it builds up,not not in an obvious sort of way,more like anger and frustration,and hopelessness building up in a person,and as the song continues it's gradually leaking out word by word. the lyrics "nothing can stop me now,cause I don't care anymore" seem to be the main theme of this one,and as the album continues,you'll catch it in a few others too. I've always quite liked this song. 3.Heresy If you're religiously sensitive,don't bother giving this one a listening to,I actually really,really like this song,I think it's amazingly composed,and I'm not religious,so the lyrics "god is dead and no one cares,and if there is a hell,I'll see you there" don't really bother me much,it's an angrier song,obviously,but,I don't know,I like it.

despite the lyrics,the instrumentals are BAD ASS... 4.March Of The Pigs

This song has always reminded me of a punk song to begin with,maybe with a little bit of a metal feel mixed in?I don't know..initially,this song took a bit longer to grow on me than the other songs on the album,it's definitely uniquely composed,going from the punk/metal/high strung to just trents voice and a happy little melody on the piano and then flashing back to chaotic sound it bared before. 5.Closer

no one can deny that this song is fucking amazing. I don't care how out there the lyrics are,the song is a-m-a-z-i-n-g.. and further more,aside from the chorus,I think the lyrics have more meaning than what people take it for. "you can have my isolation,you can have the hate that it brings,you can have my absence of faith,you can have my everything" and "through every forrest,above the trees,within my stomach,scraped off my knees... I drink the honey,from inside your hive...you are the reason,I stay alive" 6.Ruiner this song is another one that took a little longer to grow on me,I think it was the 90s sounding drums honestly.... yet again,the lyrics are real,and raw,the song gets better as it goes along,and the guitar solo beginning at 2:47 into the song is absolutely beautiful

7.The Becoming this song,to this day is a bit too abstract for my taste...it's the only song I haven't grown to particularly like on the album... 8.I do not want this have you ever heard a song and the lyrics are nearly your very thoughts being sung out by someone else? (Does that even make sense?haha) I had that kind of feeling with this song " another song that's emotion progresses more and more as it goes on,but is good from the very start. "I'm losing ground,you know how this world can beat you down,I'm made of clay,I fear I'm the only one who thinks this way"

9.big man with a gun supposedly this song was trent reznors big eff you to the government... 10.A warm place this is one of the most beautiful songs,it's hope surrounded in sorrow...it's beautiful. it's also a case of subconscious plagiarism,check out david bowies "crystal japan" trent reznor has talked about it interviews saying "he knew it was too good of a melody for it to be something he thought of himself" pfft! right. 11.Eraser this song....this is one hell of a song.... 12.reptile. I had the instrumental version of this as my ringtone for quite a while,The lyrics are a bit strange,but work quite well,and perhaps the most impressive song instrumentally on the entire album. 13.The Downward Spiral this song is beautiful,it continues to the end of the spiral,beginning with a weak and fragile feeling,there are inhales between faint guitar strums,and then it goes into the most beautiful melody I've ever heard,literally,it like,gives me butterflies....and in this beautiful meadow of sound,suddenly there are muffled screams and what sounds like a your metal head neighbor's radio next door...and then in the midst of this chaos the lyrics come in "he couldn't believe how easy it was,he put the gun into his face...baaaannnnggggg,so much blood from such a tiny little hole,problems have solutions,a lifetime of fucking things up fixed, in ooonnnee determined flash...everything's blue,everything's blue in this world,the deepest shade of mushroom blue,all fuzzy,spilling out of my head despite how terribly disturbing that could be perceived,trent's voice is nearly at a whisper,and there's something very euphoric about it, only Trent Reznor could make something so ugly sound so beautiful. 14.Hurt if you say you've never cried while listening to this,you're full of shit.this song is another all time favorite,it's absolutely beautiful,and as real as it can get...

I feel no need to explain it,if you haven't heard this song already,i reccomend you do.

all and all,despite where you are in life,high or low,this album is worth a listen...

[triggermuseum]

Depeche Mode-Clean yes,another depeche mode song.. In my opinion it bears a great pink floyd influence instrumentally, regardless,I think it's a pretty amazing song,Violator,the album it's from,is BRILLIANT,by far my favorite depeche mode album so far.

and I love the irony of how shortly after this song/album was released Dave Gahan fell into a giant drug fueled downward spiral.. the video is a bit more abstract than what you'd expect,and I personally don't understand the videos relevance to the song...BUT that's depeche mode for you.

it consists of martin gore making out with some girl,while different images and things are being projected on the walls. perhaps there's a deeper message to the video that I've missed...who knows...

the song is amazing though,that's all that really counts  

You can hear the song and see the video for yourself here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1mD-_DKHc0&ob=av2n 

[triggermuseum]

Independent Artist:Gurnumsbug

Though his soundcloud modestly describes him as "Just a boy who likes making sounds." Gurnumsbug is much more than that,

I WISH I had a whole album of this guys music to review,but since an album has yet to be released,we'll just go with his most recently released singles: (starting with most recent,a collection of airy,earthy,ambient sounds that will blow your mind) 

Ivory Tower:

listen here:http://soundcloud.com/gurnumsbug/gurnumsbug-ivory-tower

Though it seems on the shorter side,the simplicity of this song may very well be what makes it so beautiful.As the rest of Gurnumsbug's music seems to do for me,this Ivory Tower has the ability to take your mind to another place,somewhere better,somewhere beautiful.It has a bearing resemblance to the outro to pink floyd's "cirrus minor",however,as the saying goes,great minds think a like.

  UK Lights:

listen here:http://soundcloud.com/gurnumsbug/gurnumsbug-uk-lights

This song could very well be my favorite from Gurnumsbug,I really do think it's one of the best yet,the airy synth and harp like keys give it a white like,floaty sort of feel,there's something nostalgic about it that I can't quite figure out...it's absolutely brilliant,and that's really all I can say without repeating myself. Take Care:

Listen here: http://soundcloud.com/gurnumsbug/gurnumsbug-take-care

take care is brilliantly composed,with a gloomy,mellower feel to begin with,it transitions into one hell of a beat,it reminds me of a rainy day in seattle,or new york,or..a big city such as those two...as the song ends,you can hear faint whispering,the discreet little things you can find in GB's music are the things that forever keeps things interesting,every time you listen,you hear something you didn't hear before...

  Saviors of The Sea:

Listen here: http://soundcloud.com/gurnumsbug/gurnumsbug-saviors-of-the-sea

this song,would be up against uk lights as my favorite of GBs,this song was a whole new level in my opinion from what had been previously released months before it, Saviors of the sea has the same feel to me as Nine inch nail's "A warm place" does,which would be,tragedy,but in the midst of it all,there is hope,there's a light at the end of the tunnel,and you'll get there as long as you keep that hope,regardless of the doom and gloom that's going on now. then again,it could have just have been the time of my life and stuff I was going through when I heard it....but everything is subject to interpretation right? regardless,it's a beautiful tune. needless to say,the future is looking bright for gurnumsbug,with each single the music is getting better and better and better, to hear more from this artist,you can check him out on Soundcloud here: http://soundcloud.com/gurnumsbug  

[triggermuseum]

Gary Numan-Cars

Whenever I'm feeling a bit down,or moody,or WHATEVER,and need a pick me up song Gary Numan's "cars" is the first song I go to.

at the very dawn of industrial music,there stood numan in his silly red onesy in a giant triangle with a voice as distinctive as his over all appearance,with electric sounds and catchy lyrics,there's no going wrong.

the music video,yet again,is a comical one to me...I feel no need to explain why.

you can hear this tune and see the video for yourself here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldyx3KHOFXw

enjoy :) 

[triggermuseum]

EASILY a go-to song for me when it comes to Depeche mode,"stripped" from the album black celebration is one of my very favorites,the album itself is said to be their darkest,though it has a darker feel than the previously released albums of solely a synth pop feel,I wouldn't give Black Celebration the credit of being their darkest,however,having said that the album is certainly no disgrace,the lyrics of this song are meaningful but still takes careful listening to completely figure out,as martin gore was previously quoted saying "everything I write comes from the soul".the melody is brilliantly composed,starting out quiet and mellow,and building 

I'll say the video is one of the better ones from the 80s as well,though I can never hold back my little bought of laughter when seeing Dave Gahan's cheesy dance moves.

see the video,and give the song a listen here: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU8UfYdKHvs&ob=av2e

[triggermuseum]

start from the beginning

basically,I have a ridiculous amount of interest in music,and constantly feel the need to mention my opinions/reviews on new music to just about everyone I know,9 out of 10 times,they glaze over and stop caring once the band's name leaves my mouth,

thus,the music review blog was born.

Welcome to the trigger museum...I think this is going to be a beautiful thing my friends