The Slip is Slipping Away

Nice title, right? Yeah, I came up with it myself.

After about a week to ingest the new Nine Inch Nails Halo, The Slip, I have a few words: I’m bored. This isn’t to say that the songs on The Slip are bad, but they are just recycled, re-sampled, watered down versions of earlier Nine Inch Nails. If I had never heard a Nine Inch Nails song in my life, I might like these simple songs. They have a pattern, verse/chorus/verse. They have the same old simple rhyme. They were made with Fruity Loops. Hey, maybe I could make these songs, too! It seems easy enough.

What I mean is: just because Trent doesn’t have a label to go through to make the record making process so long, doesn’t mean that taking a crap should be so easy. Wait, let me re-state myself: sometimes taking your time to release music is better than giving out mediocre music for free. The Slip is not creative. It’s missing something that all great Nine Inch Nails albums contain: Intensity. It doesn’t need to be depressing, shoot myself in the head, the world is shit, kind of intense, but it has to have that “fuck yeah!” kind of intensity, at least. The Slip just sounds like Trent needs to pass his time, not make music in order to survive. I think once an artist loses that grasp, then it’s all down-hill from there. Let’s hope the next NIN album comes out in the next few years and contains some hard-core guts and less electronica.

Tracks:
1. 999,999: Typical NIN noise. Comparable to ________.
2. 1,000,000: With Teeth? I like the song and the lyrics. However, the distorted guitar reminds me of a few With Teeth songs. A computer can only produce so many creative and distinct sounds.
3. Letting You: Year Zero lyrics, but not a Year Zero vibe. The tune is actually annoying with it’s repetitive chorus. It just doesn’t strike my match.
4. Discipline: The comparisons to Only are simply because it’s reminiscent of dancing at a gay club. Possibly my favorite new NIN song in the last few years for it’s peppiness, I can’t really complain about this one. I like spanking, so this is good.
5. Echoplex: Trent is taking advice from the kids on this one. It sounds just like all those wanna-be Nine Inch Nails kids that try to copy him. The drum-beat just sounds so phony and 2002. Plus, the lyrics are pussy. Trent is far from being irrelevant and if he didn’t want to make a difference in the world, then why does he keep coming up with innovative ways to grab attention to his music? Wah-Wah. Next.
6. Head Down: Forgettable track, but I wonder what they would do with it live. It has been growing on me. Give me a few more listens.
7. Lights in the Sky: It’s a simple and pretty piano track. Trent is trying to save some damsel in distress, like in Fragile, except the song isn’t as catchy or memorable and moving.
8. Corona Radiata: More NIN noise. Comparable to _________.
9. The Four of Us are Dying: NIN noise. Comparable to ________ (Ghosts?).
10. Demon Seed: There are some fun parts to this one, but I am still bored. I don’t relate to the obscure lyrics and the first verse is repeated about 5 times. I think I am just tired of listening by this point.

Look, if you don’t agree, go fuck yourself. I just spent 120 dollars on shows and that’s not counting gas, sleep loss, and not showering for a few days in between the shows I’ll be attending. If that’s not fan dedication, then, I don’t know.

Download The Slip for free at nin.com