Everyone's heard a song that makes the world around them disappear while it's on, but what about an entire album? I've had a zillion music conversations with friends, and a lot of them admit that lyrics are usually the last thing they hear. I can agree that for the most part the music makes you "feel" more than the lyrics, but if the music has already set the mood, the lyrics can suck me in 100 miles deeper. That could send me off on an entirely different, longer rant so I'll stick with an easier topic: Favorite album lyrically.
Nine Inch Nails- The Fragile
This is number one by a long shot. Anyone who knows me knows I will forever have the softest spot for this band. I remember hearing "Starfuckers" in 5th grade and thinking it was the coolest song on the radio. I had a friend buy me a copy of it because the parental advisory sticker fucked me over from getting it from my parents. I did what most kids did though in the 5th grade with a CD. I skipped over all the "long boring songs", didn't read a single liner note, and didn't really fully digest the album at all. I was skateboarding around, talking about boobs, and reciting Blink-182 lyrics.
I re-listened to it around 8th grade and my entire musical palette changed in ever single way, forever. I had never heard such ugly, raw emotions played through such melodic and catchy, yet chaotic arrangements. This guy was having a complete fucking melt down and wrote an album around it. My mind was blown! The "deepest" songs I had heard at the time involved getting dumped or someone stealing your skateboard. I had never heard sincerity in music like this before. This album very quickly became a best friend to me and continues to be for over a decade now.
The starting track "Somewhat Damaged" gives me the feels on every single listen. I know we all have songs that we feel as if they were written for you, but this song is absolutely perfect lyrically.
".....In the back off the side and far away is a place where I hide, where I
stay.
tried to say, tried to ask. I needed to. all alone by myself where
were you?
How could I ever think it's funny how everything that
swore it wouldn't change is different now.
just like you would always say "we'll make it through" then my head fell apart
and where were you?
How could I ever think it's funny how everything you swore would
never change is different now.
like you said, you and me make it through didn't quite.
fell apart, where the fuck were you??"
Now obviously lyrics impact people differently, but that opening track shakes me to my fucking core every single time I hear it. I'll touch on it briefly because I realize this isn't my pink fuzzy journal, but I have a tenancy to isolate, a lot. I have a studio sort of out in the country that I go to when things are good, and even more so when things are bad. I like to leave lyrics up to everyone's own imagination, but I always think of a previous relationship with that song. There were lots of night where the above lyrics were almost word for word what I was saying in the situation. The song itself starts sort of delicate and builds into this super pissed off anthem that again, I couldn't relate to anymore.
This album took two years to complete. Photos like the one above show the relentless months of work put into the various aspects of this release. Music and lyrics aside, the packaging and layout to this album is really something to appreciate. While
most 90's bands were catering to compact disks, Trent still released his material on several formats. Each format actually even had a different track listing and songs to it, making each format unique. A perfect example of an entire team of bad asses making shit happen.
This is yet another track that makes me slightly uncomfortable if I even listen to it with anyone else. I have a few close friends that have tried killing themselves. It's hard to convince someone out of something that sometimes you can't even convince yourself out of. This song doesn't just touch on that for me, it nails it.
The lyrics for this are actually simply spoken, and they're in French. This is the translation. When I attended the "last" show of theirs in 2009, Trent explained (while fighting back tears) that this was one of the only songs to surface while he was in Big Sur California writing what was going to be the Fragile. He admitted the island spot he would visit was a spot too haunted with emotions to every return to and that playing it live is sometimes a struggle with all the dark memories. He went on to say he would be married at that very spot later in 2009. I love how "unobvious" of a story is behind this track. To me, putting the lyrics in French was a way of hiding the thoughts of wanting to drown yourself, which was a really cool thing to me. It wasn't a song that just blatantly said "hey i want to die, yeah yeah yeah!"
Of all the 2,938,392 I've seen with Trent, I've never heard this song explained. In my head, it's an extensive of La Mer, the previous track. There are several references to the sea on this record, but this one is the most detailed. The song itself never gets too intense, but towards the end my goosebumps get goosebumps when the vocals become harsh.
I didn't really expect to go so crazy with this, but there will forever be something therapeutic about this album for me. It always puts me in a weird place. It makes me feel like I'm home. I've actually had girlfriends recommend I don't listen to it because it "makes me weird." There's a depth to this album I don't get from most conversations, books, and certainly not from most albums. I fucking love this album. I've never been one to care about liking the most "underground" bands or any of that shit. I like what moves me, what turns the annoying fucking world around me off. This album does that. Every single time I hear it.
-Novak
This was a "lost" and most recent vlog. I think this was around 2013 some time. It was probably better to just never have been found. I watched the first few minutes just now and could barely make it through our awkwardness. I know it was cut off near the end. We used my old phone to make these videos and I never thought to put it on airplane mode to stop phone calls from
