Head Like a Hole

"Head Like a Hole" is a song by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released as the second single from the band's debut studio album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989). It enjoyed heavy rotation on the radio at the time of its release, eventually reaching number 9 on BillboardTemplate:'s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

It has been covered by several artists, including Devo, AFI, Buckcherry and Korn. The song was rewritten as "On a Roll" (performed by Miley Cyrus in character as Ashley O) for the Black Mirror episode "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too".

Recording

Trent Reznor wrote "Head Like a Hole" after having toured in late 1988 as the support act for Skinny Puppy. The song was produced by Reznor and was co-produced by Flood and Keith LeBlanc. It was recorded in 1989.<ref name="HLAH notes">Head Like a Hole (Maxi) (TVT Records, March 22, 1990) liner notes and artwork</ref> Unlike the other songs on the album, Reznor wrote "Head Like a Hole" very quickly "in about fifteen minutes in his bedroom."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was one of the last songs completed for the album, since Flood did not arrive to the studio until the completion of Depeche Mode's Violator (1990).<ref name="AP90">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Reznor said that the song emerged from the feel that "I needed something to kind of break the guitars out and be a bit more aggressive", while also conveying his fears that TVT Records would not be helpful to him, with the aggression turned up further by producer Keith LeBlanc after Reznor learned that the label had not liked the early version of his album.<ref>Trent Reznor on ‘Watchmen’ Soundtrack, Nine Inch Nails’ ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ Turning 30 </ref>

Music and lyrics

"Head Like a Hole" has been classified as an industrial rock and electronic rock song,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="greatalternative">Template:Cite web</ref> and recognized as an "industrial dance anthem".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The tempo is 115 BPM, and it is played in the key of E minor.<ref name="HLAH notes" /> Although one of the more rock-oriented tracks on the album, many elements of electronic and dance music are still featured. The lyrical contents deal with themes of betrayal and angst, consistent with the rest of the album.

The chords of this song are similar to the project's debut single, "Down in It". In contrast to "Down in It", "Head Like a Hole" has a longer intro, lasts roughly one minute longer (the song is five minutes long in its aggregate length), is heavy metal music-oriented, and has no rapping.<ref name="AP90" /> "Head Like a Hole" is also the opening track on Nine Inch Nails' 1989 debut album, and is one of the two Nine Inch Nails songs produced by Flood to appear on Pretty Hate Machine.<ref>Pretty Hate Machine (TVT Records, October 23, 1989) booklet; liner notes</ref>

Release and reception

Labeled as "Halo 3", Head Like a Hole is the third official Nine Inch Nails release, containing remixes of three different songs from Pretty Hate Machine. The single release is longer in duration than the album itself. The single peaked at #28 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.<ref>[[[:Template:BillboardURLbyName]] Billboard.com] "Artist History"</ref>

A three-track version of this single was released in the UK containing "Head Like a Hole (Opal)" which is not included on the US release. This version begins with a sample of "Tamborine" by Prince, taken from his 1985 album Around the World in a Day and incorporates a drum loop sampled from "Release It" taken from another Prince record, the soundtrack to the Prince-directed movie Graffiti Bridge (1990).Template:Citation needed The saxophone in "Release It" can be heard before the drum loop begins. "Head Like a Hole (Copper)" samples the looping drum beat from "Body Language", a track off of the Hot Space (1982) album by Queen.Template:Citation needed The first track is mistakenly listed as "Head Like a Hole (Slate)" on the sleeve but is actually "Head Like a Hole (Clay)".<ref name="HLAH notes"/> The NME called it "utter crap"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> but Melody Maker made "Head Like a Hole" their "Single of the Week", Simon Price describing it as both subversive and unexpectedly commercial as he compared the poppier "radio edit" to Depeche Mode and the 12-inch ("Opal") mix to Revolting Cocks - an "evil" record ending in a "veiled threat".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

"Down in It (Shred)" and "Down in It (Singe)" were previously released on the "Down in It" vinyl single; the latter track is extended by 18 seconds. Reznor appended them to the USA version of the "Head Like A Hole" single as "Down In It" had not received a CD release, but after the record label subsequently released "Down In It" on CD, Reznor expressed concerns fans would feel "ripped off" paying for the same tracks twice, saying the three-track UK version with a coloured cover was the way he had intended "Head Like A Hole" to be released.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The unlisted eleventh track is host Heather Day yelling "Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails! Woo! They're good!" This is a sample from Dance Party USA during an appearance by the band on the show. The 11-track United States version of "Head Like a Hole" was repackaged and re-released in 2007. This version was also released in the United Kingdom, where it failed to reach the Top 40<ref name="guinness">Template:Cite web</ref>

In Germany, the single was released as "You Get What You Deserve". This release includes four tracks.

"Head Like a Hole" was re-issued as a single in Australia in 1995, where it peaked at #57 on the ARIA singles chart and spent 7 weeks in the top 100.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The single was included in the 2015 Record Store Day–Black Friday exclusive box set, Halo I–IV.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In a retrospective review of the song, AllMusic described "Head Like a Hole" as "grand theater", elaborating further by commenting the "backing music was immaculately crafted and produced".<ref>[[[:Template:AllMusic]] allmusic]</ref> In its review of the single, the author 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, adding, "This is one case where quality definitely would have sufficed without the quantity".<ref name="Allmusic Head Like a Hole">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2020, Kerrang! and Billboard ranked the song number eight and number two, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Nine Inch Nails songs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Music video

A music video was made for the "Clay" remix of this song. Directed by Eric Zimmerman, it was released in March 1990 and again later in 1997 on the Closure VHS. The video became popular on MTV and helped fuel NIN's early success. A slightly different edit of the video was also released for Flood's remix of the song, which is 17 seconds shorter than the "Clay" remix. The video features band members Trent Reznor, Richard Patrick, and Chris Vrenna, as well as guest drummer Martin Atkins performing in a cage.<ref name="HLAH Everything2.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

The video was filmed at the original location of Exit nightclub which was located at 1653 North Wells Street in Chicago.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Reznor's guitar in the video is a Jackson Dinky, first seen during the first chorus, when Reznor, appearing to be dirty like the other band members (he had long hair and wore gritty clothing during production), bangs his head while singing the chorus. He does not use the guitar in the video's climax, where wires tied to his ankles slowly pull him up, leaving him spinning upside down from the ceiling. In the same scene, Vrenna destroys his drum kit by throwing a bass drum of Atkins' kit towards it. During several shots earlier in the video, broken Zildjian cymbals and a drum machine can be seen as parts of Vrenna's kit.

There are images that are shown for a few frames like "HEAD", "16 SOUND START", "S M P T E UNIVERSAL LEADER" and "PICTURE". Other images included a white dot set against a black background, a mirrored presentation showing the words "REEL № PROD № PLAY DATE" colored in yellow, one with the words "PICTURE START", and a frame consisting of "C C F F" placed near an outlined ring. The latter screen had an alternative version that was accompanied by a white number 3, also seen in the video. There are also visuals of four incomplete rotating mechanical models of human heads; one with film stills, another with a modified motherboard and other technology, the purple wired head with a blue screen showing an eye and various computer hardware, and the last containing blue skin, orange-pupil eyes, and a lightbulb. The former two were filmed in black and white, while the latter two in full color. All four are shown intercut with shots of people spinning baseball bats.<ref name="HLAH Everything2.com" />

Live performances

"Head Like a Hole" was one of the most notable moments of Nine Inch Nails' Lollapalooza festival performances.

The song has been the encore for most Nine Inch Nails shows (especially the Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series), 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.<ref>Beside You in Time track listing Template:Webarchive</ref>

During Lollapalooza '91, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, Gibby Haynes and Ice-T joined Nine Inch Nails live performances on-stage as additional guitarists for "Head Like a Hole;" except for the first show in Phoenix, AZ when the band walked off stage after the first song in frustration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For the Nights of Nothing mini-tour in 1996, Richard Patrick made a brief return to the band to perform guitar and vocals on "Head Like a Hole" at the Irving Plaza show in New York along with Clint Mansell, who joined Nine Inch Nails on this song at all three shows of the tour.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the June 7, 2006 radio performance at Atlanta, Georgia, Trent Reznor and Peter Murphy played a reworked version of "Head Like a Hole".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lisa Kennedy Montgomery once sang the song loudly to Reznor to win a $20 bet.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

Since its commercial maxi-single release, "Head Like a Hole" continues to generate an impact on other musicians and bands. PopMatters ranked the track 37th on their list of "The 100 Greatest Alternative Singles of the ‘80s".<ref name="greatalternative" />

Cover versions

"Head Like a Hole" is the most widely covered Nine Inch Nails song.Template:Citation needed In 2005, The String Quartet Tribute released a cover album of reworked versions of Pretty Hate Machine, including "Head Like a Hole". Other bands who covered the track include punk rock band AFI,<ref>chris6665. Template:YouTube. April 13, 2007. Retrieved May 20, 2011.</ref> rock artist Ryan Star,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> new wave band Devo,<ref>Supercop (Interscope Records, July 30, 1996).</ref> indie rock band Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives, gothic metal band Lullacry,<ref>"Don't Touch the Flame" single</ref> nu metal band Korn,<ref>Billboard</ref> post-industrial band Pig, hard rock band Buckcherry,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Christian rock band Showbread.Template:Citation needed Deathcore act Carnifex did a cover of the song on their EP, Bury Me In Blasphemy.Template:Citation needed New Zealand-based grunge band Head Like a Hole is named after the song. The name is sometimes abbreviated to avoid copyright infringement issues.Template:Citation needed

In popular culture

The song was remixed and rewritten by Charlie Brooker with Reznor's approval as the pop song "On a Roll" for the fifth series episode "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" of Black Mirror.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The song was released as a single on June 14, 2019. At the end of the episode, Cyrus performed a cover version of "Head Like a Hole". During her live set at Glastonbury Festival 2019 in Pilton, Somerset on June 30, 2019, Cyrus performed a medley of "On a Roll" and "Head Like a Hole".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Ban

"Head Like a Hole" was banned from airplay after the September 11 attacks, when Clear Channel Communications placed it in a 2001 list of post-9/11 inappropriate song titles not for radio airplay.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 CD
• Island Records 663 875 – German promo CD

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Single chartTemplate:Single chart

Chart (1990–1991)	Peak position

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite Ryan</ref>	57

Year-end charts

Chart (2001)	Position
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	169

External links

• Template:YouTube
• halo three at nin.com, the official website
• Head Like a Hole at the NinWiki
• Template:Usurped at NIN Collector