Tuesday, February 27, 2007

My Violent Heart


Song: My Violent Heart
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Album: Year Zero



I have just been made aware of the interesting marketing plan being put into the new Nine Inch Nails album “Year Zero” which is set for release in April. “Year Zero” is a concept album set 15 years in the future painting “a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course,” and “The world has reached the breaking point— politically, spiritually and ecologically." So said lead nail and creative mastermind, Trent Reznor in a statement.

More details on the story and the plan can be found in this Rolling Stone article. Pretty fascinating. I read that the song “My Violent Heart” had been leaked on the internet last night and further research shows that many more have, but they may actually be part of the plan and not a true “leak.” All four “leaked” “Year Zero” tracks can be found here, which looks just like one of the multiple sites in this complicated network. “Survivalism” has been slated as the first single, and sounds like vintage Nine Inch Nails, though I am currently feeling “My Violent Heart” a bit more.

While they are not saying outright that they are officially giving these songs away, I really believe it’s a good move. A similar tactic was used to promote Tegan & Sara’a last album “So Jealous” where three full songs were posted as free downloads on their official site, including single “Walking With The Ghost” a good month and a half before release date. I was listening to these songs constantly and bought the record as soon as it came out.

I’ve been a fan of Nine Inch Nails since the release of the “Broken” EP back in 1992. It remains my favorite complete work by Trent, though I also really love the more dancy debut “Pretty Hate Machine” and the pop-industrial blockbuster “The Downward Spiral.” I got a little lost (as did the majority of his audience) with the bloated double album “The Fragile.” As much as I tried to like it I found the multiple instrumentals and slow pacing ultimately boring, which could never be said of any prior work. 2005’s “With Teeth” was a step back into the right direction and while I didn’t LOVE it as a whole, it included some great singles, including “Hand That Feeds” and “Only.”

Enjoy.

Here are some vintage Nine Inch Nails videos to enjoy:

Wish


March of the Pigs


We're In This Together

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