Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile

$44.99

Nine Inch Nails’ third studio album, “The Fragile” was produced in New Orleans at Trent Reznor’s studio on Magazine Street. It expands NIN’s industrial sound into the avant-garde, incorporating elements from various influences as far apart as Claude Debussy to North African music. Despite its experimentation, Reznor’s focus on melody and simple, relatable lyricism makes for an accessible but harsh release. In fact, it’s so harsh that allegedly the CIA used the opening track “Somewhat Damaged” to torture prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Addressing topics like depression and substance abuse, “The Fragile” attempts to take a less bleak approach to these issues than their previous album, “The Downward Spiral.” It’s debated whether this album or the latter was NIN’s magnum opus but it is a widely acclaimed release that has only received more love as time passes.

 

 

Nine Inch Nails (NIN), specifically the work of lead creative Trent Reznor, has proven to be one of the most influential and offbeat bands of the ‘90s. Their music popularized industrial rock, spawning generic imitators as big as Axl Rose to adopt the sound. Reznor’s stubbornness to his vision led him to play and write all the instruments except drums which he programmed with a drum machine. The band only came together on tour or to help with the many schemes Reznor would come up with, like creating multimedia experiences for fans ranging from short films to a VR game to elaborate puzzles leading to the location of a secret performance. Inspired by David Bowie, Reznor wanted to create a public image that was simultaneously ubiquitous but mysterious. And NIN’s influence would have a bizarre reach in pop music, from direct samples like on Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” to subtle influences on stars like Billie Eilish. Reznor also called New Orleans home at one point, running Nothings Studio on Magazine Street not far from La Boulangerie today. He recorded artists like Pantera here before Hurricane Katrina solidified his decision to leave the city for the west coast.

 

Tracklist:

  1. Somewhat Damaged
  2. The Day the World Went Away
  3. The Frail
  4. The Wretched
  5. We're in This Together
  6. The Fragile
  7. Just Like You Imagined
  8. Even Deeper
  9. Pilgrimage
  10. No, You Don't
  11. La Mer
  12. The Great Below
  13. The Way Out Is Through
  14. Into the Void
  15. Where Is Everybody?
  16. The Mark Has Been Made
  17. 10 Miles High
  18. Please
  19. Starf***ers, Inc
  20. Complication
  21. The New Flesh
  22. I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally
  23. The Big Come Down
  24. Underneath It All
  25. Ripe
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