Delving into a disc I haven't listened to much lately.

I don't think there's any music that quite captures the sensation of that inner void quite the way Trent Reznor manages to do.

The utter futility of it all. The meaninglessness of life. That sense of impending descent into the black pit. The complete breakdown of all that is sane and structured. This music is it.

And of course, the one that got radio play.

It has sometimes occurred to me that certain things which would are generally socially unacceptable to express are more often excused when they are funneled through "entertainment" channels such as music. For example, if someone were to express the sentiments in the lyrics above in everyday conversation, they would likely be advised to take a trip or fifty to the local shrink.

But if inscribed into a "lyric", digitally recorded, mass produced, and performed to a receptive audience, the same thoughts earn one a good career in the biz. Just a curious observation.

Another example from memory, that's been on the radio around here a lot lately. Think about this. If someone walked up and said these words to you, what would be your reaction? Papa Roach:

Lovely, eh?

Back to the cd I'm currently absorbing.

Strange as it may sound, often times, hearing these musics gives me a strange sort of comfort. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bought the cd, would I? :)

Here's the beauty of this: That last non-instrumental track on the Right disc brings a resurgance of the struggle which raged through most of the Left disc. A resurgance of romanticism. Of hope. In fact, it comes back so strong that we might even interpret it as a victory. Even with all the piles of nihilistic void heaped on for almost the entire duration of the Right disc, one still leaves with the feeling that something has been won.

In fact, the war is over. Contrast it to the point where the struggle reaches its greatest intensity on track 6 of the Left disc. The Fragile. "I won't let you fall apart." From there, it goes downhill. All the way to the bottom. A final acceptance of this fate is evidenced in The Great Below. The last track on the Left disc.

Finally, it is punctuated by the final echoing chant, before descending into the unsavory mire which is the Right disc. Maybe the final parting words of Act 1:

...

Alrighty then. I have likely bored the majority of the readers to sleep, sent the non-NINnies into a state of head scratching. Eh, probably NINnies too. This has been a piece of fragmented, nonsensical excerpts from Bitsacpe's Imaginary Thesis Interpreting the Meaning Behivd the Music of Nine Inch Nails. Ho hum. I s'ppose if I actually spent some time on it, and actually bothered to give it some structure, draft, and proof reading, instead of just spitting out incoherent, random thoughts, I might have something which almost resembles intelligible commentary.

Oh well. Maybe I'll come back with a "real" standard rambling in a bit, whatever that means. Or I might not. You never know.