Nine Inch Nails Band • Page 42

OH ALSO if you’re really into The Fragile, you should know it has some differences across various formats. the vinyl version has 2 additional songs, 10 Miles High and The New Flesh and some songs are extended and one is even shorter than the standard release (Ripe, missing the With Decay portion at the end). the cassette release added an extended outro called “appendage” onto Please as well and I’m a big fan of it. there is also an entirely instrumental release known as The Fragile: Deviations, which features a bunch of previously unheard pieces of music from the era as well as instrumental/remixed/alternate takes of the songs from the record proper. there’s a lot to dig into if you’re interested in going deeper.

 

each version is really unique in its own way. i generally prefer then vinyl mix over the others, although it's still weird that Ripe is abridged despite having room for the (With Decay) outro on the vinyl (which made it to the Deviations vinyl, albeit with added percussion).

 

literally the only complaint I have against the vinyl release is the lack of the (With Decay) portion of Ripe. but it’s still the way I would choose to listen to the album any time I am in the mood to do a full listen, pretty much every time regardless. I do have a playlist I made on Apple music that incorporates the vinyl tracks and the appendage of Please tho.

 

It’s kind of intriguing how on the CD/streaming version of The Fragile, you can faintly hear the 10 Miles High intro during the outro to The Mark Has Been Made but then it cuts to Please instead. Definitely feels like 10MH was always meant to be there

 

haven't spun this myself but a handful of years ago, a fan tried to compile the ultimate edition of The Fragile using all released tracks from those sessions - extending, rearranging, and so on to get a version that's about 2½ hours long. https://www.echoingthesound.org/com...Fragile-An-Ultimate-Edition-(fan-compilation)

 

Decided to listen to The Fragile front-to-back because of this thread (and to get hyped for the show on Friday) and god damn every time I listen to it it’s a beautiful reminder as to why I love this album. So many interesting unique sounds/textures you can’t really find in the rest of the NIN discography. Sometimes I still get excited when I listen to it just like the first time I listened to it in high school

 

But I do think what would make it absolutely flawless is removing Starfuckers Inc. and putting in 10 Miles High, or keep Starfuckers, but fix the outro so it transitions to Complication smoothly. The way it kind of jump cuts from Starfuckers to Complication is so unsatisfying to me, but that’s my only gripe

 

I've been trying to scramble my history with NIN because over time I started mixing up my timeline. When I got into them, Josh Freese had just put out a solo album so I figure he was already out at that point. I was also a fan of Lostprophets so when it was announced Ilan Rubin had quit to join NIN (and good for him considering *gestures at everything*), it was only a matter of time until I got deeper into their discography. I also forgot the NIN/JA tour was supposed to be a farewell one (?), but I guess it makes sense considering Trent was starting to shift his focus to How to Destroy Angels.

Anyway I vividly remember when they put this performance up, which prompted me to finally give The Fragile a listen and have my mind blown. I would listen to a mp3 rip all the time back then.

Still one of my favorite songs. When I think about it, I always get the tuned down live version stuck in my head due to having heard it first. It stuck with me since.

 

God this soundtrack is gonna fuck when the film comes out isn't it?