The Fragile
Encyclopedia
In terms of narrative, virtually no references are made to the aspects depicted in The Downward Spiral. Like The Downward Spiral, The Fragile is a concept album
, but, as a double album
, is nearly twice the length of its predecessor. Reznor's vocals, for the most part, are much more melodic and somewhat softer, in contrast to his harsh and often angry singing in previous works. Unlike The Downward Spiral — an album with a plot detailing the destruction of a man — The Fragile — an album dealing with personal issues — has no storyline
, and many of its themes contrast with The Downward Spiral' s. The evidence of lyrics is not heavy.
Despite 44 uses of profanity (inaugurating the majority of them evident on the album is "fuck", with "Starfuckers, Inc.
" having an intentional reliance on the word), The Fragile was not directly packaged with a Parental Advisory
sticker, something added to most copies of The Downward Spiral. It was, however, printed on the sticker on the shrinkwrap.
In some ways, The Fragile is a response to The Downward Spiral. Reznor compared the lyrical content of the two albums:
The song "I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" is credited in the album's booklet as "for clara", suggesting that the song's topic, like "The Day the World Went Away
", is about Reznor's grandmother, Clara Clark.
". The first of these progressions is debuted on "The Frail", an instrumental piano piece (in G Minor), which later reappears as a basis for the guitar solo on the album's title track. The second motif is introduced on "La Mer". Its main melodic elements and bassline are taken in a different direction with "Into the Void
".
. A section within his book Fotografiks reveals that the top section of the album cover is from a photo of a waterfall and the bottom section is from a closeup photo of the inside of some kind of seashell. Carson elaborated on this further in an image on his website:
" proved to be the album's most successful singles. The B-side "Starfuckers, Inc.
" was released on the album as a track at the last minute , and became The Fragiles last single.
In support of The Fragile, the Nine Inch Nails live band
reformed for the Fragility tour
. The tour began in late 1999 and lasted until mid-2000, spanning Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and North America. The tour consisted of two major legs, labeled Fragility 1.0 and Fragility 2.0. The live band lineup remained largely the same from the previous tour in support of The Downward Spiral
, featuring Robin Finck
on guitar, Charlie Clouser
on keyboards, and Danny Lohner
on bass guitar. Reznor held open auditions to find a new drummer, eventually picking then-unknown Jerome Dillon
.
Nine Inch Nails' record label at the time, Interscope Records
, reportedly refused to fund the promotional tour following The Fragiles lukewarm sales. Reznor instead committed himself to fund the entire tour himself, which had quickly sold-out. He concluded that "the reality is, I’m broke at the end of the tour," but also added "I will never present a show that isn’t fantastic."
The tour featured increasingly large production values, including a triptych
video display created by contemporary video artist Bill Viola
. Rolling Stone
magazine named Fragility the best tour of 2000.
In 2002, the tour documentary And All That Could Have Been
was released featuring performances from the Fragility 2.0 tour. While making the DVD, Reznor commented on the tour in retrospect by saying "I thought the show was really, really good when we were doing it", but later wrote that "I can't watch it at all. I was sick for most of that tour and I really don't think it was Nine Inch Nails at its best."
update hinted that a deluxe 5.1 surround audio
reissue of The Fragile was in the works and was scheduled for a 2010 release.
During an interview with The New York Times that was broadcast on January 7th 2011, after questioned about the album Reznor explained:
chart, selling 228,000 copies in its first week, the album quickly slipped out of the top 10 the following week. This resulted in Nine Inch Nails setting a record for the biggest drop from number one. Marilyn Manson
's The Golden Age of Grotesque
would go on to break the record in 2003. Nine Inch Nails would later return to the top spot with With Teeth
(2005), which debuted at number one, selling faster than The Fragile. On January 4, 2000, the album was certified double platinum
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), following sales in excess of two million copies in the United States.
. It earned maximum ratings from publications such as the Alternative Press, Kerrang!
and USA Today
. Ann Powers
of Spin
called it "a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience", noting elements of "the art rock of King Crimson
and Roxy Music
, his classic inspirations, or the rhythmic symphonettes of electronica artists such as Autechre
and Squarepusher
" and writing that the album "interpolat[es] them with funk
bass lines, North African minor-key modalities, and the floating tones of Symbolist composers like Debussy. For the fans, there's also plenty of guitar-generated, mechanically enhanced crunch". Rolling Stone
writer Rob Sheffield
noted a "prog-rock
vibe" and commented that "The Fragile is his version of Pink Floyd
's The Wall, a double album that vents his alienation and misery into paranoid studio hallucinations, each track crammed with overdubs until there's no breathing room".
However, Pitchfork Media
panned the album and perceived overly melodramatic lyrics. In his consumer guide for The Village Voice
, critic Robert Christgau
gave The Fragile a B rating and named it "Dud of the Month", indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought". Christgau commented that "Reznor delivers double-hoohah, every second remixed till it glistens like broken glass on a prison wall. Is the way he takes his petty pain out on the world a little, er, immature for a guy who's pushing 35? Never mind, I'm told—just immerse in the music". The Fragile was included on several magazines' "end-of-year" album lists, including The Village Voice
(#14), Rolling Stone
(#4), and Spin
(#1).
This release is identical to the CD pressing, with the exclusive addition of "+appendage" attached to the end of "Please".
Vinyl version
This release of The Fragile contains the songs "10 Miles High" and "The New Flesh" (both of which were later released as part of the "We're in This Together" single.) The latter track appears on the vinyl
version of The Fragile, disc 1 of the European and Japanese "We're in This Together
" 3-disc single
, and the Australian "Into the Void
" single.
"The Day the World Went Away", "The Wretched", "Even Deeper" and "La Mer" are all extended mixes, while the opening and closing of each side eliminates the crossfading between songs found on the CD and cassette versions, due to the nature of the vinyl medium. Finally, "Ripe" was shortened by removing the conclusive "(With Decay)" portion of the song.
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
, but, as a double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
, is nearly twice the length of its predecessor. Reznor's vocals, for the most part, are much more melodic and somewhat softer, in contrast to his harsh and often angry singing in previous works. Unlike The Downward Spiral — an album with a plot detailing the destruction of a man — The Fragile — an album dealing with personal issues — has no storyline
Storyline
Storyline may refer to:* The plot or subplot of a story;* The narrative of a work, whether of fictional or nonfictional basis;* The narrative threads experienced by different but specific characters or sets of characters that together form a plot element or subplot in the work of fiction...
, and many of its themes contrast with The Downward Spiral
Despite 44 uses of profanity (inaugurating the majority of them evident on the album is "fuck", with "Starfuckers, Inc.
Starfuckers, Inc.
"Starfuckers, Inc." is a song by Nine Inch Nails.The song is released as the fourth single from the double album, The Fragile...
" having an intentional reliance on the word), The Fragile was not directly packaged with a Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory
Parental Advisory is a message affixed by the Recording Industry Association of America to audio and recordings in the United States containing excessive use of profane language and/or sexual references. Albums began to be labeled for "explicit lyrics" in 1985, after pressure from the Parents...
sticker, something added to most copies of The Downward Spiral. It was, however, printed on the sticker on the shrinkwrap.
In some ways, The Fragile is a response to The Downward Spiral. Reznor compared the lyrical content of the two albums:
The song "I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally" is credited in the album's booklet as "for clara", suggesting that the song's topic, like "The Day the World Went Away
The Day the World Went Away
"The Day the World Went Away" is a song by Nine Inch Nails, released in 1999 as the first single from the act's then-forthcoming album The Fragile...
", is about Reznor's grandmother, Clara Clark.
The Fragile motif
Listeners of the album have noticed two obvious uses of a chromatic trick known as "The Fragile motifMotif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
". The first of these progressions is debuted on "The Frail", an instrumental piano piece (in G Minor), which later reappears as a basis for the guitar solo on the album's title track. The second motif is introduced on "La Mer". Its main melodic elements and bassline are taken in a different direction with "Into the Void
Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song)
"Into the Void" is a single by Nine Inch Nails, released in 2000. The song was the third single from the album The Fragile, released in 1999...
".
Packaging
The cover artwork was designed by David CarsonDavid Carson (graphic designer)
David Carson is an American graphic designer. He is best known for his innovative magazine design, and use of experimental typography. He was the art director for the magazine Ray Gun. Carson was perhaps the most influential graphic designer of the 1990s...
. A section within his book Fotografiks reveals that the top section of the album cover is from a photo of a waterfall and the bottom section is from a closeup photo of the inside of some kind of seashell. Carson elaborated on this further in an image on his website:
Promotion
The first single, "The Day the World Went Away", was released two months before the album. "Into the Void" and "We're in This TogetherWe're in This Together
"We're in This Together" is a 3-disc single by Nine Inch Nails for the song of the same name released in 1999. It is the fifteenth official Nine Inch Nails release and is a single for the album The Fragile....
" proved to be the album's most successful singles. The B-side "Starfuckers, Inc.
Starfuckers, Inc.
"Starfuckers, Inc." is a song by Nine Inch Nails.The song is released as the fourth single from the double album, The Fragile...
" was released on the album as a track at the last minute , and became The Fragiles last single.
In support of The Fragile, the Nine Inch Nails live band
Nine Inch Nails live performances
Nine Inch Nails, an industrial rock band fronted by Trent Reznor, did various live performances throughout the world, including tours in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and China. While Reznor controls the creative and musical direction of Nine Inch Nails in-studio, the...
reformed for the Fragility tour
Fragility Tour
Fragility Tour was a concert tour in support of industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile album, which took place in late 1999, running until mid-2000, and was broken into two major legs, Fragility v1.0 and Fragility v2.0 respectively...
. The tour began in late 1999 and lasted until mid-2000, spanning Europe, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and North America. The tour consisted of two major legs, labeled Fragility 1.0 and Fragility 2.0. The live band lineup remained largely the same from the previous tour in support of The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral is the second studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released March 8, 1994, on Interscope Records. It is a concept album detailing the destruction of a man, from the beginning of his "downward spiral" to his climactic attempt at suicide...
, featuring Robin Finck
Robin Finck
Robin Finck is an American guitarist of Nine Inch Nails and former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses. He is one of only a few artists who has played in two different bands listed on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock"; Nine Inch Nails and Guns N' Roses .-Career:Finck grew up in Marietta,...
on guitar, Charlie Clouser
Charlie Clouser
Charles Alexander "Charlie" Clouser is an American musician whose activities include playing keyboard, synth, theremin, and drums. He is known for his abilities in music programming, engineering, mixing, and remixing. He was a member of the band Nine Inch Nails 1994–2000. Before he was in Nine...
on keyboards, and Danny Lohner
Danny Lohner
Daniel Patrick "Danny" Lohner , frequently known as Renholdër, is an American rock musician who plays bass guitar, electric guitar, and keyboards. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project...
on bass guitar. Reznor held open auditions to find a new drummer, eventually picking then-unknown Jerome Dillon
Jerome Dillon
Jerome Dillon is a professional musician, best known for his tenure as drummer with industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails from 1999-2005. After his departure, his own project, Nearly, released its debut album reminder in December 2005, along with a cd maxi-single for the song Straight to...
.
Nine Inch Nails' record label at the time, Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
, reportedly refused to fund the promotional tour following The Fragiles lukewarm sales. Reznor instead committed himself to fund the entire tour himself, which had quickly sold-out. He concluded that "the reality is, I’m broke at the end of the tour," but also added "I will never present a show that isn’t fantastic."
The tour featured increasingly large production values, including a triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
video display created by contemporary video artist Bill Viola
Bill Viola
Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...
. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine named Fragility the best tour of 2000.
In 2002, the tour documentary And All That Could Have Been
And All that Could Have Been
And All That Could Have Been is a double album released by Nine Inch Nails in 2002. The live album contains music recorded during the Fragility v2.0 US tour in 2000; Disc 1 is a live album of their normal set list of the time, while disc B contains a studio album titled Still containing...
was released featuring performances from the Fragility 2.0 tour. While making the DVD, Reznor commented on the tour in retrospect by saying "I thought the show was really, really good when we were doing it", but later wrote that "I can't watch it at all. I was sick for most of that tour and I really don't think it was Nine Inch Nails at its best."
Reissue
On September 21, 2009 (the tenth anniversary of the album's release), a Nine Inch Nails official TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
update hinted that a deluxe 5.1 surround audio
5.1 surround sound
5.1 is the common name for six channel surround sound multichannel audio systems. 5.1 is now the most commonly used layout in both commercial cinemas and home theaters. It uses five full bandwidth channels and one low frequency enhancement channel . Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS, and...
reissue of The Fragile was in the works and was scheduled for a 2010 release.
During an interview with The New York Times that was broadcast on January 7th 2011, after questioned about the album Reznor explained:
Commercial performance
The Fragile was not as much of a commercial success as The Downward Spiral. Despite a strong start at #1 on the BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart, selling 228,000 copies in its first week, the album quickly slipped out of the top 10 the following week. This resulted in Nine Inch Nails setting a record for the biggest drop from number one. Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
's The Golden Age of Grotesque
The Golden Age of Grotesque
Initial critical response to The Golden Age of Grotesque was mixed. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 60, indicating mixed or average reviews, based on 12 publications...
would go on to break the record in 2003. Nine Inch Nails would later return to the top spot with With Teeth
With Teeth
With Teeth is the fourth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on May 3, 2005, by Interscope Records. The album was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and long-time collaborator Alan Moulder. It was Reznor's first original studio album since The...
(2005), which debuted at number one, selling faster than The Fragile. On January 4, 2000, the album was certified double platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), following sales in excess of two million copies in the United States.
Critical response
Upon its release, The Fragile received positive reviews from most music criticsMusic criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
. It earned maximum ratings from publications such as the Alternative Press, Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
and USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
. Ann Powers
Ann Powers
Ann Powers is an American writer and pop music critic.Powers has been writing about popular music and society since the early 1980s...
of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
called it "a good old-fashioned strap-on-your-headphones experience", noting elements of "the art rock of King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, his classic inspirations, or the rhythmic symphonettes of electronica artists such as Autechre
Autechre
Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both natives of Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are one of the most prominent acts signed to Warp Records, a label known for its pioneering electronic music and through which all Autechre albums...
and Squarepusher
Squarepusher
Squarepusher is the performing pseudonym of Tom Jenkinson, an English electronic music artist signed to Warp Records. He specialises in the electronic music genres of drum and bass and acid, with a significant jazz and musique concrète influence....
" and writing that the album "interpolat[es] them with funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
bass lines, North African minor-key modalities, and the floating tones of Symbolist composers like Debussy. For the fans, there's also plenty of guitar-generated, mechanically enhanced crunch". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
writer Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield
Rob Sheffield is an American music journalist and author. He is currently a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, writing music reviews and essays on pop culture. Prior to that, he was a contributing editor at Blender before the print version of the magazine folded in 2009, and at Spin...
noted a "prog-rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
vibe" and commented that "The Fragile is his version of Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's The Wall, a double album that vents his alienation and misery into paranoid studio hallucinations, each track crammed with overdubs until there's no breathing room".
However, Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
panned the album and perceived overly melodramatic lyrics. In his consumer guide for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave The Fragile a B rating and named it "Dud of the Month", indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought". Christgau commented that "Reznor delivers double-hoohah, every second remixed till it glistens like broken glass on a prison wall. Is the way he takes his petty pain out on the world a little, er, immature for a guy who's pushing 35? Never mind, I'm told—just immerse in the music". The Fragile was included on several magazines' "end-of-year" album lists, including The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
(#14), Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
(#4), and Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
(#1).
Track listing
Cassette versionThis release is identical to the CD pressing, with the exclusive addition of "+appendage" attached to the end of "Please".
Vinyl version
This release of The Fragile contains the songs "10 Miles High" and "The New Flesh" (both of which were later released as part of the "We're in This Together" single.) The latter track appears on the vinyl
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
version of The Fragile, disc 1 of the European and Japanese "We're in This Together
We're in This Together
"We're in This Together" is a 3-disc single by Nine Inch Nails for the song of the same name released in 1999. It is the fifteenth official Nine Inch Nails release and is a single for the album The Fragile....
" 3-disc single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, and the Australian "Into the Void
Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song)
"Into the Void" is a single by Nine Inch Nails, released in 2000. The song was the third single from the album The Fragile, released in 1999...
" single.
"The Day the World Went Away", "The Wretched", "Even Deeper" and "La Mer" are all extended mixes, while the opening and closing of each side eliminates the crossfading between songs found on the CD and cassette versions, due to the nature of the vinyl medium. Finally, "Ripe" was shortened by removing the conclusive "(With Decay)" portion of the song.
Personnel
Credits for The Fragile adapted from liner notes:- Tom Baker – mastering
- Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
– guitars (7, 12, 15) - Heather Bennet – backing vocals
- Clinton Bradley – programming, technical assistant to Bob Ezrin
- Buddha Boys Choir – choir, chorus, chant
- Buddha Debutante Choir – backing vocals
- Di Coleman – backing vocals
- Charlie ClouserCharlie ClouserCharles Alexander "Charlie" Clouser is an American musician whose activities include playing keyboard, synth, theremin, and drums. He is known for his abilities in music programming, engineering, mixing, and remixing. He was a member of the band Nine Inch Nails 1994–2000. Before he was in Nine...
– programming, synthesizers, atmospheres - Melissa Daigle – backing vocals
- Paul DeCarli – programming
- Jerome DillonJerome DillonJerome Dillon is a professional musician, best known for his tenure as drummer with industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails from 1999-2005. After his departure, his own project, Nearly, released its debut album reminder in December 2005, along with a cd maxi-single for the song Straight to...
– drums (5) - Dr. DreDr. DreAndre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
– mixing assistant (8) - Steve Duda – programming, choir, chorus, percussion, violin
- Eric Edmonson – choir, chorus
- Bob EzrinBob EzrinRobert Alan "Bob" Ezrin is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, known for his work with artists including Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2004.-Biography:...
– album sequencing assistant - Mike GarsonMike GarsonMike Garson is an American pianist, most notable for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Billy Corgan, Free Flight, and The Smashing Pumpkins.- Early career :...
– piano (7, 13, 23) - Page HamiltonPage HamiltonPage Hamilton is a guitarist, singer and record producer, mostly noted for his work with alternative metal band Helmet...
– guitar (10) - Tracy Hardin – backing vocals
- Leo Herrera – engineer
- Keith Hillebrandt – programming, additional sound design, choir, chorus
- Cherry Holly – trumpet
- Doug Idleman – choir, chorus
- Mason Kemmer – violin, donair supplier
- Danny LohnerDanny LohnerDaniel Patrick "Danny" Lohner , frequently known as Renholdër, is an American rock musician who plays bass guitar, electric guitar, and keyboards. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project...
– drum programming, ambiance, synthesizers, guitar (1, 7, 12, 19)
- Marcus London – choir, chorus
- Clint MansellClint MansellClinton Darryl "Clint" Mansell, is an English musician, composer, and former lead singer and guitarist of the band Pop Will Eat Itself....
– choir, chorus - Denise Milfort – vocals (11)
- Judy Miller – backing vocals
- Alan MoulderAlan MoulderAlan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
– producer, engineer, mixing - Gary I. Neal – backing vocals
- Matthew Nicholls – backing vocals
- Dave OgilvieDave OgilvieDave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer and musician. He is a producer of industrial music and has been associated with bands such as Skinny Puppy , Doughboys, The Birthday Massacre , Marilyn Manson, Jakalope , Killing Joke, Queensrÿche, Alexz Johnson, Fake Shark...
– engineer - Christine Parrish – backing vocals
- Adam Persaud – choir, chorus
- Brian Pollack – engineer
- Kim Prevost – vocals
- Trent ReznorTrent ReznorMichael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
– vocals, guitars, bass guitar, cello, piano, synthesizers, programming, producer - Elquine Rice – backing vocals
- Terry Rice – backing vocals
- Bill Rieflin – drums (12)
- M. Gabriela Rivas – backing vocals
- Nick Scott – choir, chorus
- Rodney Sulton – backing vocals
- Stefani Taylor – backing vocals
- Nigel Wiesehan – choir, chorus
- Willie – cello
- Barbara Wilson – backing vocals
- Leslie Wilson – backing vocals
- Martha Wood – backing vocals
Chart positions
Album| Chart (1999) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
2 |
| Austrian Albums Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
14 |
| Belgium Albums Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... (Flanders) |
36 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
2 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 10 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
27 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
17 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
28 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
9 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
18 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
10 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
Singles
| Year | Song | Chart peak positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US Mod. Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
US Main. Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
AUS |
CAN Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
NZ |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||
| 1999 | "The Day the World Went Away The Day the World Went Away "The Day the World Went Away" is a song by Nine Inch Nails, released in 1999 as the first single from the act's then-forthcoming album The Fragile... " |
17 | — | — | 31 | 1 | 15 | — |
| "We're In This Together We're in This Together "We're in This Together" is a 3-disc single by Nine Inch Nails for the song of the same name released in 1999. It is the fifteenth official Nine Inch Nails release and is a single for the album The Fragile.... " |
— | 11 | 21 | — | — | — | 39 | |
| 2000 | "Into the Void Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song) "Into the Void" is a single by Nine Inch Nails, released in 2000. The song was the third single from the album The Fragile, released in 1999... " |
— | 11 | 27 | — | 4 | — | — |
| "Starfuckers, Inc. Starfuckers, Inc. "Starfuckers, Inc." is a song by Nine Inch Nails.The song is released as the fourth single from the double album, The Fragile... " |
— | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | ||||||||
Chart procession and succession
Certifications
| Country | Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Canada Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
2x Platinum |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
2x Platinum |
External links
- The Fragile at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Album Review at The A.V. ClubThe A.V. ClubThe A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
- Album Review at The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
- Playing God: The Fragile at Stylus MagazineStylus MagazineStylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....