this is the only time i really feel alive

[alaterdate]

The only NIN song I ever heard when I was younger was "The Hand That Feeds". And that is such a shame because literally every other song of theirs before that is better.

"The Hand That Feeds" is such a 2005 song lol. It's good, but trite as hell compared to the rest of their music. Odd man out, seriously! Even the rest of With Teeth sounds nothing like it. "Every Day is Exactly the Same" kiiiinda straddles the line if you press me on it, but it wasn't originally on the album afaik. Whoever bought With Teeth for "The Hand that Feeds" HAD to be disappointed by the rest of the album lmao.

September 2021 I listened to NIN's album Pretty Hate Machine for the first time because I randomly read a review for it at Late to the Game and I felt, aptly, late to the game. It's so damn good I felt cheated for being tricked by "The Hand That Feeds" into thinking NIN only made that specific kind of music. Even back then I'd had enough of it from other places.

It wasn't easy for me to get introduced to new music in 2005. I didn't have internet, access to a computer, or an MP3 player yet. Anything (English) I listened to I had to have first heard on MTV at 3 o'clock in the morning and then saved to buy the CD for my walkman otherwise I just listened to my sister's CDs (and she has never been into rock, the poor soul). Eventually I got a PSP to replace my walkman and used my cousin's PS3 to rip music, but I still needed the CDs and to hear the song in the first place. If I had heard "The Only Time" in 2005 I WOULD HAVE BEEN A NIN FAN MUCH SOONER.

I love Pretty Hate Machine so much I bought it in vinyl when I didn't even have a record player yet because I wanted it to be special. I ended up getting a few more records of my favorite albums too and I love them. So thanks Pretty Hate Machine; and kind of curse you "The Hand That Feeds" though I'll still listen to it.

Comments

[kalloway]

I think I was still on NIN's mailing list when With Teeth came out and The Hand That Feeds might've been a free download? (For awhile, Trent was just putting everything on torrent, too, for fun.) After a point I realized I liked a lot of NIN's older stuff more than the newer stuff and that's really all I still have around. (Somewhere, Pretty Hate Machine on cassette? You're right, it's a very good album. Downward Spiral will probably always be my favourite though.)

[queenlua]

lol'd at your "current music" field :P

also, i've never really listened to NiN before! just threw on "the only time" and this is way more funky than i expected, in a good way. thanks for the rec!

[alaterdate]

Downward Spiral is good too! I think it has more range than PHM too. I'm guessing it's the more popular album overall too since it has more songs people talk about.
When I was telling my friend that I found an old NIN song I loved she asked if it was Closer lol.

[alaterdate]

glad it came off as funny lol

Yeah! I was surprised too. Glad you liked it 😁

[kalloway]

Because I was a teenager at the time, my dad had to buy Downward Spiral for me because of the explicit lyrics sticker. He then said he wanted to listen to it to see what was so bad. (And I figured I'd never see the CD again or at least not for a couple years.)

He made it about two songs in, said he didn't understand what I liked about it but I could listen to it, and that was that.

But yeah, Closer and Hurt were everywhere on the radio at the time; it was definitely a teenage-imprinting album for me. ^^;;