Nine Inch Nails- The Slip

Last week I did something that I would not normally do. I purposefully downloaded an entire album of Nine Inch Nails (NIN). I know, I know. But it was their newest album and it was free from their site so I thought "what the heck, might as well." I didn't really expect it to be terribly good. Now I realize that it is kind of unfair to compare an industrial rock band to an alternative/semi-indie rock band but I'm going to do it anyway. DCFC is so much better than NIN. When I listened to "The Slip" I could not discern any redeeming value in it. The lyrics are pure drivel and the music really needs some serious work. The sound is all distorted, Trent Reznor's voice is just awful, and the percussion gave me a headache.
At this point someone might interject and say that this is the effect that NIN was going for. They just wanted to make their music fit the point they were trying to make with their lyrics. I have to object. On "Year Zero" they may have some of the musical leeway with their subject matter to make something musically displeasing. On "The Slip" though I could not notice a consistent theme, and the lyrics did not justify any such move. On the whole, I'm glad it was free because there is no way I would pay for this.

As an interesting side note, Radiohead was the first group (that I know of) to make their music free off their site with "In Rainbows." Now there is a review for another day, but suffice it to say that I would have paid good money for that album.