- Head Like a Hole
Single infobox
Name = Head Like a Hole
Artist =Nine Inch Nails
from Album =Pretty Hate Machine
Released =March 22 ,1990
Format = CD, 12"
Recorded = 1989
Genre =Industrial rock
Length = 56:43 (US)
16:16 (UK)
Label =TVT Records
Producer =Trent Reznor , Flood,Adrian Sherwood ,Keith LeBlanc
Reviews = *All Music Guide rating-5|3 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dbfqxqlgldfe~T00 link]
Last single = "Down in It "
(1989)
This single = "Head Like a Hole"
(1990)
Next single = "Sin"
(1990)
Misc = extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type =Single
Lower caption = UK release"Head Like a Hole" (also known as "halo three") is the second single by
Nine Inch Nails for the 1989 album "Pretty Hate Machine "."Head Like a Hole" was Nine Inch Nails' first single to chart on
Hot 100 Singles Sales and enjoyed heavy rotation on the radio at the time. It has also been covered by influential New Wave/Post-Punk band DEVO.Live performances
The song has been the set closer for most NIN shows, or the last song before the encore if an encore took place. There are live videos of "Head Like a Hole" on the DVDs "
And All That Could Have Been " and "Beside You in Time ".During
Lollapalooza '91Dave Navarro ,Eric Avery ,Gibby Haynes andIce-T joined Nine Inch Nails onstage as additional guitarists for "Head Like a Hole". [cite web
url = http://www.6767.com/archives/2006/10/index.html
title = Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole (Lollapalooza 1991)
author =Dave Navarro
publisher = 6767.com
date =2006-10-04
accessdate = 2007-02-10] For the "" mini-tour in 1996,Richard Patrick made a brief return to the band to perform guitar and vocals on "Head Like a Hole" at theIrving Plaza show in New York. [cite web
url = http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/xreview6.shtml
title = Nailed! Trent's Posse Pound New York
author = Don Kaye
work =Kerrang!
publisher = The NIN Hotline (archive)
date = September 1996
accessdate = 2007-02-10
format = transcription] In theJune 7 ,2006 radio performance atAtlanta, Georgia , Trent Reznor and Peter Murphy played a reworked version of "Head Like a Hole". [cite web
url = http://www.nin.com/current/radioshows/index.html
title = Live Radio Performances
publisher = nin.com
accessdate = 2007-02-10]Lisa Kennedy Montgomery once sang the song loudly to Reznor to win a $20 bet. [cite web
url = http://9inchnails.com/articles/articles.php?id=13
title = The Art of Darkness
author =Chris Heath
work = Details
publisher = Painful Convictions (archive)
date = April 1995
accessdate = 2007-06-04
format = transcription
quote = Rumours that have circulated about him... that he dated Kennedy ("She's just a friend"- they met at the Whiskey in L.A., after Kennedy humiliated him by singing "Head Like a Hole" loudly to his face to win a twenty-dollar bet with a buddy.)] To express the evolving state of his values, Reznor said in 1997 that "I don't want to be singing "Head Like a Hole" at age 50." [cite web
url = http://www.9inchnails.com/articles/ninechnails.php
title = Ninechnails
author = Mark Blackwell
work = Ray Gun
publisher = Painful Convictions (archive)
date = February 1997
accessdate = 2007-06-04
format = transcription]Music video
A
music video was made for the "Clay" remix of this song. It was directed by Eric Zimmerman, released in March 1990 and later in 1997 on the "Closure" VHS. The video became popular onMTV and helped fuel NIN's early success. A slightly different edit of the video was also released for Flood's remix of the song. The video features band membersTrent Reznor ,Richard Patrick andChris Vrenna along with guest drummerMartin Atkins performing in a cage.ingle
"Head Like a Hole" is the third official Nine Inch Nails release, containing remixes of three different songs from "
Pretty Hate Machine ". It is longer in duration than the album itself.A three-track version of this single was released in the UK. This version contains "Head Like a Hole (Opal)", which is not included on the US release, and starts using the beginning of "Tamborine" by Prince, taken from his album "
Around the World in a Day "; it continues using a drum loop sampled from "Release It" taken from another Prince record, "Graffiti Bridge". The saxophone in "Release It" can be heard before the drum loop begins."Down in It (Shred)" and "Down in It (Singe)" were previously released on the "
Down in It " single. The latter track has been extended by 18 seconds.The unlisted eleventh track is
Kelly Ripa yelling "Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails! Woo! They're good!" This is a sample from "Dance Party USA " during a NIN appearance on the show.The 11 track US version of the single has recently been re-packaged and re-released. This version was also finally released in the UK.
Releases
*
TVT Records TVT 2614 – US 12" Vinyl
*TVT Records TVT 2615-2 – US CD
*Island Records 12 IS 484 878 893-1 – UK 12" Vinyl
*Island Records CID 482 878 893-2 – UK CDTrack listing
US version
#"Head Like a Hole (Slate)" (remixed by
Trent Reznor , Flood) – 4:13
#"Head Like a Hole (Clay)" (remixed byKeith LeBlanc ) – 4:30
#"Terrible Lie (Sympathetic Mix)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) – 4:26
#"Head Like a Hole (Copper)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) – 6:26
#"You Know Who You Are" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) – 5:40
#"Head Like a Hole (Soil)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) – 6:38
#"Terrible Lie (Empathetic Mix)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) – 6:11
#"Down in It (Shred)" (remixed byAdrian Sherwood , LeBlanc) – 6:51
#"Down in It (Singe)" (remixed by Sherwood, LeBlanc) – 7:21
#"Down in It (Demo)" (remixed by Reznor) – 3:55
#(unlisted track) – 0:04UK version
#"Head Like a Hole (Clay)" (remixed by LeBlanc) – 4:30
#"Head Like a Hole (Copper)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) – 6:26
#"Head Like a Hole (Opal)" (remixed by Reznor, Flood) – 5:18* Track 1 is mistakenly listed as "Head Like a Hole (slate)" on the CD.
Critical reception
In its review of the song,
Allmusic described "Head Like a Hole" as "grand theater", elaborating further by saying the "backing music was immaculately crafted and produced". [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:gbfoxze5ldte~T001 allmusic ] ] In its review of the single, Allmusic was largely positive towards the song selection, even saying that the inclusion of "Head Like a Hole", "Terrible Lie", and "Down in It" "renders Pretty Hate Machine mostly unnecessary". As for the other tracks included on the single, Allmusic was less positive, saying "This is one case where quality definitely would have sufficed without the quantity." [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dbfqxqlgldfe~T00 allmusic ((( Head Like a Hole [US > Overview ))) ] ]References
External links
* [http://nin.com/halo/03/index.html halo three] at nin.com, the official website
* [http://www.ninwiki.com/Head_Like_A_Hole_(halo) Head Like A Hole] at the NinWiki
* [http://www.nincollector.com/archive/releases/halo_03/halo03.htm halo three] at NIN Collector
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