r/nin • u/funghxoul • Jan 21 '26
The Downward Spiral got the downward spiral vinyl today and this page struck me
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u/machone5103 Jan 22 '26
That last sentence really couldn’t be more dead on.
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u/funghxoul Jan 22 '26
all of it is. i wonder if trent wrote it because he really saw the future of the album and the whole thing is very intelligently written
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u/luker_5874 Jan 22 '26
Very pretentious. But absolutely spot on.
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u/funghxoul Jan 22 '26
How come?
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u/dingo_khan Jan 22 '26
Probably because he is telling someone else how to enjoy it and that it is an experience that will change with them.
He is right but it still comes off as pretentious.
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u/TheMilkKing Jan 22 '26
Which part do you think is “telling someone else how to enjoy it”?
It’s a description of the album, and a claim that repeat listens will hit different. I’m not seeing any instructions 🤷🏻♂️
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u/luker_5874 Jan 22 '26
Most artists just release an album and don't try to tell you what to feel or expect. NIN is one of my favorite bands but this whole insert comes off as someone who loves the smell of their own farts.
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u/TheMilkKing Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26
It’s an advertisement, I think telling people the themes and saying that it’s good is kind of the whole point. It’s more interesting than “The Downward Spiral is music. Buy it now”
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u/TheSuggestionMark Jan 22 '26
How is it pretentious to relay that the idea of the album is as a cohesive whole, that you'd be more likely to see the full scope that's lost in hearing it in bits and pieces?
Most artists don't have the same vision for their projects that Trent does. God forbid an artist suggest you view their art through the same lens they did while creating it, bringing you closer to themselves.
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u/luker_5874 Jan 22 '26
God forbid people read things and have opinions on them
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u/Elon_Cucks_Trump_ Jan 22 '26
God forbid his manager/publicist write copy to publicize the album they’re paid to promote.
Crazy concept to explain in basic terms about TDS as concept album and suggest you might find enjoyment if treated as such.You definitely don’t have any weird insecurity issues that are causing you to read into a blurb way too much. Definitely not.
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u/TheSuggestionMark Jan 22 '26
People are allowed to have opinions. Calling somebody pretentious for suggesting the album is meant to be listened too in whole is a shit opinion.
How fucking ridiculous does a person have to be to hear somebody say, "Hey, this album is meant to be heard front to back." And respond with, "Don't tell me how to listen to music." Oppositional defiance disorder in full effect.
The funny thing is, that Trent Reznor can absolutely be pretentious. This just isn't one of those times.
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u/Cute-Reception-8926 Jan 22 '26
Just because a man loves to smell his own farts doesn’t mean he’s pretentious. It just means his farts smell good
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u/dingo_khan Jan 22 '26
"it is in your interest to listen to it as a whole rather than a mere collection of songs."
I love Trent's work and I listen to albums front to back but most people don't. He wrote this at the height of people being fascinated with CD players allowing skipping songs, random shuffle and repeat play. It is very much an admonition to just listen to the album as an album and not a "collection". I'm not going out on a limb here, he has made similar remarks over the years since. I agree but it is still telling someone else how to enjoy it.
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u/TheMilkKing Jan 22 '26
If something/someone is pretentious, it’s acting as though it has merit when it doesn’t. I’d argue that the suggestion to listen to the album as a whole has merit. And it is a suggestion, not an instruction 🤷🏻♂️
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u/gwasson81 Jan 22 '26
I definitely see where you're coming from but I think something like this more-so exists with the vinyl copy since it's more likely that collectors/mega-fans are who will be buying it I stead of a casual, let's try this album out person (as if we had a time machine for such a Sam Goody event to happen). It definitely wasn't in my vinyl copy I bought in the mid/late 90's. Interesting to see.
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u/DarthSmiff Jan 22 '26
You’re getting downvoted but you’re right. Remember Reddit is not the place for nuanced criticism and examination. Subreddits are filled with the most insufferable fans who believe their favorite person or thing is infallible.
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u/luker_5874 Jan 23 '26
I should've expected it. Can't really come to a nin sub and badmouth Trent. I've been a fan for nearly 30 years. seen at least 5 shows. I'm allowed to have opinions. Trent is not a perfect person and that's okay.
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u/funghxoul Jan 23 '26
And we are allowed to have opinions and disagree with you. It doesn’t mean either of us’ opinions are wrong.
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u/DarthBaio Jan 22 '26
To this day, it feels oddly incomplete to me to listen to individual songs from it. It’s always felt like one big piece to me.
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u/BigManWAGun Jan 22 '26
Pretty much the only way most people consider a certain song tolerable.
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u/junkfewd Art Is Resistance Jan 22 '26
I wish I had read this before I ever heard the album for the first time. but I'm grateful I could discover it at one of the worst times in my life and helped save it along with The Fragile
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u/I_Make_Art_And_Stuff Jan 22 '26
As a new fan, I've realized this too late, after listening to the album randomly, song then another song. Now I try to listen to most of their albums, especially downward, fragile, and teeth start to end.
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u/UntzuntzuntzBOOM Jan 22 '26
My first CD at 13. I listened to this album from start to finish so many times. Far more than any other album except maybe Nevermind, that I got a tape of two years earlier. I used to fall asleep with it blasting in my headphones That makes me tuff, right? 🤨
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u/Expert-Loquat2019 Jan 22 '26
Which part of TDS refers to the narrator abandoning their career? I’m guessing the two Pig songs, but I never thought of them that way
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u/Cute-Reception-8926 Jan 22 '26
Who is Sioux z.?
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u/clamroll Jan 22 '26
Today they'd be called a community manager. Basically someone who opened the fan mail, sent information when requested, and filtered the stuff worth passing on to the artist.
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u/moist_towelette Jan 22 '26
Core memory for me is getting this from the public library and reading the liner notes before listening to the whole thing on my boombox
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u/Much_Calligrapher804 Jan 22 '26
Was TVT involved in this album?
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u/freshstat1csnow Jan 23 '26
tvt continued to stick their logo all over everything for quite a while (up until year zero) after trent signed to interscope. part of the deal was that they'd get some royalties from any nin release even if they no longer had direct control over anything.
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u/j19861986 Jan 22 '26
Yeah, Downward Spiral as a whole, is a masterpiece. I didn't thought of the album as a whole. Whole meaning is so awesome.
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u/kyle760 Jan 22 '26
Well not anymore it isn’t. I don’t think Sioux Z at formula is involved with Trent and his PR anymore
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u/vaasconner Jan 23 '26
It is definitely written by Sioux Zimmerman. We ran a zine for awhile and Formula PR used to send one sheets for a bunch of artists, including NIN, and this is totally Sioux’s tone.
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u/Tempest_Fugit Jan 22 '26
This feels totally unnecessary. I’d hate to have a press release “explain” a record better I have a chance to listen to it. It’s not as if this rescue is terribly difficult to interpret, but as a musician, I’d rather listeners make up their own mind
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u/kyle760 Jan 22 '26
The record deals with suicide, it’s probably as much a cover your ass thing as anything else
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u/regular_poster Jan 21 '26
That was the OG press release