Active Member
Sooooo on Amazon, the score currently has pretty shitty reviews because half the people who bought it are morons who thought they were getting a bunch of Bob Dylan war protest songs. I kid you not.
Anyway, we should probably flood the page with real reviews of the actual score, not just complaints from these dopes.
Stubby Member
Just listened to this today and it's maybe his best soundtrack since The Social Network. I think Dragon Tattoo comes close but that one almost plays as a second set of sound effects for that film. I feel that The Vietnam Wars is one of the more musical scores.
Throbbing Member
It's a sad reflection of the age in which we live that this album has been out for over a month and on THE MOST Reznor-orientated website anywhere in the world, only a handful of people (and a significant minority at that) have actually passed comment on the music produced by Trent and Atticus on their latest small plastic disc. Not always breaking boundaries (and in the context, not meant to anyway) but the music is quite often vital, and at times enthralling. No wonder so many artists think (and more and more are articulating) 'why bother' these days. I don't know whether there's just a considerably smaller audience for soundtracks v NIN/HTDA, but I'm shocked how little people are talking about this release. Thought the same for Patriots Day too to be honest so maybe I've answered my own question. But I do wonder how Trent and Atticus feel about the apparent lack of interest in the projects - I know commercially it's not an issue as they've said recently, but I think I'd still feel a little disheartened if I was them.
Throbbing Member
I'm finally listening to it for the first time. I held out for as long as I could, because I wanted to see the show first, but I haven't been able to manage it. Also, FWIW, I was pretty upset that TR/AR was involved in Patriots Day, so I decided I wasn't going to listen or purchase that soundtrack.Originally Posted by simonn
All that BS aside, I'm really liking this. It reminds me a lot of GWTDT but with less atmospherics and more aggression.
Throbbing Member
Curious, what was your disagreement with their involvement with that film? Glad you like TVW, though.
Throbbing Member
I'm surprised at the 'more aggression' comment. I've found it one of the more ambient works personally. More background music-y than the multitude of full on guitar tracks on TGWTDT, but then there are a lot of songs on that album. Both TVW and PD are still getting pretty heavy rotation at mine, and PD is now nearly a year old (based on the FYC that circulated round these parts). Probably prefer PT of the two, as it was relatively concise and as a result I don't find the need to skip any of it. But Before Dawn is the highlight of the CD for me, quite eerie, dark and orchestral.
Active Member
I think you hit the nail on the head by saying that the scores have a smaller audience and I think that's true of scores in general, not just TR/AR stuff. If NIN was over and TR/AR were doing scores exclusively (or even if the scores bore the NIN name) people would most likely pay more attention. Along those lines, I think the amount of NIN activity this year has overshadowed the last two scores.
Another possibility is that these two have racked up enough scores in such a relatively short amount of time that perhaps people aren't as excited as they were in the beginning with TSN and TGWTDT. Still another idea is that people may be tempted to lump the scores together as being one unified style of music, when in reality each score probably has enough of its own vibe and character to be appreciated individually.
Active Member
I can tell you right now, after working in a movie theater for five years, talking with movie-goers constantly, the majority of the masses don't even NOTICE the music in movies, unless its like Guardians of The Galaxy pumping the film full of one hit wonders. Can't count how many times I'd be talking to someone about a movie they were going to see and I'd mention the score, and their reply would be "what's a score?". Now I'm sure NIN have more people than they don't who love soundtracks, but there are a FUCK TON of people out there who couldn't give a fuck less about "the background music" as others have gently put it.
Active Member
We listen to The Score every weekend because it's such an awesome show.
Active Member
That's probably a good thing, depending on your relationship to music I guess. The music is one of the first things I always take into account when watching a movie, even a great one. But it's something I could take or leave because I want to be taken in by it as a whole. It's only when you see something again and again you might pick up on what the editing or cinematography is achieving, as well as the music.
The flip side to that is there are now fewer scores out there which become almost as popular as the movie anymore. There's still good work being done, by lots of talented people in that field, but there is a difference between the kinds of scores we see now and in the 80's for example. Then again it may have always been that way too, that there are people who loved Star Wars but haven't a clue who John Williams is.
Banned
I get nearly as excited about one of their soundtrack album releases as I do a regular NIN album/EP release. For me, it’s appointment listening — my favorite band is releasing a new album of material. Maybe the setting or the atmosphere is a little different in context for a soundtrack collection, but it’s still essentially a new NIN album to me..
Active Member
I'd like to point out that this thread does have 11 pages worth of discussion. I know that's nothing compared to Add Violence's 59 pages, but at the same time, it's not like there's only 2 or 3 pages. I also think (as was touched on above) that a big part of it is the fact that there has been a lot of score work coming out of these guys lately, too. Plus the new NIN – which will always take precedence when it comes to discussion on a NIN board. I mean, last year, we got Juno, Before the Flood, and Not the Actual Events. This year, we've already got Patriot's Day, Add Violence, The Vietnam War, the Halloween theme, and a song from the Walled Off Hotel – with another new NIN EP expected by year's end (hopefully) – plus the (mini) NIN tour. When there's this much activity and new music coming out (which is a GREAT "problem" to have), there's bound to be less discussion about some of the score work because of the wealth of other projects.
Active Member
I know that personally the amount of material Trent's put out since last summer (Juno for NASA, Green Lines for Banksy, Before The Flood, Patriot's Day, both NIN EP's, Fragile Deviations, the Halloween Theme, the Bowie re-work, Vietnam War...and I'm prolly forgetting something) has been overwhelming. Couple all that with all the other music constantly coming out that I am checking for, and I haven't really had the time to repeatedly explore the soundtrack stuff.
Throbbing Member
There's no way "What Comes Back" doesn't sound very old-school. Halfway through the soundtrack and it really takes it's time. Lots of piano. Very brooding. It does sound more 'background-y' than TSN, TGWTDT, GG, and PD but it is, of course, beautiful music from TR+AR.
Stubby Member
I was really kind of hoping (even though I knew it was highly unlikely) at the recent Las Vegas show that in between songs or as a lead in to another song that NIN would have broken into a version of "What Comes Back". That would have blown me away. I fucking love that song.
Active Member
Finally getting a chance to listen to it... I'm quite enjoying it. It brings "atmosphere".
Stubby Member
patriots day was actually a really good movie! the soundtrack was excellent, of course!
Unintelligible Whispering
Just doing a drive-by to reiterate that this thing still kicks ass and I'd really love What Comes Back and Justified Response to show up live.
And I know you reMember
I was listening today at work and couldn't agree more. What Comes Back is just incredible.
nincatalog.com
So listening to this on the way to work this morning and yes, this is as good as the latest we heard from Watchmen...and so is Justified Response.
I think we are at a point where the soundtrack catalog is pretty expansive that we tend to forget some of the gems that are on these OSTs. I try to go back and revisit them from time-to-time because they are all amazing in their own way.
she/her/hers
i listened in the car yesterday for the first time in a while and the whole thing is gorgeous. it's a shame it came out around the same time as so much other stuff because it kind of got lost in the shuffle.
Active Member
Yeah, I admit that I haven't been that into the scores in general, but this one really captured my attention.
Active Member
started watching the series. i had listened to the score already. it works really well in context with the film.
Throbbing Member
Yes! I've been revisiting this score and have been giving it more due. It's gorgeous and has intense depth and creates quite a landscape. It's quickly been rising as one of my favorite scores. I might have to rank them:
TGWTDT
The Social Network
The Vietnam War
Gone Girl
Patriots Day
Before The Flood
she/her/hers
patriots day has gotten the fewest listens from me. other than one or two tracks, most of it wasn't nearly as memorable as any of their other scores.
do you actually dislike before the flood or is it just your least favorite?
i'm with you on TGWTDT being the best, though!
Throbbing Member
Hmm, I was really impressed by the PD score when it came out. I should admit that it's the only score for which I haven't also seen the accompanying film (I've watched half of The Vietnam War). It's stark and abrasive. I've connected a lot of the scores to eras and feelings in my real life, except for PD. Yet!
That being said, Before The Flood is beautiful, but it feels the most disjointed, and that's definitely because it was a collaborative project. I don't dislike it at all. Hell, the title track is a masterpiece in electronica, IMO.
But Dragon Tattoo, damn. I can only listen to that shit in the dead of winter. It's an icy mammoth of a record.
Throbbing Member
Can't rank these just yet, but I want to say that Patriots Day has a special place in my heart which I can't fully articulate.
I weirdly(?) love the film, but the 'Fincher Trilogy' = 3 of my favorite films of all time so that's not a unique trait necessarily. I think I like the brevity (by Trenticuss standards), and by extension the flow & track order. That definitely separates it. In terms of number of songs, it comes in under or matches proper NIN albums, which is appealing – I think that makes it look more accessible to me when I'm scrolling through which TR/AR soundtracks I want to casually vibe out on.
RE: Before the Flood, I feel similar to joplinpicasso. It's obviously fantastic and arguably the most unique, but the disjointed aspect slightly dilutes the experience for me.
All that being said, I am immensely grateful for all the score work we've been blessed with.
Active Member
I'm a little late to the game but I ordered the film score, the documentary and soundtrack. I just finished watching episode one and it really is outstanding, just really, really engrossing. There was so much information to absorb I had to pause and re-watch certain segments. And of course the score works beautifully. The soundtrack is chock-full of classic songs so it's nice to have them all in one compilation.
Active Member
episode 4: instrumental version of the wretched. perfect!!!!!!
Throbbing Member
Somehow the Watchmen Vol01 score is a gateway to this score. I didn't pay enough attention last time I listened to this, it's incredibl(er).
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