Pros: Cheap! Great way to take NIN in small doses. Good songs.
Cons: Short, but it IS a single. One original song, two album tracks.
The Bottom Line: This is a good single. It may not be perfect, but then again, there really isn't anything wrong with anything on here. It'll be $3-4 wisely spent.
squarekid's Full Review: The Day the World Went Away [Single] by Nine Inch ...
The Day the World Went Away is regarded as one of Nine Inch Nails' more "worthless" releases. I've always been a completist, and love collecting the Halos (the nickname for NIN's various singles and albums), so this was a must for me, as well as with all the other loyal followers of NIN. So, even if two of the songs are on The Fragile album, don't you dare disregard this as a worthless release! It's one of the pre-album singles, which has always been an interesting marketing scheme, but isn't nearly as good as March of the Pigs, the pre-album single for The Downward Spiral. Here's why...
The Songs
The Day the World Went Away is the opening song on the single, and is the same one as the version on the album. That doesn't mean this song isn't a beauty. It starts off with a slow, unidentifyable sound that quickly changes to a simple, but powerful guitar riff that repeats. Slowly it builds more and more sounds, most of which are hard to describe. Finally it calms to the mellow voice of Trent Reznor, which is rare for him to be this soft. Finally, when you think the track might be coming to a stop, it BLASTS you with the guitars again, and a repeating chant of "Na na na, na na na na." And stops.
This may seem like a very simple song, and it is, but it's very charming to find a song that has this structure in today's musical world of predictability.
Starf***ers Inc. is the next track up, which also happens to be the exact same version as what's on the album. This is why a large amount of people who get this single expecting several intuitive remixes of songs they've most likely already heard seem disappointed.
Anyway, this song begins somewhat muffled, then moves on to Reznor's singing, which has been mixed and edited just right so that it sounds choppy, yet flows. Then goes to the quick refrain, which really sounds like it was meant for dance clubs, live shows, and college dorms. Fast, energetic, loud, to-the-point. It eventually comes to a halt, and does a little cover of the Carly Simon song "You're So Vain". He sings, "I bet you think this song is about you, Don't you?" very cynically, repeating 'don't you' several times before returning to the regular tempo and the driving rhythm. This song is centered around the music industry and the image that goes along with rock/metal fame. Good song overall, one of the most well recognized songs off of The Fragile, but a little to accessable and mainstream for my tastes, but still very solid.
On to the best song on the single.
The Day the World Went Away (Quiet) is pretty similar in feel to the original, but as the subtitle implies, it's quieter. It starts off with another version of the chanting 'na na na', but in a different variation and rhythm. It's a tad more cynical, until the vocals stop. Then comes the piano. This version almost always has a piano in it, which is wonderful. After a piano solo, Trent begins his singing, which is slightly altered to the first version. After that stage is done, they begin the "Na na na, na na na na", but with a very soft guitar that eventually is traded off with a piano. That continues until it fades.
The Package
This is one of the best packages on a NIN halo I've seen. The cover seems to be a very furry plant, yes, furry, with leaves coming out of a stem in a triangular way. You can see a picture of it, as Epinions provides one up top. It's a very calm design, which appropriately matches the featured two songs' effect. The back of it is a close-up of that furry plant, along with the white NIN logo and the songs in small white print. The inside is blue and white, with the plastic that holds the CD being clear, you see through to a white background with a multicolored square that resembles a color palette on Microsoft Paint.
I don't know if Gary Talpas did the design for this packaging, or if they had found someone else for the Fragile album designs, but bravo whoever you are. Great job!
Overall, this is a good single. If you are a fan who doesn't have it, buy it now! It's better than the reputation.
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![The Day the World Went Away [Single] by Nine Inch Nails](http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/e1/71/3c/2002130647-177x150-0-0.jpg)
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