And POLL That Could Have Been: ILM Artist Poll #119 - Nine Inch Nails - RESULTS

https://i.imgur.com/GkCgj34.jpeg
5. Hesitation Marks
Halo 28, released 2013
148 points, 13 voters

Pleased to see Hesitation Marks land so high

ivy street teaming paid off.

https://i.imgur.com/9zD30BC.jpeg
4. Broken
Halo 5, released 1992
196 points, 15 voters, 1 #1 vote

my main takeaway from this has been that people didn't listen to the 2016-18 ep trilogy enough

His Song Exploder episode was really fucking good, my favourite one, and I was never that much of a fan.

i dunno. admittedly, nostalgia is a tough thing to overcome; but i gave them every chance - and while i loved Add Violence, i did not dig Bad Which at all. also they're EPs, which - obviously - means there's just less music to them. then there's context - those first 3-4 releases were p unique to what existed at the time and wildly influential.
xpost

https://i.imgur.com/e70QNTR.jpeg
3. Pretty Hate Machine
Halo 2, released 1989
222 points, 17 voters, 1 #1 vote

https://i.imgur.com/jP9LpD0.jpeg
2. The Fragile
Halo 14, released 1999
230 points, 15 voters, 4 #1 votes

https://i.imgur.com/U6t1JZI.jpeg
1. The Downward Spiral
Halo 8, released 1994
306 points, 17 voters, 7 #1 votes

not really a surprise to have the downward spiral so far ahead of everything else

I’m really happy Further Down The Spiral is getting so much love in this poll

(I wouldn’t have imagine Fragile at #2 - wow!)

i didn't expect it either, but the total points was close. the #1 vote difference is what put Fragile ahead.

I guess I can understand being the only #1 for Pretty Hate Machine. It's not without its flaws, but I do think it's the most charming NIN album with the most memorable highs.

Every time I play PHM I’m somehow surprised anew at how gripping it is.

I wasn't sure which I was going to put first - I hadn't listened to either in a decade or more. phm may (arguably) have the 'best' (catchiest, most melodic. whatever) songs but the arrangement/production/sound palette on tds is in an absolute league of its own.

It was hard to work out where to rank PHM, it's probably the NIN release I've played the most in my life because I bought it (on tape) at a point when I only owned a handful of albums but I think it's been surpassed many times over (I had it at #8 in the end I think). Hesitation Marks kept creeping up my ballot, glad to see it so high.

I prefer the international Further Down the Spiral although I realised my favourite tracks are mostly the ones that appear on both versions.

MAYBE I'M ALL MESSED UP

Really happy to see the Fennesz remix of In This Twilight top the remix poll. It's truly a marvel and one of the best things musically that Trent's been involved with imho.

Surprised The Fragile: Deviations 1 and Ghosts didn't place on the releases poll! Excited for the tracks now.

do people want top 60 tracks or top 50? i can do either but only have images for top 50

i'll try to get through these quickly

60. In This Twilight
Released on Year Zero, 2007
88 points, 5 voters
Studio version
Live 2008

59. The Only Time
Released on Pretty Hate Machine, 1989
96 points, 3 voters
Studio version

58. Kinda I Want To
Released on Pretty Hate Machine, 1989
98 points, 2 voters
Studio version

this one was a surprise to see, it always seemed like a lesser track on phm to me

57. Dead Souls
Released on The Crow soundtrack, 1994
102 points, 3 voters
Studio version

i love Dead Souls so much

56. Running
Released on Hesitation Marks, 2013
106 points, 3 voters
Studio version

53. This Isn't the Place
Released on Add Violence, 2017
110 points, 5 voters
Studio version

53. Suck
Released on Broken, 1992
110 points, 6 voters
Studio version

53. Less Than
Released on Add Violence, 2017
110 points, 6 voters
Studio version/music video

51. Even Deeper
Released on The Fragile, 1999
112 points, 3 voters
Studio version
Live 2013

51. Leaving Hope
Released on Still, 2002
112 points, 4 voters
Studio version

i really recommend the live version of "even deeper" there

https://i.imgur.com/mRHVhiA.jpeg
49. The Great Destroyer
Released on Year Zero, 2007
116 points, 6 voters
Studio version
Live 2007
Live 2014

https://i.imgur.com/qi3irH7.jpeg
49. Shit Mirror
Released on Bad Witch, 2018
116 points, 3 voters
Studio version

https://i.imgur.com/7KL0Xt6.jpeg
48. Sanctified
Released on Pretty Hate Machine, 1989
124 points, 4 voters
Studio version
Live 2013

even deeper wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy too low

https://i.imgur.com/lyRY0lC.jpeg
47. The Hand That Feeds
Released on With Teeth, 2005
134 points, 6 voters
Studio version
Music video
Live 2006
Live 2008
Live 2013

i really regret not managing to fit "even deeper" on my ballot after hearing that live version

i'm surprised "the hand that feeds" was this low, it's quite good at what it does really

Me too! Figured it for top 25 at least

same. expect WAAYYYYY higher

last one for now:

https://i.imgur.com/yDumcC4.jpeg
46. I Do Not Want This
Released on The Downward Spiral, 1994
136 points, 5 voters
Studio version

58. Kinda I Want To
Released on Pretty Hate Machine, 1989
98 points, 2 voters
Studio version

― ufo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 6:32 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

this one was a surprise to see, it always seemed like a lesser track on phm to me

― ufo, Wednesday, April 24, 2024 6:32 PM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

I had it at #3, which pushed it over the edge. During voting, I got kinda obsessed with a minor similarity to Genesis's Tonight Tonight Tonight. In retrospect, I might have had it a little high. :)

it didn't make my ballot, but this was one of my favs off PHM in my peak NIN fandom.

I’m going to go ahead and predict “Only” in the top 20

I have a notion about that song that I’ll share as soon as we get to it

summary so far:

46. I Do Not Want This - 136 points, 5 voters
47. The Hand That Feeds - 134 points, 6 voters
48. Sanctified - 124 points, 4 voters
49. The Great Destroyer - 116 points, 6 voters
49. Shit Mirror - 116 points, 3 voters
51. Even Deeper - 112 points, 3 voters
51. Leaving Hope - 112 points, 4 voters
53. This Isn't the Place - 110 points, 5 voters
53. Suck - 110 points, 6 voters
53. Less Than - 110 points, 6 voters
56. Running - 106 points, 3 voters
57. Dead Souls - 102 points, 3 voters
58. Kinda I Want To - 98 points, 2 voters
59. The Only Time - 96 points, 3 voters
60. In This Twilight - 88 points, 5 voters

and full albums results:

1. The Downward Spiral - 306 points, 17 voters, 7 #1 votes
2. The Fragile - 230 points, 15 voters, 4 #1 votes
3. Pretty Hate Machine - 222 points, 17 voters, 1 #1 vote
4. Broken - 196 points, 15 voters, 1 #1 vote
5. Hesitation Marks - 148 points, 13 voters
6. Further Down the Spiral - 98 points, 9 voters, 2 #1 votes
7. With Teeth - 96 points, 12 voters
8. Still - 92 points, 8 voters
9. Bad Witch - 76 points, 8 voters
10. Add Violence - 72 points, 7 voters
11. Fixed - 58 points, 5 voters, 2 #1 votes
12. Not the Actual Events - 56 points, 7 voters
13. Year Zero - 52 points, 6 voters
14. Closer to God - 22 points, 2 voters
15. March Of The Pigs - 16 points, 1 voter
15. The Fragile: Deviations 1 - 16 points, 1 voter
17. Ghosts V: Together - 14 points, 3 voters
18. The Slip - 12 points, 2 voters
19. Y34RZ3r0r3mix3d - 10 points, 2 voters
19. Ghosts I-IV - 10 points, 2 voters
21. Watchmen: Volume 1 (Music from the HBO Series) - 6 points, 1 voter
21. Quake - 6 points, 1 voter
23. Ghosts VI: Locusts - 4 points, 2 voters
23. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Original Soundtrack) - 4 points, 1 voter
23. "The Perfect Drug" Versions - 4 points, 1 voter
23. Broken (film) - 4 points, 1 voter
27. Watchmen: Volume 3 (Music from the HBO Series) - 2 points, 1 voter
27. Closure - 2 points, 1 voter, #1 votes
27. The Vietnam War (Original Score) - 2 points, 1 voter, #1 votes

I voted for both “kinda I want to” and “the only time” - love how the back end of PHM basically gives up on the angst and just becomes about illicit sex.

going to do 5 more now

https://i.imgur.com/P1iFwa2.jpeg
45. Ringfinger
Released on Pretty Hate Machine, 1989
138 points, 4 voters, 1 #1 vote
Studio version

https://i.imgur.com/Ev7nqP4.jpeg
43. Burn
Released on Natural Born Killers soundtrack, 1994
140 points, 5 voters
Studio version
Music video
Live 2009

https://i.imgur.com/ZMABIEK.jpeg
43. Every Day Is Exactly The Same
Released on With Teeth, 2005
140 points, 4 voters
Studio version

Another comparison that occurred to me was the first Laika album together with the second and third Moonshake albums (the second Laika album might not fit here, even if it’s probably my favourite of the four) - stuff like “Hard Candy” on Dirty & Divine. Those albums came out in 94 and 96 (as did Disco Inferno’s second and third albums) so very comparable timewise.

And of course (“of course”) later on El-P’s production work in the 00s (but not really Company Flow earlier on) - at its best sounding like an attempt to split the difference between “The Becoming” and “By The Time I Get to Arizona”.

Kate Van Buren's channel is a gift

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjqZ8RIiRLU

Well, that's "NIN meet David Crosby at Woodstock 94"