Fluxblog Weekly #230: NIN, Sabrina Claudio, Brittany Howard, Sault
September 24th, 2019
This Machine Is Obsolete
Nine Inch Nails “Somewhat Damaged”
The first part of “Somewhat Damaged” sounds like sharp wires and tightening screws, the second part sounds like being smashed by a dozen giant hammers. Nine Inch Nails have always been labelled as “industrial” but this song actually sounds like you’re being fed through a Pretty Hate Machine in Trent Reznor’s rage factory. The tension builds and the rhythm tightens as the song moves along, and Reznor’s voice responds by getting louder and angrier. When he finally starts screaming a chorus – “TOO FUCKED UP TO CARE ANYMORE!” – the music thwarts the catharsis by getting even more tight and oppressive. That key lyric calls back to a running theme from Reznor’s The Downward Spiral era – “nothing can stop me now because I don’t care anymore” – but this music, the first song on the follow-up record The Fragile, makes something very clear: No, you’re definitely stopped. You’re crushed. You can’t win and nothing will save you. Maybe you ought to actually care now.
The final third of the song shifts gears. The tension subsides a bit, and the perspective pulls back. Reznor sings in a softer and more vulnerable tone over clashing rhythms, and his lyrics move from self-castigation to recriminations aimed at some other person who has betrayed him. This is the part of the song that’s always gotten deep under my skin, when he sings about feeling totally abandoned at his lowest point. He seethes over the broken promise of support, and while you get the sense that maybe he’s done his part to burn this bridge, his anger over being lonely and lost in this dark moment is overwhelming. The real catharsis of the song comes at the end when he unleashes his full fury: “THEN MY HEAD FELL APART AND WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU??” It’s an impotent rage – unheard by who he’s addressing, and damaging to himself. But it’s a brutally honest response to getting stuck in this trap of his own making.
Buy it from Amazon.
September 23rd, 2019
You Took The Concept Of Time
Sabrina Claudio “As Long As You’re Asleep”
“As Long As You’re Asleep” is a sensual R&B ballad that’s almost entirely about insecurity and jealousy. Sabrina Claudio sings from the perspective of a woman who is so hopelessly in love that she feels removed from time and space, just moving through life in a daze any time she’s not hooking up with this magic lover. She sounds woozy but dazzled, and right on the edge of acknowledging that she feels awful. The chorus is what really stings, where she’s imagining them in bed with someone else and just hoping they’re asleep rather than having sex. You know a situation is sad when the best case scenario for the paranoid fantasy in the song is that she’s the other woman for a married or coupled person, and not just another girl on the side. But you know, if they’re asleep they’re not doing anything or thinking of someone else. What a depressing thing to cling to, but I totally get this feeling she’s putting out there.
Buy it from Amazon.
September 24th, 2019
You Never Did Fail To Deceive
Brittany Howard “Baby”
The arrangement of “Baby” is lovely but halting and tentative, just like the person Brittany Howard is singing about. They’re hot enough to draw you in but unwilling to give much or even show up, and expect that hotness to make you forgive every other shortcoming. Howard sings her lyrics with a resigned exasperation, like she’s rolling her eyes every time she sings the word “baby.” The feeling of the song is like that expression “I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed” set to an R&B slow jam. It’s serious enough to convey some heartbreak, but it’s mostly playful in tone, particularly in the final third when the tempo starts to slow like a pendulum gently swaying its way back to stillness. It ends without drama. It’s just time running out.
Buy it from Amazon.
September 26th, 2019
Time Don’t Make It Better
Sault “Masterpiece”
“Masterpiece” is built around around a bass melody that’s warm and comforting in tone, but conveys a low-key melancholy feeling. The vibe isn’t sad so much as doubtful, as the singer lays out a romantic scenario in which she’s fully invested in someone who keeps her waiting and unfulfilled. The vocals are soulful and bittersweet, full of love but also the gradual realization that this is just not going to work. She’s not ready to give up or give in, but she knows it’s almost time to cut and run. Until then she’s still trying to will a fantasy into existing, and her imaginary life is too enticing to ignore.
Buy it from Bandcamp.