Something I Can Never Have

Last updated
"Something I Can Never Have"
Song by Nine Inch Nails
from the album Pretty Hate Machine
ReleasedOctober 20, 1989
Genre
Length5:55
Label TVT
Songwriter(s) Trent Reznor
Producer(s)

"Something I Can Never Have" is the fifth track by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from the 1989 debut album, Pretty Hate Machine . According to Loren Coleman, the song deals with suicidal themes. [3]

Contents

A "deconstructed" version of the song was also included in the live album And All That Could Have Been . The accompanying live music video, with Jerome Dillon was also released. [4] A version of the song with an alternate ending was used in the 1994 film Natural Born Killers . [5] [6]

Background

Trent Reznor co-produced the track in London with John Fryer, although Reznor "kind of backed away" from it. He felt that Fryer's production gave the track a "dreamy quality", as the piano is heavily filtered and features a large amount of reverb. The track also features elements of unused backing tracks by This Mortal Coil, a music collective that Fryer was part of; while these were initially included by accident, both Reznor and Fryer felt they fit well in the track. [7]

Following the song's main topic, Reznor struggled with depression during the five years following the release of The Downward Spiral in 1994; [8] his health worsened when he began abusing alcohol, cocaine, and other drugs, before completing rehab in 2001. [8] He also had suicidal tendencies due to these issues. [9] In a 2005 interview, Reznor stated that he was "pretty happy". [9]

Reception

Tom Breihan from Pitchfork Media gave a positive review to the song, stating that the song portrays "an absolute mastery" with "its haunted, minimal piano figure and a few hushed synth tones slowly, letting in sputtering static, faraway door-slam drums, and quiet little counter-melodies." [2] When the song was re-released in 2006, Rob Mitchum referred to it as a "'Goodbye Blue Sky' rip-off". [10] In 2020, Kerrang and Billboard ranked the song number seven and number five, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Nine Inch Nails songs. [11] [12]

Covers

In July 2014, Tori Amos covered the song on her Unrepentant Geraldines Tour. [13] A version of the song was used in the fifth episode of the HBO series Westworld in 2016. [14]

References

  1. ↑ Top Ten Most Depressing Alternative Rock Songs Retrieved January 5, 2015
  2. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (November 24, 2010). "Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  3. ↑ Coleman, Loren (2004). The Copycat Effect: How the Media and Popular Culture Trigger the Mayhem in Tomorrow's Headlines. Paraview Pocket Books. p. 184. ISBN   978-0-7434-8223-3.
  4. ↑ "Nine Inch Nails - Something I Can Never Have". NME . Retrieved November 8, 2012.[ dead link ]
  5. ↑ Lochhead, Judy (2001). Postmodern Music/Postmodern Thought. Taylor & Francis, ISBN   9780815338208
  6. ↑ Buckley, Peter (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN   1858284570 . Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  7. ↑ Doerschuk, Robert L. (April 1990). "Nine Inch Nails". Keyboard . Vol. 16, no. 4. San Bruno. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Chick, Steve (March 30, 2005). "To Hell and back". Kerrang! .
  9. 1 2 Stillman, Brian (June 1, 2005). "Tooth & Nail". Revolver . Archived from the original on November 4, 2005. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
  10. ↑ Mitchum, Rob (January 12, 2006). "Nine Inch Nails Pretty Hate Machine". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 8, 2012.
  11. ↑ Law, Sam (August 7, 2020). "The 20 greatest Nine Inch Nails songs – ranked". Kerrang . Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  12. ↑ Unterberger, Andrew (November 5, 2020). "The 25 Best Nine Inch Nails Songs: Staff Picks". Billboard . Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (August 21, 2014). "The 10 Best Cover Songs from Tori Amos's Unrepentant Geraldines Tour". Slant Magazine . Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  14. ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (November 2, 2016). "Why Did Westworld Choose That Downer of a Nine Inch Nails Song During the Orgy Scene?". Vulture . Retrieved November 2, 2016.


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