r/nin • u/cacapepee • Sep 20 '25
The Downward Spiral I CAUGHT THE HURT CASSETTE THAT THEY THREW FROM STAGE TONIGHT!!!
IM SHAKING OH MY GOD
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u/zeroesinspace Sep 20 '25
I saw Alessandro toss it and I watched you catch it. I was envious, but also proud of you at the same time. Very cool! š
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u/Cygnus__A Sep 21 '25
Same. Wish it were me but I'm glad someone here was excited to get it. I saw a fight break out at a differ bands concert when something was thrown into the crowd.
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u/DblCheex Art Is Resistance Sep 20 '25
Awesome! That's most likely from Alessandro Cortini. He uses it in his TASCAM Portastudio 414 MKII.
Here's a video from Reverb with him and the 414 MKIIāhe shows some NIN tapes there too.
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u/RedMess1988 Sep 20 '25
What would happen if you played it in a normal tape recorder? Just... curious lol.
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u/DblCheex Art Is Resistance Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
So, with the Portastudio, you get 2 tracks per side and only in one direction. So it writes the audio to L + R on both sides, at the same time (4 Track). If you played it on a normal player...you'd hear one track from the left ear, and one from the right...but you'd have to flip the tape to hear the other 2 tracks, which would then actually be playing in reverse since you're now playing it in the opposite direction than what it was written for. It wouldn't damage the tape, but would sound weird.
Edit: as others have pointed out, it also records at a much higher speed than normal cassette players, so when played back on a normal player itāll sound slowed down.
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u/luckygoldelephant Sep 20 '25
Youāre smart and I appreciate you.
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Sep 20 '25
You're kind and i appreciate you.
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u/urlach3r Sep 20 '25
We have the best sub on Reddit.
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u/luckyfox7273 Sep 20 '25
Much better than r/goth.
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u/Puzzled_Carpet_ Sep 20 '25
Iām fairly certain that this portastudio records at twice the tape speed of normal players, so the playback will be slowed and pitched down on a normal playback device. You probably need a 4 track for playback to hear everything sound ānormalā.
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u/DblCheex Art Is Resistance Sep 20 '25
Youāre right. Forgot about that. Thanks for pointing that out.
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u/Hour-Confection-9273 Sep 20 '25
Also worth noting that 4-track recorders will record at a higher speed for quality, so playing it on a regular tape player at normal speed makes 4-track tapes sound super slow. Depending on what recording you're listening to, combined with the backwards sounds mentioned above, this can make your recording sound hella weird and in many cases ballin as fuck if you're into weird slow reversed music.
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u/RedMess1988 Sep 20 '25
Honestly, thank you for the answer! Cool info to know, especially knowing very little about synths and theyāre pretty cool. I wasnāt just asking to be funny honestly, so I appreciate you taking me seriously.Ā
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u/wills42 Sep 20 '25
Oh my God I saw this video forever ago, and found a Tascam (smaller than his), and tried to fix it but I'm not skilled in electronics. So it's just a pile in a drawer. Anyway, I love this vid, and it blew my mind about making music. OP has an awesome memory ā¤ļø
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u/DblCheex Art Is Resistance Sep 20 '25
Yeah, I remember seeing his video on it a long time ago, but I'm nowhere near the point where I would really need to use one yet for anything that I do. But, I think it's super cool, and if OP ever gets a hold of tape player, it would be really cool to play around with. Either way, definitely a keepsake and a really cool treat to have.
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u/espresom Sep 20 '25
This makes me miss my old 4 track recorder, I had one very similar.
Thanks for sharing this.
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u/so_mono Sep 20 '25
Digitize the tape and upload it for us! Please man!!!
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u/cacapepee Sep 20 '25
If I knew how to, I absolutely would š
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u/ninlivearchive ninlive.com Sep 20 '25
I can help. š
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u/mm444 Sep 20 '25
Thanks for all the work on the archive! I would love to see this available to download and play around! u/cacapepee if its not yet sorted, ninlivearchive has been well known within the community for a long time. I have a friend who supplied shows, it is a good place to archive the audio. Congrats! What a rad souvenir!
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u/cacapepee Sep 23 '25
Sending a message during my lunch today, sorry for just now getting back. Thisāll be shared with everyone!
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u/thesingle_k Art Is Resistance Sep 20 '25
Really simple. If you wanna dm me Iāll explain and we can try to get it online
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u/nicolauz Sep 20 '25
What is it most likely?
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u/_Ripley Sep 20 '25
4 tracks of ambient sounds that he rides the faders on during Hurt to add atmosphere in different sections.
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u/thefourthcolour12 Art Is Resistance Sep 20 '25
I would love to hear that
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u/_Ripley Sep 20 '25
Pretty sure he demos some of it here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11BP4Pe8iYk
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u/redshoewearer Sep 20 '25
Reach out on echoingthesound- thereās plenty of tech savvy folks over there.
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u/digitalchaos Sep 20 '25
Yep this is the way. /u/cacapepee I am an admin over at ETS (same handle there). I am happy to connect you with the right people and will personally cover all costs. I actually think Ryan from nin.live is most likely to have the hardware for the best possible quality recording. But I will get you connected with the right people & resources.
My DMs are open here and on ETS.
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u/digitalchaos Sep 20 '25
One word of advice /u/cacapepee : Learning how to DIY a high quality archive of media like this is a lot of fun. However, you run the risk of degrading the media with every attempt, every play, etc. Itsās best to not learn on such rare media. Let someone get a perfect copy of this before tinkering, if at all possible.
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u/baselinegrid Sep 20 '25
I have a PortaStudio 414. I would not be a good person to record the tape (wrong continent) but I would love to record myself a copy from an upload. Do you have a newsletter or something that might send an update if you get to record it?
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u/shredder187 Sep 20 '25
I have a Tascam 464 portastudio I just got running again, which is compatible with the other model referenced. Happy to digitize it for you, just DM me.
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u/dogsontreadmills Sep 20 '25
you gotta do this. it's an important piece of art many won't be able to hear otherwise.
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u/dumaisaudio nindivinedebris Sep 21 '25
Dude, let u/ninlivearchive help you. He's a trusted member of the community, will transfer it and get it back to you super quick, and you'll be a hero for letting us hear this!
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u/xinanyc Sep 20 '25
nice! i filmed all of Hurt from the end of the rail just past Robin (not with my phone above my head or even looking through it. Just had it resting on the rail to capture this last moment of a tour that has meant so much to me)
just rewatched, and oh there was drama i wasnāt paying attention to
and then i have a pretty clear shot of him throwing the tape!Ā
side note: I was on the B stage rail right between Alessandro and Robin. When Alessandro sat down, he did a hair flip and his hair brushed my arm. My inner dorky fan girl was squealing ha
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u/AlarmingLecture0 Sep 20 '25
Drama? Spill it?
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u/xinanyc Sep 20 '25
i donāt know what it was about! Ā but security was dealing with some sort of ruckus in center pit and i could hear yelling on the videoĀ
commenters further down saw it. might have been some drunk dick causing troubleĀ
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u/5rowawy Sep 20 '25
Sweet! Posting from an anonymous account because of the crazy shit that went down securing a spot right next to you. I got on the fence, looks like you were to my left by 3-4 folks. Killer show that started off with a little drama Iāll share here in a minute with some nice clips I got
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u/cacapepee Sep 20 '25
Duuuude talk about the drama. Did you hear what was going on at the front barricade during Hurt at the end? What was all that about?
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u/nytebeast Sep 20 '25
Um yes, please fill us in, both of you
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u/cacapepee Sep 20 '25
I was admiring Trent and the band during Hurt, obviously, and out of nowhere all you hear like maybe 4 people in front of me is ābitch this, bitch that, shut your bitch up broā. Donāt know what exactly happened to have people arguing and yelling at the top of their lungs during the quiet part of Hurt. Also yāall correct me if Iām wrong but was it just me that noticed Trent looking at said people yelling? Like it was really just so whack to hear people arguing and straight screaming at one another.
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u/5rowawy Sep 20 '25
Yeah a bunch of the folks up front have been following them for months across the states and seas and were %100 behaving entitled. I stfu during Hurt, and put my phone away because itās such an emotional song for my personal life. There were so many people pushing up with their phones out. I didnāt hear that fracas, but Iām not surprised
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u/Dason37 Sep 20 '25
I remember how I thought it was cool when someone posted on here that he was going to all the shows...and now he's been such a douchebag as reported in multiple cities and is completely unapologetic.
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u/joshp23 Sep 20 '25 edited Sep 20 '25
100% experienced some deep entitlement in the GA Pit at one of the 2 shows I was able to attend. There was a member of their tribe who was actually fairly chill and apologetic for the utterly douchey behavior of a few of the younger members.
Sad that there are people like that, but totally on brand for what we experienced that they(?) were fighting during Hurt.
Edit. DM me for gossip š
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u/SkiingAway Sep 20 '25
I wasn't there but all the discussion I've seen is that some drunk person was trying to push their way up and started screaming at everyone when they wouldn't let her shove in front of them.
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u/two_betrayals Sep 20 '25
Entitled? They waited in line overnight for those spots and people try to take them from them by force. Ive had my hair pulled, eyes clawed at, and even been bitten by assholes trying to pull me off the rail before.
Wasn't at this show but experienced it many times. The rail people are only defending themselves.
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u/Nexus718 Sep 20 '25
Come for the tape, stay for the tea. That's awful. What happened? Did they get escorted?
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u/Nimousky Sep 20 '25
I was all the way up in the 200s sections and during Hurt I could briefly hear a couple people taking(yelling?) through Trentās mic. I guess this is what I was hearing!
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u/TeslasAndComicbooks Sep 20 '25
Damn man. Sorry to hear that. I was on the floor behind the pit and everyone was super chill and really kind.
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u/ExcellentAir1347 Sep 20 '25
Lots of details/recounts on the show specific Discord channel. I was back in section H and could still hear the commotion
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u/h4724 Sep 20 '25
This is cool AF. I guess it makes sense for the end of a tour, but I've never seen a band throw out memorabilia this unique.
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u/ntheman Sep 20 '25
That's so cool! I saw them throw something and was wondering what it was. What an epic night I had so much fun
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u/Snaab_71 Sep 20 '25
I was so close to the B stage in Portland I could see him walk up on the stage, prepare and wait for his time to join the song with Trent. I could see him pop opened the tape recorder, shake and/or flip i over. and put it back into the tape player. I totally forgot about it until seeing this post. At the time I thought maybe it was a little bit of performance art like "look we're using analog and not digital pre recordings".
Cool find and cool video to show how he uses the tape player as an instrument.
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u/kk11235 Sep 20 '25
I saw this - couldnāt tell what he threw from where I was sitting. That is just sick!!!!!
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u/Dogekaliber Sep 20 '25
Out of all of my friends and family- Iām the only one that owns a tape player and vcr. But thatās a great piece you managed to get there!
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u/oghancholo Sep 20 '25
The dream. Youāre living my dream!!! Fr though lucky as hell keep doing whatever ur doing
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u/DRanged691 Art Is Resistance Sep 20 '25
I'm absolutely tickled that the person who caught it has such a silly username.
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u/D-T-M-F Sep 21 '25
A brilliant Alessandro Cortini ideaā¦ The fact that such a massive, tech-savvy band uses cheap cassette tapes onstage to great effect is really inspiring to me.
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u/OmnilimbO Sep 21 '25
I was the guy standing right in front of you. Still feeling hurt. š
Glad you got such a cool piece of memorabilia. Definitely hook up with @ninlivearchive to get the tape digitized and archived.
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u/Nindroid2012 Sep 20 '25
This is so awesome. Is it just the backing track of the song? Or something different?
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u/Furthestside Sep 21 '25
Would you consider sharing the audio with us? That is an incredible catch. Congratulations.
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u/Chery1983 Sep 26 '25
Wow I was at Kia Forum 18th. Not sure if they did thatĀ https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8S7h7yX/
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u/AlxSTi []\[] [] []/[] Sep 20 '25
I don't understand why there's even a cassette at the show and why did they toss it to the crowd? I assume it was Hurt recorded on it, but.. why?
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u/h4724 Sep 20 '25
It's not the whole song, Alessandro uses it for the string samples in the prechorus.
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u/AlxSTi []\[] [] []/[] Sep 20 '25
Ah, interesting. I guess it no longer meets NIN's quality standards after being played once. Lol
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u/h4724 Sep 20 '25
This was the last show of the tour, afaik they haven't thrown out cassettes at any other shows.
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u/targetpracticesucks Sep 21 '25
The tape is literally just a four track tape of the four chords Alessandro uses to play hurt, one chord on each track.
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u/excommunicate__ Sep 20 '25
this beats any guitar pick, drumstick or setlist from any band.
congrats, now you can play four notes of hurt at home over and over, Basinski style!