Board 8 > Rank the Tracks Week 28: The Knife's Silent Shout (+Pretty Hate Machine results)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Previous results can be seen here:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Rank_the_Tracks

The rules:
1. Listen to the album in full
2. Rank every track on the album
3. For the results, there will be a curve at the top of each list; two additional points between #1 and #2, and one additional point for the next two ranks. This way, the songs that really stick out to someone get an edge that is not immediately negated by someone else putting it lower. In the case of Demon Days, someone's 15th track will get 1 point, 14th 2 points, 4th 12 points, 3rd 14 points, 2nd 16 points, and 1st 19 points
4. If you want to include comments for individual songs, I will compile them in the results
5. The results will be posted at the beginning of the next topic
6. The deadline to vote is Sunday, September 19 at 8:00 AM EST - though if you are for whatever reason listening to the album around that time, just say so in the topic and I can delay a bit
7. You can sign up to be added to a user cycle for after we finish the queue; once we get through the last planned album, the next person on the list will choose 3 albums which the other users will vote on for the next topic.
7a. To ensure people are being given an actual choice, the three nominated albums must be by different artists. You can otherwise stick to a similar sound or era.
7b. The tiebreaker for these polls will be whichever is listed first in the poll options - make sure to deliver the results in order of your own preference (which will hopefully have the added benefit of influencing people toward your first choice if they can't decide).
7c. The order of the user cycle will be randomly determined, but users will first be sorted into tiers by how many of their nominations have been covered during the early nominations period.

The Knife's Silent Shout track list:
1. Silent Shout
2. Neverland
3. The Captain
4. We Share Our Mothers' Health
5. Na Na Na
6. Marble House
7. Like a Pen
8. From Off to On
9. Forest Families
10. One Hit
11. Still Light

Schedule:
9/19: Billy Joel - The Stranger (Seanchan)
9/26: Spice Girls - Spice (SpikeSetsFire)
10/3: Iron Maiden - Powerslave (TheArkOfTurus)
10/10: Rancid - ...And Out Come the Wolves (Snake5555555555)
10/17: OutKast - Aquemini (Giggsalot)
10/24: Of Monsters and Men - My Head Is an Animal (Jesse_Custer)
10/31: Taylor Swift - Speak Now (Snake5555555555)
11/7: The Avalanches - Since I Left You (SpikeSetsFire)
11/14: Moby - Play (SpikeSetsFire)
11/21: Steely Dan - Can't Buy a Thrill (Seginustemple)

User Cycle sign-ups:
11/28: MetalmindStats
12/5: TheArkOfTurus
12/12: Snake5555555555
12/19: Jesse_Custer
12/26: ZaziGuado
1/2: SpikeSetsFire
1/9: Johnbobb
1/16: VeryInsane
1/23: CasanovaZelos
1/30: Seanchan
2/6: Giggsalot
2/13: RyoCaliente
2/20: darkx
2/27: neonreaper
3/6: Great_Paul
3/13: jcgamer107
3/20: ChichiriMuyo

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Nine Inch Nails' Pretty Hate Machine results

The participants sorted by deviation from final results:
Jesse_Custer (14)
CasanovaZelos (14)
Johnbobb (14)
ChichiriMuyo (14)
VeryInsane (16)
SpikeSetsFire (16)
neonreaper (18)
HBJDubs (18)
Snake5555555555 (20)
Steiner (20)
MartinFF7 (20)
Raetsel_Lapin (28)
Seanchan (30)
MetalmindStats (30)

Seanchan: Finally did a first listen. I've heard quite a few of their songs on the radio over the years but never actually listened to an album before. (That's got to be at least the dozenth time I've said that...)

Anyway, this is a very interesting album. That industrial sound is certainly something. Definitely some electronic influences on some tracks and a lot of repeated vocals. And some very provocative lyrics at points that caught even MY attention!

I didn't realize that NiN goes all the way back to the late 80s! They've always struck me as such a quintessential 90s band, though I suppose the height of their success is from the 90s, so...

I know NiN was big back when I was in middle/high school but I wasn't really into a lot of music back then. As I was listening, I was trying to decide if I would have liked this back in those days. I think I finally came around to "probably not", if only because I had a lot of bad music takes back then.

VeryInsane: The raw synthetics on this album are so good, I kinda wish Trent made a album similar to this again

MartinFF7: Listened to PHM more in the past week than I had in history up to this point. I put most NIN albums ahead of it, but there's still lots of quality in there... even if you can feel that "80s" sound bleeding in at times.

Also very tough because there's a clear top 4 for me, and a clear 10th place, but 5 through 9 are all pretty good. And sorting the top 4 also became pretty tough.

neonreaper: I feel like all of the songs on this album were my favorite at one point or another. The album is full of so many catchy bits and pieces, as well as production effects that stuck with me. Great album. This album was totally perfect for the teenage years.

Jesse_Custer: The Fragile is the album that got me into NIN and will probably always be my favorite NIN album, but Pretty Hate Machine is also great. And an album as long as The Fragile probably wouldnt have worked well for this topic anyway.

Snake5555555555: Fun fact: this is the only NIN album I own. And I don't even like it that much. Everything here seems pretty dated, even if I can see some seeds of NIN's vastly superior future work. It was very kind of the Jingle Cats to lend their voices to "The Only Time", one of the most grating songs of the 80s industrial dance scene by a mile. Reznor's lyrics try to be cerebral and intelligent like an LCD Soundsystem but end up coming across as corny, edgelord nonsense ("While the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car", that was a particularly hilarious highlight for me). The beats and production are repetitive, which I know is somewhat of the point, but when combined with the lyrics I was looking at the time waiting for this album to be over. It's not all bad though; Sanctified and Head Like a Hole both hit like any other hard rockers of the 80s, and the latter especially is where the repetitiveness works extremely well in the song's favor. It drives in the message and gives you something to remember it by when it's over. Something I Can Never Have is a decent enough slow-jam, that feels like a prototype for Hurt. Overall, I think NIN are a fantastic band, but this album is forgettable to me and I don't even enjoy it in short bursts to be perfectly honest.

CasanovaZelos: Nine Inch Nails' sound may have evolved from here, but there is something about the raw, dark synthesizers that really click with me, certainly more than any of NIN's albums after The Downward Spiral. Pretty Hate Machine feels like the most twisted take on synthpop and absolutely deserves to be considered a classic - perhaps not on the same level as Downward Spiral, but it stands as a distinct entity, and I would have loved to see Reznor do another album in this style.

Raetsel_Lapin: I'm having a hard time working out how I feel about this album. On the one hand, a few of the tracks--mainly Sin--go a bit too hard on the industrial sound and are rather unpleasant to listen to. The lyrics also tend to be ludicrously repetitive: Head Like A Hole manages to have a dreadful pre-chorus, chorus, and post-chorus that all repeat themselves infinitely to the point of torture and it's not even the most egregious example on the album.

On the other hand, I do find a lot of things to love here. The lyrics are exactly the type of thing I'm into these days, Trent Reznor's vocals really work for me, and I rather dig the band's sound on some of these tracks. When they dial things back a bit, it's quite fantastic and very much my type of thing.

So... it's complicated, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives enough that I'll say I liked the album. I'd be quite interested in trying more NIN music in the future; it feels like they probably have several songs I'd love, if I spent enough time going through their catalogue to find them.

Seanchan: (responding to Raetsel_Lapin) I agree with this. This seems like a band I should explore more of.

HARD disagree about Sin though, that's my #1 song with a bullet here. Love the soundscape on that song.

In terms of the vocals, usually I enjoyed them. Then there's songs like Sanctified where there's just something about how he says some words that just drove me nuts.

It continues to baffle me how much my feelings on the albums we rank changes based upon how/where I'm listening (car vs over ear cans vs bluetooth earbuds) and having to do an actual ranking. Of course it makes sense, but still...

I listened to Pretty Hate Machine in the car this afternoon and was like "yeah, this is pretty good". Then I did a relisten just now at my computer to finalize the ranking and it's like "eh, meh, whatever".

MetalmindStats: Kinda I like this album, surprisingly enough. However, while my opinions on most of the individual songs are substantially positive, the entire effort nonetheless adds up to something significantly lesser than the sum of its parts for me. I struggled to locate why exactly until I read some of the previous posts in this topic, in particular this one:
ChainLTTP posted...
"Head like a hole / black as your soul is pretty much the quintessential angsty teenage male lyric"
Extend this to the entire album and it quite largely puts my thoughts into words: this is pretty much the quintessential angsty teenage male take on synthpop. That musical tradition is one I'm quite fond of, but here it's handled in a way representative of all that I seek to distance myself from, or to put it still more dramatically, my antithesis. In sum, I suppose I enjoy Pretty Hate Machine quite a bit for what it is, just as long as I never have to listen to it again (after my third time this past week).

ChichiriMuyo: One of my all time favorite albums. There just isn't a bad track on this album at all. While some may say it's unrefined or even dated, you can hear everything that would go on the make NIN the band it became here. It's dark, moody, sometimes even filled with hollow anger, but it captures these feelings in a way that at times feels more mature than just "teen angst." I think we all grow past the sentiment expressed in "That's What I Get," but I'm not sure anyone every trully conquers that nagging feeling of "Something I Can Never Have."

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Pretty Hate Machine track ranking

10. Kinda I Want To (Track #6)
Score: 37 (Average Rank: 8.36/10)
Biggest Fan(s): MartinFF7 (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): VeryInsane, neonreaper, Johnbobb, ChichiriMuyo (#10)

9. That's What I Get (Track #8)
Score: 44 (Average Rank: 7.86/10)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Jesse_Custer, Steiner (#10)

8. The Only Time (Track #9)
Score: 59 (Average Rank: 6.93/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin, neonreaper (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555, CasanovaZelos, MartinFF7 (#10)

7. Ringfinger (Track #10)
Score: 68 (Average Rank: 6.36/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Snake5555555555, Steiner (#9)

6. Sanctified (Track #4)
Score: 80 (Average Rank: 5.57/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555 (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs, Seanchan, MartinFF7 (#9)

5. Down In It (Track #3)
Score: 98 (Average Rank: 4.93/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Raetsel_Lapin, Steiner (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#10)

4. Something I Can Never Have (Track #5)
Score: 105 (Average Rank: 4.71/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Jesse_Custer, neonreaper, MetalmindStats (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): SpikeSetsFire, Seanchan (#10)

3. Sin (Track #7)
Score: 106 (Average Rank: 4.21/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Seanchan (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin, MetalmindStats (#10)

2. Terrible Lie (Track #2)
Score: 123 (Average Rank: 3.5/10)
Biggest Fan(s): VeryInsane, MartinFF7 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#7)

1. Head Like a Hole (Track #1)
Score: 148 (Average Rank: 2.57/10)
Biggest Fan(s): Snake5555555555, CasanovaZelos, HBJDubs, SpikeSetsFire, Johnbobb, ChichiriMuyo (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Raetsel_Lapin (#7)

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My 19th favorite album of all time and probably the most obscure of my favorites. This is synthpop as it has rarely been seen before or since, though its influence feels obvious - CHVRCHES, Purity Ring, and even Grimes probably owe a lot to this Swedish duo. Karin Dreijer's vocals here are a journey through everything modern production will allow, while the synthlines are pure ecstasy. This is not an entirely pleasant journey, but that is by design - Silent Shout (and followup Shaking the Habitual even moreso) is something I would classify as horror in music form. Songs like "Na Na Na" and "Like a Pen" are about as abrasive as music comes, so you have to approach this album more as an insight into what music can be rather than simple entertainment. The lyrics are also disarming, a tour of various forms of oppression and inner turmoil.

Silent Shout (copying what I posted in my song project): House is a genre that I tend to associate with, if not warmth, at least relative frivolity. This is a genre made for clubs, places to escape from the stress of everyday life. Silent Shout feels like an intentional antithesis, featuring all the driving synthesizer you could want but cast from the darkest pits of human torment. This is not a song for raves but the horrid aftermath, like stumbling through the darkest woods from unknown assailants while coming down from a bad trip. Silent Shout is horror as music.

The percussion is demanding, forceful, its repetitive beat a haunting presence throughout the track. Karin Dreijer layers their voice atop itself, one a low register suggesting something demonic while the others retain a human quality. The lyrics are a trip themselves, a surrealist nightmare of finding oneself incapable of speaking. Through the dark sound, a sadder truth forms this is a song of the oppressed and forgotten, too unsightly to garner proper attention. More than an atmospheric piece alone, this is a house track at heart, and a glorious one at that. The synthesizer soars, finding new ways to build on top of itself. Where most other tracks I would describe as horror tend to be complex and intentionally off-putting, Silent Shout finds a perfect balance between outright creepiness and accessibility.

Neverland: Among the more approachable tracks on the album, which makes it comparatively dull to me but still carrying a forceful rhythm.

The Captain: The colossal soundscape that makes up the intro to this song is a wonderful slice of ambience, and the transition into pop rhythms is to die for. I expect some might get bored of that slow build, but this is monolithic.

We Share Our Mothers' Health: I think of this as the most 'fun' track on the album. The rhythm is killer, and the dueling vocal section at the end is sonic perfection.

Na Na Na: As I said in my full album comment, "Na Na Na" and its high-pitched vocals are truly abrasive. Yet the synthesizer that pops in about 50 second in hits like a fog machine - this entire track is coated in a murky haze, an early morning jog from someone who peers over their shoulders the entire time.

Marble House: Perhaps the only song on Silent Shout that could be called traditionally pretty, and also the only track to have vocals from someone other than Dreijer. Lyrically, the perfect centerpiece for the album, closing in on the generational cycle that passes down so many of the beliefs that cause the tension in the other tracks.

Like a Pen: This song is an absolute nightmare - The Knife legitimately captured the sensation of having a panic attack here. The lyrics are also the most visceral on the album, exploring dysmorphia by invoking anorexia. An unpleasant piece out of context, but vital to the Silent Shout experience. The rhythm, as on nearly all of these tracks, is mindblowing, and the cloying synthesizers have certainly grown on me over time.

From Off To On: The only track here I could do without - the soundscape is too simple to be engaging, and the lyrics and vocals are rather bland.

Forest Families: Continues the pulsing anxiety found in "Like a Pen," but a bit more restrained to its benefit. As we near the end of the album, we finally get a song showing the slightest shred of hope, but also trapped in a religious community where the narrator cannot express themself. But that insistent synthline is so suggestive of their escape.

One Hit: The odd one out on the album - after nine tracks of terror, The Knife take on the perspective of the oppressor himself. Pitchfork describes this as the only example of 'goblin-glam' in their review of the album, and it's hard to find a better term. This is the peak of the vocal experimentation on the album - how low can Dreijer go? The lyrics are phenomenal, with "spending time with my family like the Corleones" being truly killer.

Still Light: Not much out of context, but a poignant endpoint - how else to end this album than someone waking up from a suicide attempt? But, importantly, there is the smallest ray of hope as a doctor sits at the narrator's side and offers help.

My ranking:
1. Silent Shout (#175 all-time)
2. We Share Our Mother's Health (#679)
3. One Hit
4. Marble House
5. Forest Families
6. Like a Pen
7. The Captain
8. Na Na Na
9. Neverland
10. Still Light
11. From Off to On


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Bump

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up

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hmm

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bump

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Did a first listen to this...it's a weird one! I was enjoying it for the most part, though there are easily some songs (like Marble House) that are more accessible than others.

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This is an odd album, but not a completely niche choice. It came out of nowhere in 2006 and ended up being listed as Pitchfork's album of the year. It's one of the prime examples of the Internet's ability to spread music that would have likely gone overlooked in an earlier era.

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Bump

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Say you like it
Say you need it
When you don't

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bump

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Ill probably post mine tomorrow for this

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Hoping to listen tomorrow, been a busy week

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Only a couple more days

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1: Forest Families
2: Silent Shout
3: The Captain
4: From Off To On
5: Neverland
6: Marble House
7: Still Light
8: We Share Our Mother's Health
9: Like A Pen
10: One Hit
11: Na Na Na
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1. Like a Pen
2. Still Light
3. The Captain
4. One Hit
5. Silent Shout
6. Forest Families
7. From Off to On
8. Marble House
9. We Share Our Mothers' Health
10. Neverland
11. Na Na Na

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One more day to vote

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1. Silent Shout
2. Neverland
3. From Off to On
4. The Captain
5. One Hit
6. Forest Families
7. Like a Pen
8. Marble House
9. We Share Our Mothers' Health
10. Still Light
11. Na Na Na


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Bump

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Ended up liking this quite a bit. I went back and forth on my top 3, which is a good sign.

1. Marble House
2. Like a Pen
3. Silent Shout
4. We Share Our Mothers' Health
5. Neverland
6. Forest Families
7. One Hit
8. The Captain
9. From Off to On
10. Na Na Na
11. Still Light

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We Share Our Mothers Health
Like a Pen
Silent Shout
Marble House
Neverland
Forest Families
One Hit
The Captain
Still Light
From Off To On
Na Na Na

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1. The Captain
2. Marble House
3. Forest Families
4. From Off To On
5. Silent Shout
6. Neverland
7. Like A Pen
8. We Share Our Mothers Health
9. Still Light
10. One Hit
11. Na Na Na

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Final bump

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1. The Captain
2. Na Na Na
3. Forest Families
4. One Hit
5. Still Light
6. Like a Pen
7. Silent Shout
8. Marble House
9. We Share Our Mothers' Health
10. Neverland
11. From Off to On

Silent Shout was far from a lock for me to enjoy or even appreciate, and ultimately, I don't think enjoyment is a term that fits it very well anyways. That being said, for as singular as the album is, I really do appreciate it - in an unambiguously positive sense, not just because I'm glad it broadened my musical horizons.

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