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Even Deeper #24: Lights in the Sky Tour Sampler EPJul 17 '08 (Updated Sep 07 '09) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Lights in the Sky: Over North America Tour Sampler EP is a Great EP to Expose the Opening Acts for the Upcoming NIN North American Tour.
Even Deeper #24: Lights in the Sky: Over North America 2008 Tour Sampler EP With Nine Inch Nails set to start their first North American tour in two years on June 25, 2008, three days after The Slip will be officially released via retail in a physical version in North America. Joining them on tour will be five acts, the electronic duo Crystal Castles, the noise-pop trio A Place to Bury Strangers, the British indie-pop band Does It Offend You, Yeah?, the Atlanta-based shoegaze quintet Deerhunter, and for one date, the electronic-indie artist White Williams. The five opening acts were personally selected by NIN leader Trent Reznor as he decides to bring a diverse acts of lesser-known bands from independent labels and such who have been garnering critical acclaim. To let fans have some exposure to four of the five opening acts, Trent Reznor decided to release a five-track sampler EP entitled Lights in the Sky: Over North America 2008 Tour Sampler EP exposing four different bands plus a song from NIN from The Slip. The EP is part of an alternate NIN discography that are known as "seed" which sort of acts like the band's official "halo" discography but is more geared as promo releases given away for free. The "seed" collection includes the bootleg version of the Closure DVD as it was leaked through torrents while the first official version is the Collected promo DVD aka seed 01 given away during the band's 2005 With Teeth listening parties. A bootleg compilation of previously-released NIN material prior to the release of Year Zero was also given away via torrents and file-sharing programs known as The Definitive NIN. Released in three different sections, it's an unofficial yet approved compilation compiled and presented by Reznor. The first is The Singles aka seed 02 which is a compilation of the band's 20 singles from Pretty Hate Machine to With Teeth. The second is Deep Cuts aka seed 03 featuring 19 of the band's best album cuts from that period of '89-'05. The third and final part of the compilation is Quiet Tracks aka seed 04 which is a collection of 19 NIN songs and instrumentals displaying the band’s quieter, ballad-driven cuts. Released on June 5, 2008, Lights in the Sky aka seed 05 is a five-track EP released through the official NIN site for free. The EP serves as an introduction for fans to be exposed of the opening bands they might be seeing for the North American tour. Released in high-quality VBR MP3 files along with accompanied art work, web graphics, wallpaper, and a printable tour poster. The EP at a total file of nearly 40 MB is definitely a must-have for hardcore NIN fans while giving the lesser-known bands exposure that is needed aside from the critics that have been praising them. The first track is from the Brooklyn-based noise-pop trio A Place to Bury Strangers. From their 2007 self-titled release, To Fix The Gash In Your Head is a frenetic, noisy track with blazing guitars laden with feedback along with pulsating drum tracks. The track can be described as the Jesus & Mary Chain meet today's modern electronic music as vocalist/guitarist Oliver Ackermann singing in a cool, dark style reminiscent of Jim Reid's vocals. It's a great track that really gives an idea who this band is. The next band is the British electro-rock quartet Does It Offend You, Yeah? The most mainstream group on the compilation, their song We Are Rockstars from their 2008 debut You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into is a funky, hypnotic number with squealing synthesizers, funk rhythms, and distorted vocals through a vocoder. With an array of percussions to the track, it's a dance-inspired track that is reminiscent in the style of the late 80s, early 90s Madchester group the Happy Mondays. The Toronto-electronic duo Crystal Castles contribute the song Crimewave which is a collaborative track they created with the L.A.-based noise-rock group HEALTH. From their self-titled 2008 release, the song is a hypnotic yet rhythmic track feature thumping, mid-tempo beats, an array of melodic synthesizers by multi-instrumentalist Ethan Kath as vocalist Alice Fawn sings through a cool yet distorted vocal. The track also includes a break of drums for the song's coda. The fourth track comes from the Atlanta-based shoegaze quintet Deerhunter. From their Fluorescent Grey EP, Like New is a dreamy, hypnotic track led by Bradford Cox's vocals and guitarist Locket Pundt's layered guitar work as it's truly the most experimental and eerie of the tracks of the compilation. The fifth and final track is from NIN which is Echoplex from their 2008 album The Slip. The smooth, mid-tempo number featuring sputtering drum machine tracks by Josh Freese and Trent Reznor's claustrophobic lyrics and eerie vocals. The song also includes a wonderful chorus with drone yet driving guitars by Robin Finck and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini who also provides some wind-like synthesizer tracks that are a trademark of a lot of NIN's songs. The EP is released through the official NIN site in this web link: http://dl.nin.com/lightsinthesky/signup All there is needed to do is sign up with your email address and open the email and just get a link to receive the EP. Overall, it's an excellent sampler for fans of NIN to explore material by the bands they will be seeing before NIN hits the stage. Also, it gives the fans the chance to sample a song by these bands and then, go further to explore the records these opening acts have. That way, they can know what songs they're playing and what to expect from them musically. In the end, the Lights in the Sky: Over North America 2008 Tour Sampler EP is a great EP from Trent Reznor and company that expose new bands most music fans wouldn't get the chance to check out. Related Reviews: Deerhunter-Cryptograms - Deerhunter-Fluorescent Grey EP - Deerhunter-Microcastle - (Deerhunter-Weird Era Cont.) - Deerhunter-Rainwater Cassette Exchange EP - A Place to Bury Strangers-S/T - Crystal Castle-S/T NIN Reviews: Pretty Hate Machine/Broken Era (1989-1992): halo 1 - halo 2 - halo 3 - halo 4 - halo 5 - halo 6 The Downward Spiral Era (1994-1997): halo 7 - halo 8 - halo 8 DE - halo 9 - halo 10 - halo 11 - halo 12 The Fragile Era (1999-2002): halo 13 - halo 14 - halo 15.1 - halo 15.2 - halo 15.3 - halo 16 - halo 17 DE - halo 17 DVD With Teeth/Year Zero Era: halo 18 - halo 19 - halo 20 - halo 21 - halo 22 - halo 23 - halo 24 - halo 25 Ghosts I-IV/The Slip Era (2008): halo 26 - halo 27 Soundtracks/Miscellaneous: The Crow - Natural Born Killers - Lost Highway - Nine Inch Nails: Self-Destruct - Tomb Raider - The Limitless Potential - Strobe Light - Metal Machine Music: Nine Inch Nails & the Industrial Uprise - Definitive NIN-Heavy Tracks Promos: seed 1 - seed 2 - seed 3 - seed 4 - seed 6 Live Shows: NIN/Bauhaus/TV on the Radio-6/7/06 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater - NIN/Deerhunter-8/13/08 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Arena - NIN/Jane's Addiction/Street Sweeper Social Club-5/10/09 Atlanta, GA Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheater Bootlegs: (Purest Feeling) - When the Whip Comes Down - (Live Hate w/ David Bowie) - (Quake OST) - (CRC Sessions) - Where Darkness Doubles, Where Light Pours In - (Bridge School Concerts) NIN20: (Pt. 1) - (Pt. 2) - (Pt. 3) - (Pt. 4) - (Pt. 5)  |
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