NIN // THE PERFECT DRUG track-by-track deep dive by composer
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- Опубликовано: 14 мар 2022
- Today I'm breaking down The Perfect Drug from a music composition perspective using track isolations, my ear, and a piano! This was a blast, and a beast, to deconstruct and I hope you enjoy it. Download the multitracks I used in the video here! www.nindestruct.com. Also should I get a goatee, just wondering...
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Развлечения
YOU ARE THE PERFECT SUBS ♥️ Oh! I forgot to mention that I'm a guest on NAILED podcast's episode on Halo 11, so please go check it out and support "Bless & Jake" ;) nailed.castos.com/. And here's the link to get the multitracks: www.nindestruct.com/remix.html! ALSO, thanks SO much to everyone that's purchased TDS for piano on Bandcamp - your comments and support mean the world to me and inspire me to keep going! Seriously thank you. 🙏
THE PERFECT HOGS
c'mon, it was _right there_
i've been waiting for this song. are we going to get a "Burn" video this year?
@@adamwood87 Yes probably! I analyzed Burn on Patreon awhile back and I may be releasing some of that content to the public this year! Stay tuned.
Check my comment with link to my remix for that extended outro. 👍
I heard this progression is also called the shappherd's tone (edit)
Always loved the ending to this song. I would find myself wishing it would go on forever
And it is reverse reverb. Love it
Check my remix I just mentioned
Check out the version called “Perfect Drug polite.”
Or quiet?
ruclips.net/video/tKyE7bWsCUo/видео.html
There was a remix that was released that kind of did that. I loved the outtro too so I hunted this down. Enjoy.
ruclips.net/video/tKyE7bWsCUo/видео.html&pp=ygUTcGVyZmVjdCBkcnVnIHF1aWV0IA%3D%3D
1 hour loop ruclips.net/video/79wSnBTWNTY/видео.htmlsi=tgLj6lTNsZ0SBefj
The Lost Highway soundtrack was the first cd with NIN music I bought. Hooked for life.
I always loved “Driver Down” even though the outro took awhile to grow on me, but of course it did!
The Lost Highway OST is the Greatest Soundtrack Ever Produced IMO 🙌🏽
“Eye” from Smashing Pumpkins on that soundtrack is also great.
This soundtrack had a PROFOUND impact on me. David Lynch + Trent Reznor Is a match made in Heaven.
@@NightMedicine 100% Same. This masterpiece of a soundtrack continues to have profound effects upon me, even just once again today! Happy Easter to all! 🙏🏽
I recognize Ixi versions as legitimate extensions of the greater NIN universe.
NIИEU: The Nine Inch Nails Extended Universe.
The end of the song sounds like the crash most addicts get after they experience the rush of a drug. He is still in his delirium as the high goes away and he is pledging to go with it to wherever it goes, but he can't. At which everything falls apart.
"....and I WANCHOOOOO!!"
"ooooooooouhhh" 🎶
that's the thing with NiN I've learned from singing in my car: it's never "I want you," but always "I wantchoo."
This is one of my favorite deep cuts. Back when Rock Band was still a thing, it was released as a DLC track, so naturally I bought it and had one of my drummer friends try to play it. That was well over a decade ago and he still hasn't forgiven me.
lol!
You are the perfect RUG. Really tied the room together.
That's like your opinion man
@@920WASHBURN fascist
This dude abides
Without you the whole room just falls apart.
The best thing about rooms is when you put them together.
i've always thought this song was structured like the process of a drug addict -- first, being able to think about nothing but how badly you want the drug. then, the huge rush of the high, and then finally the high fading away leaving the addict feeling empty and broken and wishing they could be carried away to wherever the high went...
Good analogy. That synth breakdown definitely feels like if you weren't under a spell before, you are at that point.
This song is so chaotic and then the ending is so beautiful. Gotta love Trent
This is outstanding analysis! I've listened to this song hundreds of times and you were able to point out interesting things I hadn't noticed. Thank you. 🖤
Ikr
it's probably the most progressive NIN song with all the different keys and tempos and signature changes
I used to think The Great Destroyer was really progressing until I saw someone recreate it using the Great Destroyer module or pedal or whatever ya call it, just doing what it does.
The "drum freakout"...those tight, fast synths hitting in stereo over the shifting distortion of the drums...there's not much that sounds better cranked up on a stereo.
Also, huge props for doing the end properly!
I am in awe for how masterful this song is written and produced every time I hear it.
I deadass thought he was saying "the yellow goes straight through my heart" until I watched this video, and I always wondered wtf that meant. Thanks for inadvertantly setting me straight! 😆
Such a great pick. I remember first hearing this on the radio thinking "Oh my god! Finally a new record coming soon!". Sadly finding out later it was only a single from Lost Highway Soundtrack.
Trent Reznor wearing his pop savviness on his sleeve: you can experiment, mangle, maim, stretch the verses and pre-chorus all you want, but you have to resolve it all in a tight chorus. So long as you have that to anchor everything else, go crazy.
(I'm trying to understand Bowie's era between Black Tie White Noise and Heathen for a personal project. So trying to understand Trent, the Lost Highway soundtrack, drum n' bass and how rock-oriented songwriters tackled breakbeats and synths is key.
I suspect that Trent could never hide his love for The Beach Boys, maybe Manfred Mann and other baroque pop ensembles under his Canadian industrial affinities...
(A few Tori Amos articulations?)
Thank you so much for this.)
The Perfect Drug turned me into a diehard fan about 25 years ago. The ending to this song is like a Perfect Drug - you want it to last forever.
true!!
As a fan of The Prodigy as well, the break beats in this song really put a smile on my face :)
There's so much lore to this song. The most expensive music video by NIN, for a song written for the Lost Highway film. Elements from this song carried over into The Fragile, so this would be the technical prequel to that album. It made such a huge impact on NIN's sound, yet is so underrated and forgotten. Him dabbling in drugs and self destruction, this song feels like he knew he'd be facing some really powerful demons in 1999, that almost led to his demise.
Underrated and forgotten? By who? This is one of two NIN songs in regular FM rotation today. It was his third biggest revenue generator (after Closer and Hurt) and he plays it at every live show. It's possibly _over_rated, but only in relation to the larger NIN catalog.
the nin remix of it is really good too
You’re friggin amazing!!! I love your passion and breakdowns of Trent’s music!! May God bless all the works of your hands!!
Trent dipping his toes into DnB was a huge thing for me back in the day. Industrial and DnB don't often overlap.
Bowie was in lockstep with Trent at this point on the DnB front. Give Eart hl i ng a listen if you haven't, and uh
ruclips.net/video/LT3cERVRoQo/видео.html
Trent always used samples, many of which were DnB.
@@s.gharavi1614
Got an example?
I can't say where he got all his individual sounds from, but in their final form, I don't recall any of his previous tracks sounding like DnB.
@@ianashmore9910 I'm but sure I'm the best to pick out specific songs, but he's kinda the master of pilfering. down in it is a good example and one I know because that's the only album of his I ever really listened to. The entire bass line, which IS the song, came from a sample CD loop, I think from East West. And there was a DnB mix, which also used a drum loop. Back then he was using ensonic samplers.
If you really listen to his music, you start to realize that he's really more of a collage artist, much like Moby.
But his production is excellent, mostly because he worked in a studio for years.
@@s.gharavi1614
I don't necessarily disagree with you. I just don't think a couple sampled sounds, even if they did originate from DnB, make his final creation DnB. Lots of songs use samples from other genres, that doesn't make the final creation that genre.
If this song doesn't give you goosebumps with it's beautiful chord progression, you are dead inside.. or you are not dead inside enough maybe? Either way, crack open some absinthe and lounge in the dusty chair and put The Perfect Drug on the gramophone and give it another listen.
The mellotron flute at the end always makes me shiver, and hearing it isolated is *insert perfect pun here*
Blake on NAILED was asking me if it was a mellotron (and I didn't know) but we figured as much so your comment helps confirm!
@@iximusic It definitely sounds like the flute voice on the melotron or it could be an effect to make it warble slightly like the melotron flute. For reference, the intro to Strawberry Fields Forever is the flute melotron.
It's funny how, before we knew it of course, this song was literally the appetizer for how the next album (The Fragile) would sound like. The guitars, production, synths are all literally Fragile era sounding.
"Drum Freakout" 🤣
As a drummer, I really liked that description 🤘
Love your breakdowns of the songs. There is a version on the perfect drug that ends complete, instead of abrupt.
"Trenton" - brilliant!
Oh wow! I am so happy right now. This is awesome. So glad I found you.
One of my favourite NIN tracks. A song that requires the volume of 11
He got a ton of shit from a large portion of his "long time fans"(like myself) for this song and for, as we saw it, becoming more commercial. A few years later no one would admit to hating this song. Everyone saying they loved it and never had an issue with it. It was everyone else who didnt like it. The scene is always bi-polar with its Gods.
I loved it, but had a life devastating H-drug problem at the time, so it spoke to me in so many ways.
I am fascinated by such talented people. Someone so good at what they do they can break down the music of someone like Reznor so effortlessly, and joyfully.
Its finally come. The greatest NIN deep cut.
You could almost say it's...
😎
...the perfect cut.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
close to "And All That Could Have Been"...
Your analysis was fantastic! I'm so glad I stumbled here. I gotta check out the rest of this channel, but I think you may have gotten you a new subscriber with this one. This is EASILY one of my favorite Nine Inch Nails songs, and just song in general, but I have a complicated relationship with it. Your breakdown helped me realize the auditory aspects of it that makes it so genius. I have a complicated relationship with this song, because I suffer from Manic depression and this song IMHO is the PERFECT auditory distillation of a manic episode. It starts uneasy getting increasingly frantic and unhinged. The bridge is complete, loud chaos of flailing noise and even loses lyrics . The end is an almost exhausted drift into calm abandonment. Your analysis help me realize this may not have been by accident and it just shows how powerfully music can communicate even without words. The icing on the cake is because of the cycle I mentioned above it's VERY easy to play on repeat. Lol. Thanks for posting.
That vocal effect at the end is a vocal track which is reversed and then a long reverb added, then flipped BACK to normal. So instead of a falling decay of space the space slowly rises. Basically reversed reverb…
why does your analysis bring me to tears?
I love NIN so much but I can't say anything beyond that it sounds so passionate, soulful, complex and layered. This is fascinating, thank you!
The editing in this video is great, it's so helpful to have examples of the audio you're talking about and the camera on the keyboard is also a great touch.
Did you know that the version of The Perfect Drug on the We're In This Together single doesn't cut out abruptly? I can't find it on RUclips or Spotify but it's worth a listen if you can.
You are fascinating to watch. I've been a fan of NIN since the early 90's. It's so great we have someone that breaks down their music to show just how much of a musical genious Trent is. It's a shame that more people don't know of him and all the musicians that contributed to writings of NIN songs.
YESSSS recently re-watched that live recording their latest drummer absolutely smashing the live drum section just wow
I am such a huge fan of your content. Thank-you so much for taking the painstaking time to put these analysis videos together. I can't get enough of them.
Thank you for watching it even when it's 40 minutes long!!
@@iximusic No worries Ixi. When I saw the length of your video, I gave the perfect shrug. I really don't mind a 40 minute video when it's this good. The song is so great, it makes me want to dance the perfect frug. I also appreciated how you gave the shout-out to the 'nailed' podcast. It was the perfect plug!
After delivering such outstanding quality, you should be feeling the perfect smug. But enough of the puns. I have a work day to start. Gotta grab a coffee, and take the perfect chug.
Until your next video! ;)
I really appreciate your video especially when you got to my favorite part of the song which was the ending with those piano chords progressions, I just thought that was so incredibly beautiful and so out of the blue to end a song that was 140 plus beats a minute earlier.
Those flutes at the end sound like John Lennon's Mellotron that was used previously on Broken and TDS. It also appears on Cryptorchid from Antichrist Superstar (produced by Reznor). Those are the same tape loops used on Strawberry Fields forever. So cool!
Hey, IXI, “The Space In Between” is a name of a track by How To Destroy Angels that you may have subconsciously mentioned at 37:06, or was it a sneaky pun?
It was ;) I was just listening to HDTA this week. Also I had my first Welcome oblivion listen!
Put thise on for background noise whilst I quickly washed the dishes. Half an hour later I'm sitting at the top of the stairs in the near dark close to tears at the beauty of this song and your brilliant break down. Thanks.
So happy you did this one! I’ve been waiting for this! Yay!
This was the first new nin music I heard after the downward spiral made me a fan as a young teen. It was my favorite song for many years and this analysis helped me to understand why. Insightful
I know this was a song Trent doesn’t like to think back to because he was at a very low time, but for me, something about the message and the melody still makes it my all-time favorite NIN song.
Thank you for making this video! ♥️
I've been listening to Nine Inch Nails for a long time I'm 45 years old I really got into NIN on downward spiral and then Pretty Hate Machine and everything after but I have to say that I think the perfect drug is my favorite NIN song. And its from a film soundtrack. Lost Highway. One of my favorite directors David Lynch.
“Okay, that’s…. Fucked.”
Appropriate for a deconstruction of a NIN song.
Great analysis ixi
I always felt a shepard tone vibe from the chromatic movements in this song, the song rises up, up, up ,up... then you crash.
Cheers!
I just learned about Shepard tones like yesterday and that was my exact thought as well!
@@Arklelinuke I love sonic illusions!
You are so amazing! I have been waiting for this video - The perfect one!
Man, I love you! Your channel is just a joy! Thank you for another fantastic breakdown!
Ixi thanks for making these videos. I always hear something new in the mix when you analyze songs.
Your breakdowns are so thorough and entertaining. Thank you for making these videos!
This was wonderful, I've always loved this song and it sounds so melancholic on a piano
Such a good video. Highlighted so many things i appreciate in the song. As well as other details i didnt catch, but always felt. Great video really
Another brilliant deep dive! Thank you.
im sorry but when you isolated those vocals I laughed so much! Low - key reminded me of really strange attempt of scissor sisters great video btw I loved this song !
I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you and your work/effort/passion that you smother your videos with.
Always such amazing content.
This channel was a great find! Thanks for your work describing one of my all time favorites
My first video in this channel, and i gotta say that its one of the best and most insightful breakdowns of a song ive seen in RUclips. Instant sub
Ooooh, I've been eagerly anticipating this one!
your analysis of the outro guitar part is AMAZING in so many ways. Thank you ixi!
This was so good!! The ending is truly haunting. Like most nin songs it really takes you on a journey
Was listening to the podcast the other day and really enjoyed your collaboration. Glad the algorithm this video on my feed. I'm hooked, adore your work.
Love this song and loved this video. You are stepping it up every time! So many layers to this song, so creative. Can't believe that Trent isn't high on this song.
Oh my.. I was waiting for you to feature this! When I first heard this on the radio I just caught the tail end of it, which still made an impression on me cause it was catchy and the soft touch of the piano at the end was a nice touch. Then I caught the mtv and I remember thinking that it had Harry Potter vibes just from the coloring and costumes.
Keep them good ones coming!
That piano part was hilarious, brilliant quality content, very underrated channel.
YES FINALLY THIS VIDEO! I've been watching your videos for so long and I've been so upset you haven't done this one! THANK YOU!
Awesome video! I enjoyed the analysis
I’ve watched half a dozen of your videos. You really have come into your own groove. The way you explain some concepts and ideas blow my mind. Such great work you’re doing. Love it!
you finally made it to my favorite NIN song!! I love learning new things about these songs I've loved for so long, thank you ixi 😄
:: insert that emoji with the finger guns you always post, it is The Perfect Emoji for this here situation ::
That 'shutting the book' analogy was brilliant! Love your work!
I've always love this song and video so much, especially that outro/ending. It's so so beautiful. My favorite piece of any NIN song. It reminds me of A Perfect Circle (well, it's actually the other way around. lol).
I've just got got in from a busy shift at work (damn you, St Patrick!) and watching this was the perfect way to unwind. I love your ability to dissect tracks but you do it in such a way, for me anyway, it imparts even more shades of nuance to tracks that I have listened to more times than I could possibly count. You have an amazing gift.
This is such a wonderful analysis. Thank you so much. You deconstructed perfectly the aim of the piece revealing the intricacies that enhance the beauty behind it. So much to learn. 🖤
This was awesome! Thanks for the analysis.
Not even three minutes in, and I felt _compelled_ to subscribe.
Your analysis and _you_ are... _Amazing_ 💕
In high school, I was in the first music production class for our high school and I spent hours with a 48 channel sound boards breaking down this track. NIN was the bridge between new wave, goth, industrial and metal. Trent consistently breaks ground and could be a whole music theory class. With how far equipment has come, I am excited and glad to hear that my autism/OCD didn't let me down. Thank you for this video!
you are on point with everything I love about the track. A while back i got the multi tracks and listened , damn i'll say its something to be able to separate everything apart. and that kick drum in the ending has some deeeeeep bass ..
The stuff at 14:07 (chorus) is the best thing I have heard in my life. This part really makes me feel very untypical emotions. Thank you, ixi, for deconstructing. Maybe Trent haven't realized what he is creating (with a crew of a bandmates) at the moment, as much as you do. Thank you, ixi!
Thank you for putting into words the feelings evoked by this song
Oh man this was recorded right before the new tour started. My first NIN concert was Raleigh, the first show of the tour, and it was a religious experience when we heard the first notes of this song. Ilan just completely destroyed the drums on this song like I didn't think would be possible for a human being to do live.
The first NIN song I ever heard and as soon as I did I was HOOKED. Love this track, I’d never heard anything like it before. Thanks for the analysis!
Your vision is so interesting and specific. It makes me want to play with music
Can't fault you for hearing "dragon" with Trent waving a sword around while doing his best dark wizard impression in the video.
haha true
The Perfect Drug is my favourite NIN song without a shadow of a doubt. Some of the lyrics speak to me in such a deep way it brings me to tears EVERY TIME. Thanks for this great breakdown ixi!
Of all the bands you could pour your heart and talents into analyzing, I'm so grateful you chose NIN.
Having followed your work for a while, I would watch you break down just about anything now, because I really appreciate the overall approach/style/"Ixi-ness" (is that a word? It is now!) of your videos... but if not for the NIN connection, I don't know if RUclips would have ever put you in my suggestions!
Oh, and the fact that Trent's songwriting, performances, arrangements, and production are so superlative is a factor, too. :-)
Great isolation of certain track parts , great analogies to his other work too - Trent is a bright guy and you help illuminate it very adeptly
I love the way you acknowledge the tonal ambiguity of the harmonic structures within these pieces. As someone who discovered NIN at the same time I started studying music theory, I feel Trent’s music imparted a drive to find a unique palette of melodic sensibilities within my own writing. I have listened to this song (at least) several hundred times since its release in 1997 and I still feel like I gained a ton of insight into the construction of this track! Thank you for your work :)
Sliiiiiide dat piano! Absolutely perfect analysis, you have such insanely sharp ears. Daaam, you're really like Trent on steroids. The 'F dorian' melted me. Such sharp detail 🤯
probably TR's best vocal harmonies along with Even Deeper, All The Love In The World and Capital G but only in the choruses. this song has really great vocals all over the song!
thanks for unfolding it for us!
What a fantastic, articulate and insightful breakdown of this amazing track. Thank you, that was a great watch!
thanks :)
You are really good at this!
YAY OMG YAY OMG YAY OMG YAY OMG YAY
This song is, in my estimation, as close to perfect as a song can be. 10/10, 5-stars. Same goes for your analysis so YAY!!!
I bet that perfect rug really ties the room together.
Never really got into NIN until later on in life. I really enjoy your breakdown of this, I also love how much you enjoy this song while analyzing this as well. Makes me enjoy NIN even more!
One of my all time favourite songs I love the composition so much
I always wanted to learn the outro to this song on piano. Thanks Ixi for teaching us!
Great info and analysis as always. Thank you!