you know i love it when you talk dirty to me
I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you a lil on "With Teeth". I just don't think it's anywhere near up to snuff as compared to Reznor's other work. The last 3 songs ("The Line Begins to Blur", "Beside You in Time", and "Right Where It Belongs") are fairly good and the first single "The Hand that Feeds" is a well-produced lil single. But overall the album just isn't up to snuff in my opinion (I've been a fan o' Trent's since the "Broken" EP in 92, just for some background as to my familiarity with Reznor's work).
Personally, I still think "The Fragile" is his best album (and coincindentally my favorite album of all time). Although I know a lot of people (including many rock critics) thought it overindulgent while still somehow managing to be sparse. But hey -- that's what makes this world great: we can all quibble about lil rock albums.
Another funny bit about NIN is that Trent based a lot of "The Fragile" on Pink Floyd's "The Wall" (mainly in how it was produced and arranged, and the scope of both projects); what makes it funny is that "With Teeth" is a lot like Floyd's "The Final Cut" -- naturally minus the awkward antijapanese racism and overarching concept album feel. But it's still this well produced album that kinda pales in comparison to previous work and will be overshadowed by better albums (paradoxically, I love "The Final Cut". go figger).
Now onto the REAL subject of your post -- isn't it funny how imaginary worlds can dominate your thoughts and sometimes your life?
Often times I find myself spacing out, but in reality i'm putting together another sequence.
One of my favorite bits about writing is from Sherman Alexie, a great writer who penned "The Lone Ranger & Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" and "Reservation Blues", who talks about how he doesn't trust any writers who don't see problems in any of their works. He says you should be constantly striving for that one great story perfectly crafted, and it's a near impossibility. I just like that sense of futile striving; it's like Camus's Sisyphus who just enjoys pushing his own rock up the hill.
Ah, the fictional life!
I've heard the same things about NIN albums, but since I came to Trent's work late in life, this seems pretty damn good. The last track speaks to me in particular - the music and the lyrics. (Damn if it didn't just come on right now.) I'd suspect it might have to do with age- I'm closer to Trent's age right now and you're closer to his age when he wrote The Fragile. (keeping in mind that I have no idea how old the guy is - I'm sure you'll tell me :P) I have The Fragile on my list; just haven't found it in any of the usual places, and I'm not a big amazon fan. I'm all about the immediate gratification.
As for the writing, it's pushing the rock to be sure. And as much as I enjoy reading my own stuff, my fingers are constantly on the keyboard and my lips are constantly cursing my own idiocy and futility. But you MUST reach a point of satisfaction and release, Manic, or no one will ever read you.
To tie the two together, I believe people have one great work in them; two if they're lucky (and it's all subjective, of course). Perhaps Trent's is The Fragile, perhaps Billie Joe's is American Idiot (the album, not the dumb song) and perhaps mine is my second novel. I can't imagine achieving what I did in that novel again--I suspect at least that there won't be one so close to my heart. Will it keep me from striving to do better? No. I have my own opinions, but I'm always interested in what an artist likes the best in his own work. Then you truly know what they are trying to achieve...
I wonder what Trent would say.
I'm broken again i will be with you shortly, sexy.
i have twins in my building, pool opens saturday, computer chair is next to the window that faces the pool, bought a new digital camera...life will be good (and when it warms up i'll get my ass down there).
as for your writing, you not only need re read your work, but deserve it. your pride shows in this post and imagine public response if you have that reaction from your neighbor. even one person responding like that to something you created must feel awesome.
and you're so passionate about it!
I know it doesn't sell books, but yeah, there's a lot of satisfaction from having one person tell you it's good. It validates what I think.
Keeping in mind I'm no Steinbeck or Tosches. I'm just tryin' to be a story teller.
Greg- I'll be waiting here...
Sex I must pick up this Stephen King's On Writing. I've been trying to improve my writing lately, I think first I should work on grammar, but as far as maintaining any sort of objectivity I couldn't agree more with Stevey on the whole write and never look back thing. Usually I try to live by that but its just so haaard, especially when I want to impress.
I remember on my 15 page Free Will vs. Determinism essay I thought too hard about it and kept double-checking things over and over instead of hammering it out. I spend 2 weeks playing doctor to each individual paragraph, when it was due i only had 6 pages done. I got a C instead of an A in that class =/
Why couldn't you have posted this back then sex??? I could have used the reminder.
"Don't stray."
It's still on a sticky note on my screen.
And he doesn't say never look back. He says, don't look back for awhile. You have to put the objectivity of time to use, babe.
I once asked a co-worker if he had ever had a threesome and, of course, the Russian stunner said, "Da". Some chick had agreed to have sex with him and his brother. Said it was weird looking up and his brother's balls were in his face. So, why not just get a mirror and place it (strategically) over the bed?
I love reading. The plots and twists and the upward or downward spirals of events that lead to the moment of....intertwining everything together.
So I am going to have you sign a book when I see you!
intertwine...
I need a cigarette.
"This is a bitch to do, because ..."
... I can't go a page without fixing shit that went wrong and has piled up in my brain and clogged up the wheels. Writing is like driving a car full tilt down a muddy road, before long there's so much crap stuffed up in the fenders it just won't go no more. So then I clean the shit out and now the car's pointed in a slightly different direction and I think it's better but I don't really know because the original vision didn't have it that way, and if it weren't for the original vision I wouldn't have started in the first place so it must have something going for it, right? But on we go anyway and next thing, I take a break or go to sleep or work or something and suddenly have an insight that will fix everything but I have to start over to do it, and here we go careening down a muddy road again. A different one, but just as muddy.
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