NOW YOU KNOW...what being left on a b2 feels like! This video may win the award for most F*bombs dropped and most NIN puns in the history of my channel. Please leave a comment below if you found them all, I will be SO pleased. 🎶
I'll attempt to keep my story about this song brief. I'd been into sad and dark music since I was 10, and when I discovered NIN I always wanted to feel the things that would inspire someone to make that kind of music. A few months before this cane out I experienced a psychotic break brought on by some suprssed memories coming back up and at that point years of drug abuse, much of it acid. I'd gotten to the point where I was starting to believe one of my previous brushes with death had actually killed me and I was in hell. All reality existed to torment me. Sometimes I would sit in my car at around midnight, smoke weed and just listen to music. I did that when I bought this album. Being high as a kite I was extra paranoid that evening. When the "now you know this is what it feels like" part came in it's impossible to convey what an exclamation point that put on my delusion that I was in hell. I thought back to 12 year old me wanting to know what it felt like, and here was Trent mocking me personally for wanting something so stupid. I felt like I'd really fucked up and now I was locked into this thing forever. That mindset drug on for about three years and thankfully I found my way out of it. I'll just never forget how hard that one line hit me that night.
This year is the year I’ve really REALLY gotten into NIN and The Frail and The Wretched are both some of the most musically intriguing and awesome NIN songs and pieces of music I’ve ever heard. When the vocal pads and synths in The Frail start building up, you know something fucking disgusting is coming up next. And then The Wretched comes in and you think “oh shit here we go.” The Wretched sounds like a completely fucked-up mechanical abomination singing you a show tune straight from a stage in Hell. The chorus, as simplistic as it is lyrically, encapsulates the entirety of the song perfectly, especially when it leads into the guitar solo with distortion piled on top of lo-fi filters piled on even more distortion. It sounds like you’re being spun hundreds of miles an hour inside of the metal belly of the beast. These two songs are some of the best pieces of music ever conceived in my opinion.
Lyrically, thematically, musically in both theory and tonality this song is Trent putting on the crown of Doomer King in a hate filled almost taunting way while seemingly relishing welcoming you in proving the old adage that misery loves company.
You ought to be very proud of yourself for this one, that improvisation combines every element that makes The Wretched such a quintessential song of The Fragile. From beauty to hatred and all the chaos in between, you've shone a light on it. This video speaks to what I think all of us Nine Inch Nails fans intuitively feel while listening to Trent's music, and why Trent is one of the best composers alive today.
14:40 that wide vibrato Trent uses on the word "free" has always astonished me as one of the most subliminal uses of texture to illustrate a lyric. He sings the word "free" and as he does the vocal opens up into this beautiful almost operatic sound. 4:49 this interval makes everything smell bad 5:10 this SMELLody 😁
I also noticed that he deliberately pronounces the word "free" in this part with a regular "ee" sound, whereas his typical vowel pronunciation would otherwise make it sound more like "fray". As you mentioned, it really highlights the word in the performance
The Wretched always sounded aquatic to me, like a metaphorical giant dark abyss swallowing you and bass are like relentless waves eroding whatever is left. I don't think it is a coincidence that they use wavy visuals in their live performances
@@raulquiroz7492 the sea is basically the main theme of the album since when recording the album. Trent was planning to commit suicide in a lake close to the house he rented. Songs like "The wretched" "La mer" "The great below" "Even deeper" etc have all this aquatic sound or even lyrics making reference to the ocean
I love you for making this video! The Wretched is probably my favorite track from NIN across their entire discography, just how it completely pummels you with aggression and seething anger after The Frail's melodic, almost despondent tonal quality. Fantastic insights as usual, thank you :)
Thank you ixi! These analysis videos really help me with my own compositions. And that improv at the end was beautiful, I especially like the way you brought in some "Le Mer" melody at the end!
I'm always amazed at the connections you make between the musical and lyrical themes, not only within each song but also between different songs, even across different albums.
Very glad I watched this. So informative, I loved the part about the custom pentatonic. Trent with his genius branding. Nine Inch Scales, everyone! I'm here all week.
It's legitimately incredible how much blues is in NiN stuff, I never would have caught it without your videos pointing it out, feel like it's gonna be one of those things that's everywhere now that you realize it
Totally agree with the emotional description of this song, ixi. I think that's why Trent and Ken Burns used it on darkest/most violent moments in the Vietnam War documentary - completely without lyrics, just the monstrous sounds of The Wretched alone. Chilling to the core!
So excited when I saw this video pop up. I’ve been in love with the wretched since it’s release. The piano, the heavy rhythm of the percussion, and the screams in the background of the chorus. It’s fiery. It’s muddy. It’s dark. One of my top NIN songs of all time, personally. I’ve listened to it a hundred times probably louder than is safe on my headphones. Lol I also love how you find the thematic connections that thread through his albums. Bravo!
The song to me feels like an ironic call out- sort of like judgement on other’s who have given up- based off of giving up oneself. It was used in Batman in Arkham knight so it has that “vengeance” feel like the Ruiner and heresy have almost! Just my take on it.
Okay I don't usually comment twice on a video but I wanna follow up my previous one So, the version played on the Tension 2013 tour has that screaming in the chorus done by the backup singers Lisa Fischer and Sharlotte Gibson, which is a pretty good tell that it's him in the original recording. AND, in the instrumental version, the scream isn't even there! So yeah, I think it's Trent shrieking his lungs out and I LOVE that.
could you do a video on aphex twin’s at the heart of it all from further down the spiral? ive always wanted to know how the emotion of acceptance (like in 5 stages of grief) [thats what i get from that song at least] is created cause its my fav feeling in music haha
That's a really intersting track. When i first heard the album back in the day I didn't know it was "remixes" and just thought "this is my favourite track on this NIN album". I didn't know till a few years ago that it was Aphex Twin. But it really does sound like "the heart of it all", I used to listen to it while playing Doom and Quake and feel like I was in the dead center of something awful.
The return of the screaming crowd from the becoming! Holy shit. That's a connection I never once considered - but it is pretty spot on. Awesome analysis. There are certainly more, but I stopped tallying puns at 11 - 2 of which were in the 'stretching it and maybe unintentional' category. 32:08 ok i gotta request an explanation of how you came to this sequence (and the next didn't turn out the way you wanted it to moment) at next swine + sesh because that chord attack you orchestrated there stunned me in a way I rarely get. Holy shit that was so cool!!
Currently in my top 5 albums. Icing on the cake.....double album!! Nothing quite like just pressing play and leaving well enough alone. He loves doing "dick moves' purposely leaving some of his progressions unresolved. Drive many classically trained musicians batshit. But in the context of his songs it makes sense and fits perfectly 👌 Awesome breakdown!!
I don't usually instantly subscribe to a channel (like never), but here you had me in the first two minutes. Thank you so much for this, it's how I'm learning piano and composition while keeping it interesting!
This was the first NIN song I heard that really gripped me and made me a fan. First song I ever saw them play (I mean, Frail excluded) in a sound check on the With Teeth tour, just before meeting Trent and getting his autograph on my copy of The Fragile! I loved your note about the musical theme shared between this, We’re In This Together, and The Great Below. Trent is a master of theming his music and creating lyrical and musical refrains. Beautiful improv at the end. You should group all of your improvs together and put them out on Spotify/Apple Music (if there aren’t copyright issues!).
Ah such a wonderful analysis. I'm glad to have found you. This song in particular reminds me of most of Gary Newman's recent work with regards to the arrangement and feeling. If you've time to explore, I recommend BT's work. He's an equally talented and intricate arranger as well as a craftsman with his own sounds. He's one of the few modern artists whose songs stand alone with power but also form the structure of the entire album to make that a complete work. Kind of like the oldskool progressive rock albums but going along an EDM path.
The opening of this song was one of my most powerful memories at Madison Square Garden in 2000. I was hearing it for the first time and as the piano played these three large lighting/video panels were raised by hydraulic arms and pointed face down while extending over the band and into the audience a little and emanating a sort of writhing light. Very cold and creepy.
I am so absolutely hooked to your videos and your analyses. As one of my absolute favorite songs I love every bit you pulled together. But seriously, SERIOUSLY. Your improvisation on this is BEYOND EPIC. I've sat here crying listening to it several times in a row. You GET this song, I mean you really really GET it. No surprise, of course. But each part of it hits exactly right. I love it and I am sure I will listen to this for the rest of the week, month, year - and well into next year!
I'm glad you're breaking down fragile because I feel like it's my favorite Nine Inch Nails album after pretty hate machine. can't wait to hear your breakdown of we are in this together and the day the whole world went away. (hint hint) 😉
Pretty much my favorite guitar tone of all time. Also, the best part is the vocal vibrato on 'free' then when the vocals totally break up on 'you could be'.
I love, love, love your vids. I just recently discovered you quite by accident and really enjoy your analyses. Being a music producer myself, I watch music breakdown vids almost daily, but your videos add a real human touch because you really go into how the music hits you emotionally. I like that. Put me down as an instant fan.
In her rendition, the way she links it to La Mer, so beautifully done. I think of the ocean as the force of what is mentioned in the wretched. Also I always loved the remixed version of this song on TFA. One of my ATF. 🤍😄🤟🏾
Thanks ixi! Great breakdown of this amazing track and why the music, as usual, so perfectly matches the words. One of my favorite NIN lyrics: "The clouds will part and the sky cracks open and God himself will reach his fucking arm through, just to push you down, to-to-to-to hold you down."
This is really great! I am learning SO much from these videos as I go on my own journey learning piano. What I personally appreciate is how you don't just break down what is happening musically, but you connect it to what is happening emotionally which is the WHOLE POINT that too many miss. I am learning piano in midlife precisely because NO ONE ever did that with music growing up. No teacher, no family member ever did that. It was all this mind-numbing set of things to memorize and i couldn't understand why anyone would ever want to. Why put in so much time to memorize things just because. But you connect it to the HEART of the music, help us understand why, in the context of music that I really connect with. As I am learning more, less of the videos are going over my head so I am starting to rewatch them. THANK YOU.
@@iximusic thanks! You are a natural teacher. the world needs more people like you and less snooty gatekeepers taking all the heart and meaning out of it.
Love The Wreched. In my younger, angrier days the lyric "And god himself will reach his fucking arm through Just to push you down!" Just connected with how I felt at the time. Everything, even God himself, was against me.
I love how he uses themes in his albums. Very cool analysis as always! I failed to notice that I was supposed to be keeping track of NIN puns and F*bombs, but kudos on those as well
Been following your channel for a while now and i just wanna say thank you for all the great content. I´m a producer/musician myself and these kinds of videos are just amazing. Trent is my favorite artist and seeing his songs examined like this is just brilliant. Inspires me to keep writing and producing music. PS. I totally agree, The Frail & The Wretched belong together. It´s like Tools Parabol & Parabola.
Loved the vid, as usual. a couple of things that struck me. You briefly mentioned "the Becoming" and I have always associated these two songs, despite them being on different albums, having very different focuses and not sharing any structure that I could notice, I think they share the same energy. To me it almost feels like the person in this song is mocking someone who has just gone through the process in "the becoming" letting them know that they aren't alright. Like the person speaking, they are now one of "the wretched". The other thing that I noticed on the "now you now, this is what it feels like" line where you said you wanted it to end on the major third but it ends on the fourth, I hear it as bending around the minor 3rd, major 3rd and perfect 4th not quite hitting any of them, this is something you mention Trent doing a lot in other songs so it makes sense that it happens here too.
You mentioned strings on the album, but I'm surprised you didn't get into the high-pitched violin trill that comes in at "another day/some other way". It's one of my favorite elements of the song. It makes me think of little needles, or urticating hairs on an insect. There's also an almost completely buried track during the guitar solo that sounds like whispers, or interference from a radio signal. You can hear it more distinctly in the remix on Things Falling Apart.
I thought I mentioned it, maybe I accidentally edited it out! I was saying it reminds me of a devil's tongue. I heard it as a synth, not a violin, but it's really hard to tell with NIN.
I must admit listening to you play NIN songs, the way you do... Gives me a Stifler! Beautifully done & HAWT! I thank you ixi, for your deep interest in one of the greatest musicians of our time! The stories told in Trent's music are so moving. Deep Deep Deep...
Just discovered your channel! All I can say is "BRAVO!". You are quite analytical, and have a tremendous respect for the artistry and the fine details in the composition of this music. Like all great artists, Trent Reznor really lays his soul bare in his works. What is so appealing to his fans, is the fact that we all have some darkness in our souls, whether we like to admit it or not. I think Trent really lets us safely dabble in that darkness with his music. 👏 👏 👏
Great song, great analysis and improv! The chromatic leviathan from the chorus has a strong connection with "Quiet" by The Smashing Pumpkins. Probably unintentional, Trent also expressed pretty much indifference to the pumpkins. I still had to bring that up for the sake of gorgeous strange fuzz monsters. Lots of love!
the chromatic power chord progression on guitar in the choruses is on fire... the guitare textures in the bridge are on fire ! this song is fire... can't wait to hear your take on this song !
Your way with words is on par with your overall talent for music theory and composition. A musical pathologist deconstructing and dissecting these songs like an autopsy - @22:00 literally down to “the skeleton and rotten flesh that it’s wearing.” 😂👌 You’re like a best friend that I never had. PS I’m pretty sure the guitar solo / pulsating screams / drill is in fact a cat scrap. PPS the rendition at the end gave me goosebumps on me goosebumps. Another amazing video and analysis. Well done!
@@iximusic haha i mean it in a good way though! Yes it's incredible, had it playing in front of the fire. I could listen to you play for hours! Oh and 'cat scrap' - I guess it's British slang then. 'Scrap' is to fight. It sounds (to me) like two cats or two forces engaging in some seriously heavy battle. (edit) and i just noticed you finished up on the 'La Mer' motif
!!! I just started playing piano/learning theory(been a “casual” guitar player for over a decade), and I’m tackling the frail as one of my first pieces. Thank you as always IxI
Incredible breakdown and insights! NIN have songs that resonate with every moment in my life. This song always makes me think about the futures that have been lost to my decisions.
Agreed. Magnum Opus. I still appreciate and groove on his new art but there was something about turn of the century recording with computers and sampling that blended new and old.
I'd like to believe that the screaming in the chorus really is Trent, it makes it feel a lot more disturbing and sheds more light onto that whole inner/subconscious battle of the story of The Fragile. That's just me though! Additional note: I swear, it has that trademark Trent voice sound, if you get what I mean
when you played that part at 24:48 i was instantly reminded of the ending of Everything, at around 2.30ish. just the descending soft quality of it. i wonder if that was a conscious decision or just a coincidence, since Everything is a very different song to The Wretched.
During the plucking part, I always thought the 3rd note was actually 2 notes played simultaneously. It's really hard to tell, but it sounds like both the G that you are playing as well as the first note (E). So like E F GE F E F E. For some reason my ear always wants to hear E as the primary note, so hearing your G was a bit jarring! Great video!
Haha yeah! I hear this 1/8th note delay on the pluck so there are some confusions when pitches overlap. I like the E F E F alternating version too though, I often throw that one in when I improvise on that theme.
As a string player, I always perceived those plucks to be violin plucks. I went back and listened to that section carefully, and I actually think they sound like viola plucks. I guess they could be guitars, but I'm leaning towards viola. Could just be my string section bias showing, though.
NOW YOU KNOW...what being left on a b2 feels like! This video may win the award for most F*bombs dropped and most NIN puns in the history of my channel. Please leave a comment below if you found them all, I will be SO pleased. 🎶
I think I caught most of them puns, you made me giggle a lot
Nine Inch Nails - The Wretched [Keith Hillebrandt Mix]
th-cam.com/video/AIXMzuJk_mU/w-d-xo.html
PerCUSSive was the best one honestly 😂
@iximusic: You have such beautiful teeth. 1:02
I always liked how sinister that piano sounded on this song.
I'll attempt to keep my story about this song brief. I'd been into sad and dark music since I was 10, and when I discovered NIN I always wanted to feel the things that would inspire someone to make that kind of music. A few months before this cane out I experienced a psychotic break brought on by some suprssed memories coming back up and at that point years of drug abuse, much of it acid. I'd gotten to the point where I was starting to believe one of my previous brushes with death had actually killed me and I was in hell. All reality existed to torment me.
Sometimes I would sit in my car at around midnight, smoke weed and just listen to music. I did that when I bought this album. Being high as a kite I was extra paranoid that evening. When the "now you know this is what it feels like" part came in it's impossible to convey what an exclamation point that put on my delusion that I was in hell. I thought back to 12 year old me wanting to know what it felt like, and here was Trent mocking me personally for wanting something so stupid. I felt like I'd really fucked up and now I was locked into this thing forever.
That mindset drug on for about three years and thankfully I found my way out of it. I'll just never forget how hard that one line hit me that night.
Woah.
This year is the year I’ve really REALLY gotten into NIN and The Frail and The Wretched are both some of the most musically intriguing and awesome NIN songs and pieces of music I’ve ever heard. When the vocal pads and synths in The Frail start building up, you know something fucking disgusting is coming up next. And then The Wretched comes in and you think “oh shit here we go.”
The Wretched sounds like a completely fucked-up mechanical abomination singing you a show tune straight from a stage in Hell. The chorus, as simplistic as it is lyrically, encapsulates the entirety of the song perfectly, especially when it leads into the guitar solo with distortion piled on top of lo-fi filters piled on even more distortion. It sounds like you’re being spun hundreds of miles an hour inside of the metal belly of the beast.
These two songs are some of the best pieces of music ever conceived in my opinion.
OK, I loled at "Doesn't it make you feel better?"
The cut after "doesnt it make you feel better" made me LOL
Lyrically, thematically, musically in both theory and tonality this song is Trent putting on the crown of Doomer King in a hate filled almost taunting way while seemingly relishing welcoming you in proving the old adage that misery loves company.
Lol doomer king...
Now you've got me plunged into NIN theories i was like "oh my god they were BECOMING THE WRETCHED" and now I'm having a Jimmy neutron brain blast
You ought to be very proud of yourself for this one, that improvisation combines every element that makes The Wretched such a quintessential song of The Fragile. From beauty to hatred and all the chaos in between, you've shone a light on it. This video speaks to what I think all of us Nine Inch Nails fans intuitively feel while listening to Trent's music, and why Trent is one of the best composers alive today.
Thanks so much, for your thoughtful comments, always, and for still watching - you've been here since the TDS series! :)
Customized scales, modified blues scales, flat 6ths... god I love NIN! Thanks Ixi!
Also has that classic guitar almost like a reving chainsaw. When he says “now, you know, this is what it feels like”
14:40 that wide vibrato Trent uses on the word "free" has always astonished me as one of the most subliminal uses of texture to illustrate a lyric. He sings the word "free" and as he does the vocal opens up into this beautiful almost operatic sound.
4:49 this interval makes everything smell bad
5:10 this SMELLody 😁
I also noticed that he deliberately pronounces the word "free" in this part with a regular "ee" sound, whereas his typical vowel pronunciation would otherwise make it sound more like "fray". As you mentioned, it really highlights the word in the performance
@@BR0K3NARCH3TYP3 yes! Even his pronunciation of the word is special! Good call.
Good observations and thanks for the timestamps too. SMELLody made me laugh too.
The Wretched always sounded aquatic to me, like a metaphorical giant dark abyss swallowing you and bass are like relentless waves eroding whatever is left. I don't think it is a coincidence that they use wavy visuals in their live performances
You're pretty much spot on, because one of the tracks "La Mer" on the album, is French for "The Sea", so I can definitely see why you say that.
@@raulquiroz7492 the sea is basically the main theme of the album since when recording the album. Trent was planning to commit suicide in a lake close to the house he rented. Songs like "The wretched" "La mer" "The great below" "Even deeper" etc have all this aquatic sound or even lyrics making reference to the ocean
I love you for making this video! The Wretched is probably my favorite track from NIN across their entire discography, just how it completely pummels you with aggression and seething anger after The Frail's melodic, almost despondent tonal quality. Fantastic insights as usual, thank you :)
Thank you ixi! These analysis videos really help me with my own compositions. And that improv at the end was beautiful, I especially like the way you brought in some "Le Mer" melody at the end!
Good ears :)
Chromatic ascending line in the chorus 20:25 WOW
Reminds me Perfect Drug
I'm always amazed at the connections you make between the musical and lyrical themes, not only within each song but also between different songs, even across different albums.
Very glad I watched this. So informative, I loved the part about the custom pentatonic. Trent with his genius branding. Nine Inch Scales, everyone! I'm here all week.
haha :)
It's legitimately incredible how much blues is in NiN stuff, I never would have caught it without your videos pointing it out, feel like it's gonna be one of those things that's everywhere now that you realize it
Totally agree with the emotional description of this song, ixi. I think that's why Trent and Ken Burns used it on darkest/most violent moments in the Vietnam War documentary - completely without lyrics, just the monstrous sounds of The Wretched alone. Chilling to the core!
The music fitted so well with the series. It was like Ghosts was made for this series
The plucking in this song is a mandolin. This is the first album they have used it on.
My favorite NIN song. I love how all the parts are really cool while simultaneously not stepping on each other(I guess is how I’d put it).
I always imagined a dark gray sky and endless fields when I listened to The Wretched
So excited when I saw this video pop up. I’ve been in love with the wretched since it’s release. The piano, the heavy rhythm of the percussion, and the screams in the background of the chorus. It’s fiery. It’s muddy. It’s dark. One of my top NIN songs of all time, personally. I’ve listened to it a hundred times probably louder than is safe on my headphones. Lol
I also love how you find the thematic connections that thread through his albums. Bravo!
The song to me feels like an ironic call out- sort of like judgement on other’s who have given up- based off of giving up oneself. It was used in Batman in Arkham knight so it has that “vengeance” feel like the Ruiner and heresy have almost! Just my take on it.
Ending the performance with an interpolation of the coda from We're in This Together Now was fucking lovely!
I have been a NIN fan since Pretty Hate Machine came out in 89. You nailed it here. Thank you so much for your videos!
Okay I don't usually comment twice on a video but I wanna follow up my previous one
So, the version played on the Tension 2013 tour has that screaming in the chorus done by the backup singers Lisa Fischer and Sharlotte Gibson, which is a pretty good tell that it's him in the original recording. AND, in the instrumental version, the scream isn't even there! So yeah, I think it's Trent shrieking his lungs out and I LOVE that.
could you do a video on aphex twin’s at the heart of it all from further down the spiral? ive always wanted to know how the emotion of acceptance (like in 5 stages of grief) [thats what i get from that song at least] is created cause its my fav feeling in music haha
That's a really intersting track. When i first heard the album back in the day I didn't know it was "remixes" and just thought "this is my favourite track on this NIN album". I didn't know till a few years ago that it was Aphex Twin. But it really does sound like "the heart of it all", I used to listen to it while playing Doom and Quake and feel like I was in the dead center of something awful.
The Fragile is my favorite album and I loved this song from the moment I heard it. What a great video. I love your channel.
The return of the screaming crowd from the becoming! Holy shit. That's a connection I never once considered - but it is pretty spot on. Awesome analysis. There are certainly more, but I stopped tallying puns at 11 - 2 of which were in the 'stretching it and maybe unintentional' category.
32:08 ok i gotta request an explanation of how you came to this sequence (and the next didn't turn out the way you wanted it to moment) at next swine + sesh because that chord attack you orchestrated there stunned me in a way I rarely get. Holy shit that was so cool!!
The unintentional puns definitely count! haha
Word, we will look at that chord attack ;)
Yes! I didn’t make that connection, either, except maybe subliminally as it connects to this being absolutely Trent’s style. Nice
OMG how did I miss this? God, this song. I can't even. To this day, this song rips my heart out. Thank you for making this video.
It’s so hard to pick a favorite NIN song, but I think it’s gotta be The Wretched. Love your analysis.
I love this conversion from Wretched to La Mer
Golden blades shum shum, I shouldn't have done that, per cuss ive, stopping the plant. So many gems in this video. Thanks again Ixi, for sharing.
Huge fan of Nine Inch Nails and also love music theory, but never put the two together like this. This is fantastic!
ABSOLUTE FAVORITE NIN SONG.
"Doesn't it make you feel better?" nice reference lol
That improv was killer! Beautifully done
Thank you!! Btw I'm releasing my debut album of originals soon 👀
"Defeated hopeless" is definitely a great way to describe this beautiful song for sure.
NIN always makes me feel better 🙂
Currently in my top 5 albums. Icing on the cake.....double album!!
Nothing quite like just pressing play and leaving well enough alone.
He loves doing "dick moves' purposely leaving some of his progressions unresolved.
Drive many classically trained musicians batshit.
But in the context of his songs it makes sense and fits perfectly 👌
Awesome breakdown!!
I didn't expect to cry, but I did. Thanks for breaking down one of my favorite songs from my favorite album,.
I love the use of motifs, both tonal and lyrical, across this album but also across albums.
I don't usually instantly subscribe to a channel (like never), but here you had me in the first two minutes. Thank you so much for this, it's how I'm learning piano and composition while keeping it interesting!
This was the first NIN song I heard that really gripped me and made me a fan. First song I ever saw them play (I mean, Frail excluded) in a sound check on the With Teeth tour, just before meeting Trent and getting his autograph on my copy of The Fragile!
I loved your note about the musical theme shared between this, We’re In This Together, and The Great Below. Trent is a master of theming his music and creating lyrical and musical refrains.
Beautiful improv at the end. You should group all of your improvs together and put them out on Spotify/Apple Music (if there aren’t copyright issues!).
@thegreatsco I still regret going with the smiley shirt for an autograph over an album case. But what a great memory.
@@macroshibby6 You can always enjoy looking at my album case when you come over 😂
Ah such a wonderful analysis. I'm glad to have found you. This song in particular reminds me of most of Gary Newman's recent work with regards to the arrangement and feeling.
If you've time to explore, I recommend BT's work. He's an equally talented and intricate arranger as well as a craftsman with his own sounds. He's one of the few modern artists whose songs stand alone with power but also form the structure of the entire album to make that a complete work. Kind of like the oldskool progressive rock albums but going along an EDM path.
Great one, Ixi! I felt like I learned a bunch on this one, and I FELT the chords doing those things to me. Damn. Trent really is a genius. You too.
Your videos are SO GREAT!! So detailed. I love that you appreciate the beauty and terror and all of the things in between with NIN. Thank you ❤
Of course came here for the theory teardown but left with a lasting impression from that sublime improv! Honestly it was so good just had to comment.
Aw thank you so much!
Love how it melds into La Mer in the improvisation at the end. Maybe, the song shows a way to confront inner rage and find peace afterwall.
28:40 that always reminded me of a cat. Like they ran it through an amp or some computer effect. Re-ow-ough
haha yeah!
@@iximusic I also think it's an old sample or had the same processing applied as other samples. There's a close one that sounds like "aaah yeah"
Something about the way this track phases with the piano played over it just sounds so scrumptious.
The opening of this song was one of my most powerful memories at Madison Square Garden in 2000. I was hearing it for the first time and as the piano played these three large lighting/video panels were raised by hydraulic arms and pointed face down while extending over the band and into the audience a little and emanating a sort of writhing light. Very cold and creepy.
I am so absolutely hooked to your videos and your analyses. As one of my absolute favorite songs I love every bit you pulled together. But seriously, SERIOUSLY. Your improvisation on this is BEYOND EPIC. I've sat here crying listening to it several times in a row. You GET this song, I mean you really really GET it. No surprise, of course. But each part of it hits exactly right. I love it and I am sure I will listen to this for the rest of the week, month, year - and well into next year!
Thank you So much for your Videos! I’ve always been bewildered by how much NIN songs have impacted me. I just love feeling not alone
Yes! I've been waiting for this one.
I'm glad you're breaking down fragile because I feel like it's my favorite Nine Inch Nails album after pretty hate machine. can't wait to hear your breakdown of we are in this together and the day the whole world went away. (hint hint) 😉
Pretty much my favorite guitar tone of all time. Also, the best part is the vocal vibrato on 'free' then when the vocals totally break up on 'you could be'.
I love, love, love your vids. I just recently discovered you quite by accident and really enjoy your analyses. Being a music producer myself, I watch music breakdown vids almost daily, but your videos add a real human touch because you really go into how the music hits you emotionally. I like that. Put me down as an instant fan.
In her rendition, the way she links it to La Mer, so beautifully done. I think of the ocean as the force of what is mentioned in the wretched. Also I always loved the remixed version of this song on TFA. One of my ATF.
🤍😄🤟🏾
Fuck yeah, It's a good day when you post a NIN analysis video!
ixi analysing The Wretched that is like an early christmas gift for me
Happy holidays! 🌲
Thanks ixi! Great breakdown of this amazing track and why the music, as usual, so perfectly matches the words. One of my favorite NIN lyrics: "The clouds will part and the sky cracks open and God himself will reach his fucking arm through, just to push you down, to-to-to-to hold you down."
Dangit Trent, I do know exactly what it feels like!
This is really great! I am learning SO much from these videos as I go on my own journey learning piano. What I personally appreciate is how you don't just break down what is happening musically, but you connect it to what is happening emotionally which is the WHOLE POINT that too many miss. I am learning piano in midlife precisely because NO ONE ever did that with music growing up. No teacher, no family member ever did that. It was all this mind-numbing set of things to memorize and i couldn't understand why anyone would ever want to. Why put in so much time to memorize things just because. But you connect it to the HEART of the music, help us understand why, in the context of music that I really connect with. As I am learning more, less of the videos are going over my head so I am starting to rewatch them. THANK YOU.
This made my day, Michael! Thank you, and keep it up with the piano!
@@iximusic thanks! You are a natural teacher. the world needs more people like you and less snooty gatekeepers taking all the heart and meaning out of it.
Love The Wreched. In my younger, angrier days the lyric "And god himself will reach his fucking arm through
Just to push you down!" Just connected with how I felt at the time. Everything, even God himself, was against me.
I love how he uses themes in his albums. Very cool analysis as always! I failed to notice that I was supposed to be keeping track of NIN puns and F*bombs, but kudos on those as well
Just found this one. Got distracted with the world lately. Happy to see you're analyzing this song. Love it Love it Love it. :)
Been following your channel for a while now and i just wanna say thank you for all the great content. I´m a producer/musician myself and these kinds of videos are just amazing. Trent is my favorite artist and seeing his songs examined like this is just brilliant. Inspires me to keep writing and producing music.
PS. I totally agree, The Frail & The Wretched belong together. It´s like Tools Parabol & Parabola.
Loved the vid, as usual. a couple of things that struck me. You briefly mentioned "the Becoming" and I have always associated these two songs, despite them being on different albums, having very different focuses and not sharing any structure that I could notice, I think they share the same energy. To me it almost feels like the person in this song is mocking someone who has just gone through the process in "the becoming" letting them know that they aren't alright. Like the person speaking, they are now one of "the wretched".
The other thing that I noticed on the "now you now, this is what it feels like" line where you said you wanted it to end on the major third but it ends on the fourth, I hear it as bending around the minor 3rd, major 3rd and perfect 4th not quite hitting any of them, this is something you mention Trent doing a lot in other songs so it makes sense that it happens here too.
Its just how ive always feel this song.....
I liked your jam at the end!
You mentioned strings on the album, but I'm surprised you didn't get into the high-pitched violin trill that comes in at "another day/some other way". It's one of my favorite elements of the song. It makes me think of little needles, or urticating hairs on an insect. There's also an almost completely buried track during the guitar solo that sounds like whispers, or interference from a radio signal. You can hear it more distinctly in the remix on Things Falling Apart.
I thought I mentioned it, maybe I accidentally edited it out! I was saying it reminds me of a devil's tongue. I heard it as a synth, not a violin, but it's really hard to tell with NIN.
The Wretched is perfection.
My fav line involves something about God cracking the sky open and pushing you down.
I must admit listening to you play NIN songs, the way you do... Gives me a Stifler! Beautifully done & HAWT! I thank you ixi, for your deep interest in one of the greatest musicians of our time! The stories told in Trent's music are so moving. Deep Deep Deep...
Just discovered your channel! All I can say is "BRAVO!". You are quite analytical, and have a tremendous respect for the artistry and the fine details in the composition of this music. Like all great artists, Trent Reznor really lays his soul bare in his works. What is so appealing to his fans, is the fact that we all have some darkness in our souls, whether we like to admit it or not. I think Trent really lets us safely dabble in that darkness with his music. 👏 👏 👏
WOW fantastic ! Such a gorgeous piano cover of this amazing song. THANKS Ixi ;)
Great song, great analysis and improv! The chromatic leviathan from the chorus has a strong connection with "Quiet" by The Smashing Pumpkins. Probably unintentional, Trent also expressed pretty much indifference to the pumpkins. I still had to bring that up for the sake of gorgeous strange fuzz monsters. Lots of love!
I have found my new favorite Chanel!!!
the chromatic power chord progression on guitar in the choruses is on fire... the guitare textures in the bridge are on fire ! this song is fire... can't wait to hear your take on this song !
I love your thoughts provoked by the music and lyrics. Always looking forward to seeing your latest upload. Ed x
Your way with words is on par with your overall talent for music theory and composition. A musical pathologist deconstructing and dissecting these songs like an autopsy - @22:00 literally down to “the skeleton and rotten flesh that it’s wearing.” 😂👌
You’re like a best friend that I never had.
PS I’m pretty sure the guitar solo / pulsating screams / drill is in fact a cat scrap.
PPS the rendition at the end gave me goosebumps on me goosebumps. Another amazing video and analysis. Well done!
Thanks for my new title, musical pathologist! :) Really glad you enjoyed the improv.
p.s. what's a cat scrap?
@@iximusic haha i mean it in a good way though! Yes it's incredible, had it playing in front of the fire. I could listen to you play for hours! Oh and 'cat scrap' - I guess it's British slang then. 'Scrap' is to fight. It sounds (to me) like two cats or two forces engaging in some seriously heavy battle. (edit) and i just noticed you finished up on the 'La Mer' motif
oooooooh. love that improvisation piece...especially those bits of other tracks blended in. so nice. :) 🧚🎵
I love all your videos! So good to see someone breaking down NiN songs
Ah! And your rendition of the song is outstanding. Not only are you a great teacher but you are also an outstanding performer 🙂
!!! I just started playing piano/learning theory(been a “casual” guitar player for over a decade), and I’m tackling the frail as one of my first pieces. Thank you as always IxI
“You will be destroyed by this F” 😂 😂 love it!
30:25 - always taking deeb breath and flow...
I love this so much, thank you for it.
Also, the video seems to be out of sync at the 14:22 mark, or it might my computer doing something weird.
Incredible breakdown and insights! NIN have songs that resonate with every moment in my life. This song always makes me think about the futures that have been lost to my decisions.
NEW IXI VIDEO, GUYS!!
and here I was, thinking this will be a normal boring Thursday
One of my favorites from The Fragile. Loved this and always love your piano renditions at the end 💜
"you WILL be destroyed" lol
This was always one of my most favorite nin songs!
And on a side note ill just echo again that MAN i love your channel!
The Fragile. Really doesn't get the kudos it deserves. It's a masterpiece and I don't think Trent has bested it afterwards imo.
Agreed. Magnum Opus. I still appreciate and groove on his new art but there was something about turn of the century recording with computers and sampling that blended new and old.
I'd like to believe that the screaming in the chorus really is Trent, it makes it feel a lot more disturbing and sheds more light onto that whole inner/subconscious battle of the story of The Fragile. That's just me though!
Additional note: I swear, it has that trademark Trent voice sound, if you get what I mean
when you played that part at 24:48 i was instantly reminded of the ending of Everything, at around 2.30ish. just the descending soft quality of it. i wonder if that was a conscious decision or just a coincidence, since Everything is a very different song to The Wretched.
Loved the improv and the analysis!
During the plucking part, I always thought the 3rd note was actually 2 notes played simultaneously. It's really hard to tell, but it sounds like both the G that you are playing as well as the first note (E). So like E F GE F E F E. For some reason my ear always wants to hear E as the primary note, so hearing your G was a bit jarring! Great video!
Haha yeah! I hear this 1/8th note delay on the pluck so there are some confusions when pitches overlap. I like the E F E F alternating version too though, I often throw that one in when I improvise on that theme.
As a string player, I always perceived those plucks to be violin plucks. I went back and listened to that section carefully, and I actually think they sound like viola plucks. I guess they could be guitars, but I'm leaning towards viola. Could just be my string section bias showing, though.