And POLL That Could Have Been: ILM Artist Poll #119 - Nine Inch Nails - RESULTS

but it was nobody's #1?

yeah, no #1 votes

great result revelation & artwork, well done!

Great job, ufo and Thermal!

thanks for running this!

Thank you, ufo!

Mr. Self Destruct was my #1. Used to be The Becoming. However, over the years it's grown on me much much more. I feel it's the most intense and quintessential song that captures the best lyrical and sonic elements of the band. The guitars that sound like razor blades slicing skin. The equally sharp and incisive lyrics. The ambient breakdown in the middle. Belew's insane outro. It's a punch in the gut in the best way possible.

Super stoked it hit #2. I was hoping it might top this poll, but Closer is a perfect, if predictable winner.

yes thanks to thermo for their great work with the images, that saved me a ton of work

also thanks to everyone who voted or participated in the rollout

full countdown:

1. Closer - 760 points, 18 voters
2. Mr. Self Destruct - 626 points, 13 voters, 2 #1 votes
3. Sin - 616 points, 17 voters
4. March Of The Pigs - 562 points, 13 voters, 3 #1 votes
5. The Becoming - 518 points, 11 voters, 4 #1 votes
6. Wish - 516 points, 14 voters
7. We're In This Together - 500 points, 12 voters, 1 #1 vote
8. The Perfect Drug - 454 points, 11 voters, 3 #1 votes
9. Head Like A Hole - 452 points, 13 voters, 1 #1 vote
10. Piggy - 426 points, 12 voters
11. Just Like You Imagined - 402 points, 12 voters
12. Ruiner - 386 points, 9 voters, 1 #1 vote
12. A Warm Place - 386 points, 11 voters
14. Terrible Lie - 384 points, 13 voters
15. Heresy - 378 points, 9 voters
16. The Wretched - 372 points, 10 voters
17. Eraser - 368 points, 9 voters
18. Into The Void - 364 points, 11 voters
19. Beside You In Time - 314 points, 7 voters, 1 #1 vote
20. Something I Can Never Have - 312 points, 9 voters, 1 #1 vote
20. La Mer - 312 points, 10 voters
22. The Day The World Went Away - 310 points, 9 voters, 1 #1 vote
23. Last - 282 points, 8 voters
24. All The Love In The World - 280 points, 8 voters
25. Happiness In Slavery - 276 points, 7 voters
26. And All That Could Have Been - 264 points, 6 voters
27. Gave Up - 254 points, 9 voters
28. Somewhat Damaged - 252 points, 7 voters
29. The Great Below - 238 points, 7 voters
30. The Fragile - 232 points, 8 voters
31. Only - 218 points, 7 voters
32. Everything - 198 points, 5 voters
33. Copy of A - 194 points, 9 voters
33. She's Gone Away - 194 points, 6 voters
33. The Background World - 194 points, 6 voters
36. God Break Down the Door - 192 points, 6 voters
37. Various Methods of Escape - 190 points, 5 voters
38. Hurt - 168 points, 7 voters
39. The Big Come Down - 162 points, 5 voters, 1 #1 vote
40. That's What I Get - 158 points, 4 voters
41. All Time Low - 150 points, 5 voters
42. Reptile - 144 points, 5 voters
43. Burn - 140 points, 5 voters
43. Every Day Is Exactly The Same - 140 points, 4 voters
45. Ringfinger - 138 points, 4 voters, 1 #1 vote
46. I Do Not Want This - 136 points, 5 voters
47. The Hand That Feeds - 134 points, 6 voters
48. Sanctified - 124 points, 4 voters
49. The Great Destroyer - 116 points, 6 voters
49. Shit Mirror - 116 points, 3 voters
51. Even Deeper - 112 points, 3 voters
51. Leaving Hope - 112 points, 4 voters
53. This Isn't the Place - 110 points, 5 voters
53. Suck - 110 points, 6 voters
53. Less Than - 110 points, 6 voters
56. Running - 106 points, 3 voters
57. Dead Souls - 102 points, 3 voters
58. Kinda I Want To - 98 points, 2 voters
59. The Only Time - 96 points, 3 voters
60. In This Twilight - 88 points, 5 voters

Interesting that no one had Closer at #1. Has there been an artist poll where the #1 song had zero #1 votes?

Thank u ufo for pollrunning and thermo for imagicking - excellent work all around!

and the rest:

61. The Way Out Is Through - 82 points, 5 voters
62. Find My Way - 80 points, 4 voters
63. While I'm Still Here - 78 points, 5 voters
64. Satellite - 76 points, 4 voters
65. Pilgrimage - 72 points, 2 voters
66. Down In It - 66 points, 3 voters
67. Burning Bright (Field on Fire) - 64 points, 3 voters
68. Over and Out - 64 points, 3 voters
69. The Downward Spiral - 62 points, 2 voters
70. The Lovers - 60 points, 2 voters
71. Maybe Just Once - 56 points, 1 voter
72. Lights In The Sky - 50 points, 3 voters
73. I'm Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally - 50 points, 1 voter
74. The Persistence of Loss - 50 points, 1 voter
75. The Frail - 48 points, 2 voters
76. Sunspots - 44 points, 2 voters
77. Memorabilia - 44 points, 2 voters
78. The Collector - 44 points, 1 voter
79. The New Flesh - 42 points, 1 voter
80. Right Where It Belongs - 40 points, 2 voters
81. 34 Ghosts IV - 38 points, 1 voter
82. The Sound Of Forgetting - 36 points, 1 voter
83. Underneath It All - 36 points, 2 voters
84. The Idea of You - 36 points, 1 voter
85. Discipline - 34 points, 2 voters
86. Me, I'm Not - 34 points, 2 voters
87. Quake Theme - 32 points, 2 voters
88. Big Man with a Gun - 32 points, 1 voter
89. The Mark Has Been Made - 32 points, 1 voter
90. In Two - 32 points, 1 voter
91. Dear World, - 30 points, 1 voter
92. With Teeth - 30 points, 2 voters
93. Play the Goddamn Part - 30 points, 1 voter
94. Nun With a Motherfucking Gun - 30 points, 1 voter
95. Zero Sum - 28 points, 1 voter
96. Metal - 28 points, 2 voters
97. A Violet Fluid - 28 points, 1 voter
98. Starfuckers, Inc. - 28 points, 1 voter
99. Physical (You're So) - 24 points, 3 voters
100. Driver Down - 24 points, 1 voter
101. Complication - 24 points, 2 voters
102. Corona Radiata - 22 points, 1 voter
103. The Four of Us Are Dying - 20 points, 1 voter
104. 10 Miles High - 20 points, 1 voter
105. Please - 20 points, 2 voters
106. Survivalism - 20 points, 1 voter
107. Life On Mars? - 18 points, 1 voter
108. Came Back Haunted - 16 points, 2 voters
109. Where Is Everybody? - 16 points, 1 voter
110. Hand Covers Bruise - 16 points, 1 voter
111. Echoplex - 14 points, 1 voter
112. Ice Age - 12 points, 1 voter
113. (You Made It Feel Like) Home - 12 points, 1 voter
114. Love Is Not Enough - 8 points, 1 voter
115. Zoo Station - 8 points, 1 voter
116. Gone, Still - 8 points, 1 voter
117. Meet Your Master - 6 points, 1 voter
118. Pinion - 4 points, 1 voter
119. Ahead of Ourselves - 4 points, 1 voter
120. My Violent Heart - 4 points, 1 voter
121. Demon Seed - 2 points, 1 voter
122. The Warning - 2 points, 1 voter

i don’t think i even voted for Closer! lol facepalm. i def forgot but it seems like it was fine without me

oh whoops that didn't have the ties, so if anyone really cares:

61. The Way Out Is Through - 82 points, 5 voters
62. Find My Way - 80 points, 4 voters
63. While I'm Still Here - 78 points, 5 voters
64. Satellite - 76 points, 4 voters
65. Pilgrimage - 72 points, 2 voters
66. Down In It - 66 points, 3 voters
67. Burning Bright (Field on Fire) - 64 points, 3 voters
67. Over and Out - 64 points, 3 voters
69. The Downward Spiral - 62 points, 2 voters
70. The Lovers - 60 points, 2 voters
71. Maybe Just Once - 56 points, 1 voter
72. Lights In The Sky - 50 points, 3 voters
72. I'm Looking Forward To Joining You, Finally - 50 points, 1 voter
72. The Persistence of Loss - 50 points, 1 voter
75. The Frail - 48 points, 2 voters
76. Sunspots - 44 points, 2 voters
76. Memorabilia - 44 points, 2 voters
76. The Collector - 44 points, 1 voter
79. The New Flesh - 42 points, 1 voter
80. Right Where It Belongs - 40 points, 2 voters
81. 34 Ghosts IV - 38 points, 1 voter
82. The Sound Of Forgetting - 36 points, 1 voter
82. Underneath It All - 36 points, 2 voters
82. The Idea of You - 36 points, 1 voter
85. Discipline - 34 points, 2 voters
85. Me, I'm Not - 34 points, 2 voters
87. Quake Theme - 32 points, 2 voters
87. Big Man with a Gun - 32 points, 1 voter
87. The Mark Has Been Made - 32 points, 1 voter
87. In Two - 32 points, 1 voter
91. Dear World, - 30 points, 1 voter
91. With Teeth - 30 points, 2 voters
91. Play the Goddamn Part - 30 points, 1 voter
91. Nun With a Motherfucking Gun - 30 points, 1 voter
95. Zero Sum - 28 points, 1 voter
95. Metal - 28 points, 2 voters
95. A Violet Fluid - 28 points, 1 voter
95. Starfuckers, Inc. - 28 points, 1 voter
99. Physical (You're So) - 24 points, 3 voters
99. Driver Down - 24 points, 1 voter
99. Complication - 24 points, 2 voters
102. Corona Radiata - 22 points, 1 voter
103. The Four of Us Are Dying - 20 points, 1 voter
103. 10 Miles High - 20 points, 1 voter
103. Please - 20 points, 2 voters
103. Survivalism - 20 points, 1 voter
107. Life On Mars? - 18 points, 1 voter
108. Came Back Haunted - 16 points, 2 voters
108. Where Is Everybody? - 16 points, 1 voter
108. Hand Covers Bruise - 16 points, 1 voter
111. Echoplex - 14 points, 1 voter
112. Ice Age - 12 points, 1 voter
112. (You Made It Feel Like) Home - 12 points, 1 voter
114. Love Is Not Enough - 8 points, 1 voter
114. Zoo Station - 8 points, 1 voter
114. Gone, Still - 8 points, 1 voter
117. Meet Your Master - 6 points, 1 voter
118. Pinion - 4 points, 1 voter
118. Ahead of Ourselves - 4 points, 1 voter
118. My Violent Heart - 4 points, 1 voter
121. Demon Seed - 2 points, 1 voter
121. The Warning - 2 points, 1 voter

Is March of the Pigs the highest charting song to be in 7/8 for most of its running time? It hit 59.

Good for “The Becoming” - always really liked that one. (Did anyone ever remix that?)

"Closer" was no. 4 for me, and when compiling my ballot I did turn my mind to the question of whether I was if anything underrating it a bit, taking slightly for granted what is clearly a masterpiece of construction and populism and compulsiveness and repulsiveness and creativity. The outro is just this outrageous succession of "look at this! no, look at this! no, look at this!" moments whose additive approach never falls into the trap of making the song less than the sum of its parts - maybe the moment where Reznor's spiritual connection to Lindsey Buckingham is clearest.

“The Becoming” (subconsciously) always seemed like a Giger/X-Men “Lifedeath”/Cronenberg vibe - a man turning into a monster, or thinking he is. Should’ve been on the Annihilation soundtrack.

Totally. Especially when the coda whisper "I wont give up / it wants me dead / and goddamn this noise inside my head" turns into a cyborg's hiss that feels like the splattery aphex-ish snares of the prior snares (now overwhelmed by pummeling kicks). A total subjugation to the man-machine to underscore the point that the earlier guitar break and final outro are both terrible lies.

(when I first got Further Down The Spiral I vaguely assumed "At The Heart of it All" was a particularly radical remix of "The Becoming")

aphex-ish *feel of the prior snares

Right on!

Tim, I had the same thought about “Closer” but decided to leave it where I had it (maybe 6?) since I figured it wouldn’t need the help.

I feel like a lot of people must have felt it was safe to move closer down a little for their personal favs (and those favs were Mr self destruct and The Becoming). I had it 2nd after Head Like a Hole. I just could not put that bass synth groove anywhere but first.

Thermo thanks for the images btw. Awesome stuff.

Great poll thank you ufo

@ octobeard, “Solsbury Hill” is 7/4, but otherwise yes maybe

"money" is the obvious one in 7/4

"paranoid android" has a little section in 7/8 but it's hard to think of many songs that are mostly/all in 7/8

listening to the downward spiral for the first time in a really long time when preparing my ballot for this poll The Becoming was the track that really jumped out at me, I had somehow forgotten how incredible it sounded.

I did not expect literally every track from TDS to get as much love as they all did.

Tho surprised Hurt didn’t do better and Dead Souls didn’t get more love. Also expected All The Live in the world to rank higher.

Thanks ufo. This was fun.

Favorite lyrics:
I want you to take me
I want you to break me
I want you to throw me away

Also:
I wanna fuck everyone in the world
I wanna do something THAT MATTERS

And in Eraser I love the way his throat-shredding snarl KILL ME merges with the jagged distortion at the end. *chef’s kiss*
Last and Eraser really rose in my estimation listening back to everything for this poll. The Only Time and Ringfinger deserved better.

TDS is such a marvel on headphones. While I was heavily invested in the Fragile—drove to the mall on release day to get it (+ Tori To Venus and Back), listened to it obsessively—I’ve always felt it was a bit of a let down. TDS set such a high bar, everything on The Fragile feels more flat/shallow. Baffled that The Great Below placed. I even think La Mer is kinda goofy, though I liked it at the time.

Spent a lot of time trying (again) to get into With Teeth and beyond. Still think hardly any of it is as good as PHM, Broken and TDS.

I never got that lyric… how do you go from banging literally everybody to doing something that “matters”?!

he's manic

Yes I suppose that would explain things.

I never got that lyric… how do you go from banging literally everybody to doing something that “matters”?!

― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, May 1, 2024 4:02 AM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol this lyric makes perfect sense to me

I love how eraser starts by sampling someone blowing into a straw or bottle

Then beeeeeeees

TDS is such a marvel on headphones. While I was heavily invested in the Fragile—drove to the mall on release day to get it (+ Tori To Venus and Back), listened to it obsessively—I’ve always felt it was a bit of a let down. TDS set such a high bar, everything on The Fragile feels more flat/shallow. Baffled that The Great Below placed. I even think La Mer is kinda goofy, though I liked it at the time.

I love The Fragile, but I think it's fair to say that nothing he has done since TDS has the level of sheer obsessive-compulsive layering that TDS has. The Fragile is still gorgeous-sounding but the complexity such as it is tends to derive from shifts in direction within songs (though The Fragile's status as dense and difficult has always struck me as overstated). Hesitation Marks feels like it splits the difference between those two approaches.

yeah i agree, the production on tds is just so intricate in a way he's never quite replicated

definitely. that kind of intensity-fuelled-by-bad-vibes is kind of a once in a lifetime deal imo

It’s a master class in mix and sequencing… how could he make such decisively new decisions all at once?

it seemed like he was so intent on not letting what he felt like the failures of PHM not happen again made him over-correct into a lane that didn’t even really exist til then? like his own self-loathing & pursuit of perfection is some kind of insane alchemy where he doesn’t even know what he doesn’t know i guess

i love what he posted on the 30th anniversary of DS back in march, it was quite tender:

“Spending too much time looking backwards feels dangerous to me, but this day on the calendar caught my attention. Has it really been that long, old friend?
I just spent an hour listening to this time capsule of what 28 year old me had to say, and it still excites me and breaks my heart.
Be kind to yourselves. Hope to see you soon.
TR 3.8.24”

I never got that lyric… how do you go from banging literally everybody to doing something that “matters”?!
― FRAUDULENT STEAKS (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Wednesday, May 1, 2024 4:02 AM (nine minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol this lyric makes perfect sense to me

― Tim F, Wednesday, 1 May 2024 04:13 (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

More seriously I always understood that final refrain of “I Do Not Want This” as getting at the way we conflate “mattering” with “mattering for others” - basically, having an impact, making an imprint on reality that is indubitably broader than our own subjective experience of it.

Which makes the way the song lurches into “Big Man With A Gun” (a song I don’t particularly care for in any other respect) really effective given that song is basically the same concept taken to its logical and most destructive extreme.

Big Man with a Gun is a lol for sure.

Just catching up with the top ten...

I didn't vote for either of the pig songs. Piggy I thought was too simple maybe? But it's both a deceptive and effective simplicity. I'm a bit surprised that March of the Pigs is so high though.

Head like a Hole could seem a bit straightforward and ripe for parody but there's loads of excellent sound design hidden in there.

The Perfect Drug - ok I'll have to listen to this again, I thought it was considered a bit of a throwaway.

We're in This Together - my top rated from The Fragile, maybe not that interesting production wise compared to some of the others but just a killer song with a great vocal performance.

The Becoming, my #1. Though as noted above TDS is an incredible outstanding nonpareil ne plus ultra of production, some of the tracks maybe tip just a little too noisy or chaotic for my tastes but this one hits the sweet spot, and I love the "how it started / how it's going" aspect of the lyrics. (I beat my machine! Sounds good :) It won't give up it wants me dead! Oh dear :(

Sin. Yes. I put this below HlaH but could've switched them around easily.

Mr Self Destruct - just an incredible opening track and statement of intent.

Closer - Maybe I did vote it lower for being the normies choice lol but I couldn't put it better than Tim upthread, "a masterpiece of construction and populism and compulsiveness and repulsiveness and creativity."

I Do Not Want This and BMWAG are so inseparable, I just put them next to each other on my ballot.

Anyone else find TDS and NIN in general to be perfect gym music? The playlist I made for this poll is really quite invigorating.

btw thanks ufo for the poll and thermo for the images! It's been good revisiting an old friend. Sadly I haven't really had any revelations about post TDS stuff but I'll carry on digging in, and put my old faves back on semi regular rotation. And Ill definitely be there if they tour again.

lol I have always heard “I beat my machine” as a masturbation metaphor (I give it pleasure; I allow its needs to consume me); it had never even occurred to me until now that he might mean “I had overcome/suppressed it”

ha! Well your reading certainly never occurred to me!

I didn't vote because I didn't have time to take a deep dive into the NIN stuff I haven't heard in years. Great poll with a lot of surprises though. And great job with the images Thermo!