More than just mindless drum banging
I love my Dad, but every now and then, I visit his house, accidentally leave one of my CDs in his car, and get a comment about how the drummer does little more than simply bang the drums. How could I explain to him, then, why I really enjoy a song like “1,000,000” by Nine Inch Nails?
The song starts off with such a raw, dirty, savage drum beat – evoking the unmitigated energy of punk rock – but works its way into an increasingly chaotic sonic crescendo by the end of the first verse. It does a great job creating an image in my mind – and image is how I intend to explain this track.
Music is like photography
When I was younger, I learned a little about sound engineering. At the dawn of the digital era, sound engineering becomes frighteningly similar to photography: the digital versions of each practice share near-identical strengths and weaknesses. It makes sense to me to explain the sonic layering of “1,000,000” as I might explain a photograph, or a scene in motion photography.
The song starts with a minimalist drum beat. Layered on top of this is a minimalist guitar riff. The guitar itself is restrained – not only are notes short and punchy, leaving a beat of silence between each blast of sound, but there is a noteworthy lack of bass. At this point, the sound is like a sharp photograph, lacking depth of field – the background and foreground are in focus, and the contrast is high enough that shadows and highlights rest heavy on the image.
After a few lines of lyrics with this minimalist combo, a glitch-rich synth is layered on top of a guitar that now at least sustains its notes until the next note is played, shortly before the song hits its first crescendo: The bass player is finally invited to play – his instrument just as distorted as the guitar – and the synthesizer abandons tonality to simply generate an angry-sounding noise.
As layer after layer combines to create a sonic explosion, it creates an emotional response very raw, very visceral – like the imagery a photographer might capture by deliberately over-exposing a photograph.
That cliché about the eye of the beholder still rings true
I’m sure a lot of people hate over-exposed photographs. If the image is over-exposed, how can you see the subject of the photo? And if you can’t see the subject of the photo, what’s the point? However, impressionism as a concept applies to more than just paint, or photos. It’s about capturing a feeling that can’t be expressed in concrete terms or realistic images.
Ultimately, that concept is why “1,000,000” speaks to me. It captures a feeling in a way that no other work in any other medium can – which is why we celebrate music.