The Best Song From All Three of the MIA Albums

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M.I.A. has many interesting songs and is an amazing electronica artist. What is also interesting is that she went all the way from a little war-torn island, Sri Lanka, to a leading top-ten artist in the USA and in Europe.

And while there are many videos she has with great production and interesting sounds and all, and also great songs from all of the M.I.A. albums combined, there is one in particular which reaches out to her own people, goes back to the homeland, and shows the true spirit of what she is about. This song is “Bird Flu”.

On multiple levels, she went back to the roots on this one. First, she went to India to a place near where Sri Lankan Tamil refugees live to shoot this, as Sri Lanka was pretty dangerous at the time with the war going on. Next, she borrowed elements from a famous Tamil song, “Thirvizha Na Vantha”, from the movie Jayam. She went to the Chennai temples and found musicians to record in an Urumi Melam ensemble, which itself is quite a statement, since this the urumi drums is typically only played by the Dalits (better known as the “Untouchables”). What is amazing about this is that she is a famous recording star respected in the west, and from all the elements she could have used in her music from India and Sri Lanka, she chose to use ritual music of the Dalits. This was quite the political statement that she is WITH her peoples without looking at caste, and fittingly so.

The Urumi Melam ensemble consists of the nagaswaram (the loudest acoustic instrument in the world which is not brass, considered to be very auspicious, and used in ceremonies in South Indian Hindus), the pampai (a pair of double headed drums), one to three urumi drums, and a melodic instrument. What is ironic here is that the Urumi Melam ensemble generally plays funerals and other inauspicious events, while the nagaswaram is considered to be a very auspicious instrument. The juxtaposition! I’m sure M.I.A. did this on purpose.

She also used the Gaana format in her songwriting. Gaana are fast Tamil songs sung at celebrations. Again this was most fitting because the video definitely displays these people all celebrating in song and dance. What is also interesting is that this is definitely a nod to her native Sri Lanka, as both Gaana and the popular Baila music of Sri Lanka are both in 6/8 meter.

The Strategic Plan For Your Brand

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Solopreneurs and small business owners rise and fall on the marketplace perception of their brand, also known as one’s professional reputation. For that reason, the brand merits ongoing monitoring, enhancement and promotion as a component of strategies designed to support new business acquisition and encourage repeat business. The objective is to build and maintain a good client list. A useful way to review and evaluate your brand is with what many experts consider the gold standard of strategic planning, the SWOT Analysis.

SWOT is the acronym of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Every 18 – 24 months, self-employed professionals will benefit from examining the viability of their brand, to better understand what actions enhance the brand and what might weaken it. Conduct a SWOT Analysis and use what you discover as the foundation of a strategic plan for your brand.

Strengths: expertise, competitive advantages, A-list clients, referral sources, strategic partnerships, educational or professional credentials, financial resources, influential relationships. They are internally generated and within your control. Potential actions include:

  • Leveraging resources to upgrade the types of clients you work with
  • Increasing sales or billable hours by a certain percentage
  • Developing a strategy to obtain more repeat business
  • Developing a strategy that would persuade clients to hire you for more lucrative projects

Weaknesses: whatever challenges your brand. Competitors, ineffective marketing, poor customer service, weak perceived value of your products and services. These are internal and within your control. Potential actions include:

  • Determining which inadequacies have the most negative impact on revenues
  • Identifying gaps that can be quickly or inexpensively remedied
  • Understanding how to minimize liabilities—which business practices can you modify, professional credentials you can earn, relationships you can cultivate?

Opportunities: conditions that favor the attainment of goals. These are external and beyond your control, yet you may be able to retool and benefit from their presence. Good information about business conditions in your marketplace helps business owners to evaluate and envision the potential of short-term and long-term benefits and learn how to get the pay-off. Consider the following:

  • What new developments can you leverage to bring money and prestige to your venture?
  • Do you see ROI in offering new products or services?
  • Are there good clients you might successfully sign or lapsed clients who, with outreach, could be willing to reactivate?
  • Is there a niche market you can successfully enter?

Threats: conditions likely to damage your brand, or your ability to acquire clients and generate sufficient billable hours. These are external and beyond your control, yet you may be able to retool and escape or minimize the damage caused by their presence. This element requires your immediate attention, since it carries the potential to end, or seriously cripple, your brand and business.

Has an important contact left his/her organization, leaving you at the mercy of the new decision-maker, who has his/her own friends to hire? Or has there been a merger that resulted in the downgrading of the influence of your chief contact, who may lose the ability to green-light projects that you manage?

Has a well-connected and aggressive competitor appeared on the scene, ready to eat your market share and client list by way of a better known brand, more influential relationships, a bigger marketing budget, or other game-changing competitive advantages?

If your client contact has moved on, take that person to lunch or coffee and attempt to make the professional relationship portable. If your contact has lost influence in the new organization chart, take him/her out to coffee and get information about the replacement, who may hire you for the next project if it’s scheduled to start quickly.

If competition has intensified, do everything possible to offer superior customer service, assert your expertise, step up your networking, enhance your thought-leader credentials and nurture your client relationships.

Implementing a strategy of protective action, for example, a brand relaunch or a pivot into more hospitable business turf, might be necessary. Stay abreast of current and potential developments in the industries you serve. Communicate with clients and stay current as to the state of their priorities and concerns. Good relationships will give you the resources of time and information that will allow you to evaluate and regroup.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Weekly Review: Sword Art Online

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Sword Art Online

Sword Art Online is one of those animes that after you watch it, you just can’t help yourself but to watch it again. The first half of the first season was probably the best string of episodes I have ever watched in an anime series. The way the show captured my attention and sent me into the world of Aincrad with the characters was truly astounding. The series was packed with action scenes, hilarious comic reliefs, and just enough romance to melt your heart.

Plot / Story

In this anime we are thrown into the world of the near future in Japan. A brand new VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) has just been released to market; however, there are only 10,000 copies being released! Our main character, Kazuto, is one of those lucky few. In fact, he is even more special. Kazuto was a part of the small group of BETA testers that actually tested the game out before it was released, so by the start of the anime, our beloved character is already addicted to this new world.

Shortly after the launch of the game, something is terribly wrong. The logout button is missing from the menu. After a forced teleport and an announcement by the game master, it is clear that this is a “feature” of Sword Art Online and “not a bug.” The players are trapped within the game, any attempt to free them from the world from the outside will result in death. The only way to get out of the game is to clear it, or die trying.

Our number one man realizes that he has to become as powerful as possible, and sets out to accomplish just that. For most of the first half of the season, he is an extreme loner. Especially after a conflict with other players after the defeat of the first boss, which lead other players to believe he is a cheat, or as he is referred to in the game, he is a “beater.”

Our hero goes on to make a name for himself. He is commonly referred to as a beater, but also as the “Black Swordsman” who solos the front lines, which in this anime, is unheard of. Along the journey Kirito, as he is called in the game, meets friends and eventually breaks out of his loner streak. Though it is well established that he almost always prefers to go it alone, even later in the series. He goes on to make many friendships, most notably with Klein, the comic relief character, and Asuna, his love interest.

Sequels / Arcs

After the first season of SAO, they came out with SAO II, also known as Gun Gale Online, and a few short arcs. There are also some extra short movies here and there, but nothing really too spectacular. The second season of SAO really dropped out for me; the story just didn’t have that much weight to it. The plot is Kirito is sent into another game (GGO) in order to investigate mysterious deaths that appear to be happening around a character called “Death Gun.” This season introduces another supporting character, that was well liked, but was met with a lot of heat due to the fact that she often flirted with our boy. Fans of the Asuna x Kirito pair, we not amused. Especially whenever Asuna is introduced as Kirito’s “friend.”

Aside from that, the arcs that take place after SAO II are a little dry. The only one worth mentioning is Mother’s Rosario, the latest release. This short arc restores your faith in the series even though our main character, Kirito, only makes subtle appearances. This arc focues on the development of Asuna, and her journey to join a small guild that wants to take on a boss alone. The emotional rollercoaster you go on with this arc is intense, just to warn you.

Overall

In conclusion, this is a fantastic anime series. You should definitely give this one a go, especially since it is available in both dub and sub. The series did a great job picking out English voice actors; Kirito is a little hard to adjust to, but you get used to him. I feel like this anime has a perfect combination of action, adventure, romance, friendship, and comedy. I would prefer to have a little more romance action between Kirito and Asuna, but the emotional “I love you” Asuna whispers as Kirito holds off a massive guild will just have to do.

Design & Art History – The Psychedelic Movement (CA 1960 – 1970)

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In the late sixties something happened to an american generation that would mark them forever. It is a story of war, the struggle for racial equality and the explosion of counter culture, it was a time when a generation rebelled, and lost its innocence in the fight against injustice. Vietnam was the first ever televised war, and the images were inescapable.

A decade that ended with disillusionment and rage began on a moral high note. Thanks to Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King jr, it seemed the time for racial equality in the US had finally arrived.

There is so much to write about in this era, that it is very difficult to select just one thing to focus on. Even though there is an absurd amount of art and design that stems from this time period. When we talk about the “sixties” all we seem to recognise is the music, psychedelic rock and artists like Janis Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix in particular.

Album art and festival posters however is a good place to start. As music was a force to be reckoned with, so came the album art work and poster designs, hand in hand. One thing that seems to be re-occurring with most of the visual artists at the time is a relation with “Underground Comix”. These were small press or self published comic books, usually socially relevant and satirical in their nature. These depicted content deemed unfit and forbidden to the more strict mainstream media.

Rick Griffin:

When we look up band posters it is hard to avoid finding a Grateful Dead poster somewhere, anywhere. The artist behind these were Rick Griffin. He was an American artist and one of the leading designers of psychedelic posters in the 1960s. His work within the surfing subculture included both film posters and his comic strip, Murphy.

Victor Moscoso:

A Spanish-American artist, Moscoso was the first of the rock poster artists of the 1960s era with formal academic training and experience. After studying art at the Cooper Union in New York and later attending Yale University, he moved to San Francisco in 1959 to study at the San Francisco Art Institute. Here he later became an instructor. He was one of the first of the rock poster artists to use photographic collages in his art work.His art and poster work has continued up to the present and he is a big inspiration to rock poster and album illustrators to this day.

Bonnie MacLean:

Another American artist making a name for her self at the time was Bonnie MacLean. She was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the Penn State University in 1960. She then moved to New York where she worked at the Pratt Institute while attending drawing classes in the evenings. She later moved to San Francisco where she met and worked with a man named Bill Graham, who became famous as the promoter of rock concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium. There she worked alongside another artist by the name of Wes Wilson.

Wes Wilson:

The aforementioned artist Wes Wilson was also one of the leading illustrators of psychedelic posters in the 1960`s. Working with Bill Graham and Bonnie MacLean, he was a big part of promoting venues at the time with posters and illustrative work for musicians and bands. The font and lettering of the posters from this era were created by him. He popularised this “psychedelic” font around 1966 that made the letters look like they were moving or melting. This lettering is still used on newer albums and art works for artists like Foo Fighters, Kyuss Lives and The Queens of the Stone Age. This in turn proves that the psychedelic movement is still influencing artists, especially in the world of metal, desert rock and stoner rock. The style is very much still alive as its own staple.

Modern poster styles:

Posters still influenced by the styles of art work can be traced through homages and inspirations in rock and metal posters from the present all the way back to this era. Several modern posters can be viewed on the web pages of Malleus Rock Art Lab if you should be interested. I personally find a lot of inspiration through their imagery.

Thank you for reading.

Shorten Your Risk Exposure Time With Market Timing

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One of the most difficult tasks that traders have is determining the right amount of risk exposure when entering a trade. Since every trade should be accompanied by a protective stop-loss order, the question always comes down to “how much room should I allow the market to move against me before getting stopped out?”

Some traders rely on previous support and resistance levels as a place to put their stops. However, often these areas are gunned for because floor traders know that there are plenty of orders waiting there for the taking.

Some traders will draw lines below or above sloping trends and use that as a stop-loss reference, often expecting the market to continue with that pattern. But then, how many times do we see that pattern get violated right when we discover it is there?

Others will use some percentage value, either based on some fixed profit expectation or a percentage of available funds, to determine their initial stop-loss.

There are many different approaches to picking a stop-loss. My personal preference and what I believe to be the best approach most times is to use the expected and confirmed swing price.

What do I mean by ‘expected and confirmed’ swing price?

As of 2019, it has been 30 years that I have focused on the science and mathematics of market behavior. More specifically, forecasting market swings (aka turns) in advance. This approach requires a firm understanding of several methods of forecasting, including the popular and well-exposed techniques involving Fibonacci and Gann ratios, to name just two. There are so many more!

By learning and applying various market timing techniques that are designed to expose the underlying cyclic behavior of the markets, the trader can then use this information to ‘shorten the risk exposure’ of any given trade.

Here is how this works.

Suppose by way of using some proven method of determining high-probability market turns you arrive at the expectation that a swing bottom is highly likely to occur in the next day or two (at the very latest). Your method is usually 80% or better in accuracy, so you do not have to concern yourself with whether it will be on time (say tomorrow), or one day late (the following day).

The reason for this is that, since you already know with a high degree of certainty of the probability for the swing bottom, you simply place your ‘buy stop’ order for entry to go long just above the high price of the day you expect the swing to occur. If the order is triggered, you immediately place your stop-loss just below the low of that same bar because it just ‘confirmed’ as a swing bottom. Your initial risk exposure is the range of that swing bottom price bar. The probability that it will hold and not get you knocked out with a loss is very low because you knew with high-probability that the swing bottom was going to occur on that day to begin with.

Now suppose that the swing bottom is going to be one bar late as earlier stated as possible. In that case, your buy-stop was not triggered and you can do the same routine the next day for the one-day late bar. Same rules apply.

The real trick, once you are in your trade, will be on managing the trade and adjusting your stop-loss as your position moves deeper and deeper into profit territory. That is a whole different subject for a whole different article. But for the subject at hand, finding the right time and price to put on your initial stop-loss order where it is not too small or too large is not only also important, but it can save you a lot of money, keep you in more trades, and keep you out of trades you later are glad about.

So in order to have these advantages, to begin with, learn how to forecast market turns or find a reliable source for this information.

Difference Between Black Powder and Smokeless Powder

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There are some differences between black powder and smokeless powder that will be describe shortly in this article.

Black powder (the “original propellant”) is very pressure sensitive, produces a lot of smoke when ignited, and is not very efficient (meaning it takes a lot more to produce the gas to propel a slug). It is the old charcoal, sulfur, saltpeter mix that the Chinese invented a thousand years ago. It’s common “gunpowder”. It burns badly and creates huge amounts of smoke. When it burned, only produces propellant gases with approximately 35% of it’s mass. 65% of the mass of this powder, when burned, becomes useless solid byproducts in the gun barrel and in the air. If that’s not “burns badly” in your opinion, perhaps you need to go back to the third grade again, bud? Your comprehensive skills are obviously lacking.

Smokeless powder is composed of two basic materials. One is nitrocellulose and the other is nitroglycerine. Some smokeless powders are made of only one of these materials and is called a single base powder. Others are composed of a mixture of both components and are called double based powders. The reason for using mixtures of the two components is to control their burning rates. Faster burning powders are used for shotguns and handguns. The slower burning powders are used for rifle powders.

Smokeless powders are all progressive burning powders. That means that as the pressure within the cartridge increases, so does the burning rate. It produces a more gentle acceleration than does black powder and achieved much greater final pressures and higher total velocities. Black powder burns at the same rate regardless of the increasing pressure. The maximum pressure is reached more quickly but is significantly less than smokeless powder. These lower total pressures of black powder are the reason that we cannot use smokeless powder in a gun designed for black powder. We will blow it up and ourself along with it.

For more information about smokeless powder, please visit Smokeless Powder website.

Play Piano by Ear – Anyone Can Play Piano by Ear If You Know This Secret

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First off piano by ear is mostly based off your understanding of chords, and progressions. The ability to play piano chords, and know them by heart is a must have to pick out songs without sheet music. And anyone can get a chord chart, or better yet know the pattern to form chords and memorize them.

Piano by ear is pretty much, you hear a song and by just hearing it you can go to a piano and repeat what you hear. So what is the real secret to doing this. Most people say it’s a special talent or a gift that you either have or you don’t. But I say anyone can learn to play piano by ear if they just understand the concept of music theory.

First off you have a scale, and you should know how to make up a scale. But the first thing to do is instead of thinking in terms of letters you need to think of them as numbers. So in a C scale C would be 1 D would be 2 E would be 3 and so on until you get to 7 which is B. The reason for this is so when you change keys they numbers are the same and if you are using letters when you change keys the letters change.

So when I tell you that the 2 chord in a scale is a minor chord that applies to every key, I can’t say the D is a minor chord because when you change keys the D will change.

The formula for which chord is off of what number is this the 1 chord is going to be major, 2 minor, 3 minor, 4 major, 5 major, 6 minor, and 7 is diminished. So from there you learn the major and minor chords off of those numbers of the scale. But the real mistake everyone makes when trying to play by ear is this.

They try to pick out the melody, that will not make a song sound like the real song you are hearing. The true secret behind playing the piano by ear is, after you know the scales as numbers, and know what kind of chord you will form off each number, major or minor. You listen to a song and don’t even really pay attention to the melody at first, listen for the bass note. You can write the song lyrics down and listen real close for the bass note and as you hear it change you can write the note number over the lyrics.

After you have the number over the lyrics on paper, you can then go to your piano and play the number based on a minor or major then put the melody note on top. And you will find that what you are playing sounds and feels just like the song you were hearing.

Korat Shopping

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If you are planning a trip to Nakhon Ratchasima then it is worth noting that there are a number of good places where you can do some excellent shopping. Korat is not as large as Bangkok however it has an excellent mall and various areas with a high concentration of shops and stores.

The Mall

This is a large US style mall and is located in the center of town. There are more than a hundred different stores there as well as dozens of food and beverage outlets. The most famous ones include KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Sizzlers Steak House and Dunkin Donuts. The Mall is also home to a number of wonderful entertainment venues including a large and modern multi screen movie theatre, arcade area and a world class gym. Visitors will also find a wide range of banking facilities in the building.

Tesco Lotus

This massive British retail giant has locations in all major Thai cities and tourist destinations and one is also located close to the city center of Korat. There are also numerous smaller shops located in the complex as well as a number of different small restaurants and banks. Please note that there is both outdoor and indoor parking for both cars and motorbikes.

Big C

The most popular shopping venue is most certainly the Big C due to its overwhelming selection of products and its competitive pricing policy. Other than Big C you will also find a few dozen smaller stores as well as a KFC and an excellent food court. I would suggest for you to avoid visiting the local Big C during the weekend as it does get extremely busy and it could be hard finding a parking place and there will be big lines at the cashiers.

Klang Plaza 1 & 2

There are two different Klang Plaza’s which are generally known as the old and new Klang Plaza’s. They both however seem to offer the same type of products, brand names and both have a western style supermarket in the basement. The type of clothing that they offer tends to be well known western brand names and high quality local items.

IT Center

Thailand is well known for its low prices and outstanding assortment of IT products. If you would like to purchase a new mobile phone, a netbook or perhaps some of the latest software or DVD titles then do head over to the IT center which is a large mall filled with various computer retail stores and repair centers.

Gun Safe Construction – Composite Vs Steel Plate

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A gun vault is a specialized type of safe, configured for the storage of long guns. It’s use is not limited to firearms and related items. Other valuables may be stored in the safe along with your firearms.

In a previous article I identified some very basic questions you should ask yourself to help identify your needs before shopping for a gun vault. In this article I want to give you some pointers on what to look for in the construction of a gun safe that will help you pick a model that is both secure and affordable.

Keep in mind this adage, “You get what you pay for.” That statement is very true when it comes to picking a gun safe. Once you have established your needs and your budget, a little knowledge about safe construction will help you identify a safe that is both secure and affordable.

There are two primary types of materials used in the construction of gun vaults. First is solid rolled steel plate. Available in thicknesses ranging from ¼ inch to over 1 inch thick, steel plate can provide a high level of security from attempted intrusion. Efforts to gain entry via prying and drilling are extremely difficult on a safe made from hardened steel plate. The thicker the steel, the more time and effort is required to drill or cut through.

A safe made of heavy steel plate is just that – heavy. Weighing in at 700 – 1000 pounds such a safe isn’t likely to be carried off by a burglar, but is difficult for the owner to place and install and may require reinforced flooring. One down side to steel plate is that it is vulnerable to heat and may be easily breached with a cutting torch.

A solid steel safe will be heavy. It will feel heavy. Swing the door back and forth and you can feel the weight. A one inch thick composite door may only contain 25% of the steel that you find in a 3/8 inch solid steel door. That extra weight means extra security.

Composite is made up of sheets of thinner steel, layered much like plywood, and possibly other materials as well. Lower end composites may consist of plaster, foam, plastic, or organic material sandwiched between two layers of thin sheet metal. Very vulnerable to power tools, a low end safe may be cut open with a basic carpenters circular saw carrying a carbide tipped blade.

Higher end composites will layer more sheets of hardened steel and possibly fire retardant. A layer of stainless steel may be included as a barrier against a cutting torch. With a higher heat resistance than standard steel, stainless is nearly impervious to entry via torch.

When shopping for your gun safe don’t focus all of your attention on the interior. The security of the contents depends on the construction of the box itself. When it comes to securing your firearms and other valuables, you want the most steel that you can afford.

Look for my next article “Gun Vaults – Locks, Bolts and Accessories”

Sexy Rock Music – Top Sexy Songs by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)

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Trent Reznor, mastermind behind industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails, is no stranger to the realm of Top Songs in the genre of Sexy Rock Music. And if you were to ask anyone who has dipped their head into the rock world for an iota of time, they would be able to come up saying NIN’s “Closer” definitely deserves a spot on any Top 10 list.

But what about Trent’s other bands/projects? What about How To Destroy Angels, the band he shares with his wife, Mariqueen, and friend/collaborator Atticus Ross? What about his soundtracks, also co-composed by Ross? His remixes/covers?

How’s about we dip into less charted territory?

Here’s an example of a playlist utilizing Trent Reznor’s sexy deep cuts:

1. All Time Low (Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks)

Start the ball rolling with this loud mid-tempo funk song, which sounds very akin to “Closer” (Trent even inserts verses from “Closer” when he performs “All Time Low” live). Between the dissonant 70’s style guitar of Adrian Belew, the staccato bass lines of Pino Palladino, and the drugged out arpeggiator at the end of the song, this song takes you on a drunken sexual journey. Good way to start things off.

2. Get Down Make Love (Nine Inch Nails – Sin)

Bring up the angst a bit with Trent’s industrial version of Queen’s deep track from “News of the World”. Produced by Ministry’s Al Jourgensen, Trent’s distorted vocals make him sound all the more desperate and sexually frustrated, completely the opposite of Freddy Mercury’s confident “I’m the provider of all things sexual, now do what I say.” Trent’s take is more “Do what I say??? PLEASE?! BEFORE WE ALL DIE OF BLUE BALLS!!!!”

3. 27 Ghosts III (Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I-IV)

Keep the angst and noise high. This super deep cut is an instrumental from a series of instrumental EP’s called “Ghosts”. These EP’s were the main reason David Fincher asked Trent and Atticus to score his films. Fincher would put songs from “Ghosts” in the soundtrack of “The Social Network” to test the feel of things, trying to hear what the difference would be between a darker score and a score of more upbeat rock songs from Elvis Costello.

4. Only (El-P Remix) (Nine Inch Nails — Every Day Is Exactly the Same)

This half-timed version of NIN’s hit single “Only” by hip hop artist El-P changes the original disco feel into a super sexually charged schmorgasbord of sweaty beats/turntable effects. Technically not made by Trent, specifically, but shut up. It’s part of the Halo canon (Halos being Nine Inch Nails’ official catalog system). This will totally work in your favor.

5. The Loop Closes (How to Destroy Angels – Welcome Oblivion)

An almost instrumental song, this tune brings electronica and exotic instrumentation together, solidified by another “Closer”-ish beat. A great song that utilizes a rising dynamic throughout, starting soft, it steadily climbs its way into forte (and you should be climbing to your own forte) before releasing its energy and resolving in a blippy electronic pianissimo. It’s also great to hear Trent and his wife riffing together in the vocals.

6. Reptile (Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral)

A classic NIN song from a classic album, but a deep cut, nonetheless. Trent is totally in his element of sexual frustration and loss. Take things to a darker tone (which, considering everything on this playlist is dark, is saying something).

7. Closer (Precursor) (Nine Inch Nails – Closer to God)

I know I said we’d stick to more uncharted territory, so why is “Closer” showing up? Touche. BUT this is a remix done by Coil. If you’ve seen the opening credits to “Se7en” (by the aforementioned David Fincher, no less) then you’ve heard this really great take on NIN’s biggest single. It’s dirty, sludgy, long, and has a slightly more disturbing feel than the original.

8. A Familiar Taste (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – The Social Network)

This song is a revisited and altered version of a song from Nine Inch Nails’ “Ghosts” collection. But I like this version better. In the film, “The Social Network”, it plays while Mark Zuckerberg is imagining what happens at all the frat parties he’d like to attend when they invite young college ladies over for a night of drunken, sexual revelry. This song is a good warmer upper for the next track on the list…

9. Vessel (Nine Inch Nails – Year Zero)

I love this track. This truly rivals “Closer”‘s reign of sexiest NIN song of all time. This one’s pumping, throbbing gristle is great for the more violent sexual rompers out there. The noise, the blips, the groove: it’s perfect.

10. Consummation (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Gone Girl)

This one’s dark. The darkest on the list. And it’s last for a reason. I won’t say what happens in the film “Gone Girl”, but this song occurs during its most poignant and violent scene. I would use this song to bring on the climax when it comes to your playlist. The slow pulse, the rising cacophony (it sounds like your speakers are being ripped apart), all lend themselves to the perfect ending (read: orgasm) of your ten song Trent Reznor sex fest.

***11. Sugar Storm (Reprise) (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross – Gone Girl)

As a bonus, use this song as you come down. It’s short but pleasant to listen to. It also has the perfect major key ending, a great cherry on top of everything you’ve just listened to.***

If you enjoyed this list, check out another example of a sexy rock music playlist that I’ve compiled that doesn’t just use Nine Inch Nails to full effect:

http://www.patchbandmusic.com/sexy-rock-music-top-10-sexy-rock-songs/

But yes, “Closer” might show up near the end.