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| length = 3:46
| BPM = 104
| versions =Down In It <br>Down In It (DemoSkin)<br>Down In It (Shred)<br>Down In It (SkinSinge)<br>Down In It (ShredKeith LeBlanc Mix)<br>Down In It (SingeDemo from ''Head Like A Hole'')<br>Down In It (Demo from ''[[Closure]]Demos & Remixes'')<br>Down In It (Big Whole Mix)<br>Down In It (''[[Purest Feeling (halo)|Purest Feeling]]'')<br>Down In It (''Demos & Remixes[[Closure]]'' Version)<br>Down In It (Big Whole Mix)| live = [[VIVIsectVI Tour]] through [[Wave Goodbye Tour]]<br>[[NIN 2022]]}}[[Image:Downinitnotes.png|thumb|"Down In It" notes published on [[nin.com]] during ''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]'' era.]]'''"Down In It"''' was the first single for the 1989 album ''[[Pretty Hate Machine]]'' and the third track on the disc. It has been stated by [[Trent Reznor]] that this song is the first he ever wrote and is a rare treat to hear live. Following the ''[[Down In It (halo)|Down In It]]'' single release, a music video was made.
"[[Kinda I Want To]]" specifically uses this song's beat and drum patch in its bridge, while "[[That's What I Get]]" and "[[The Only Time]]" both use its recognizable melodic synth voice.
===Song Credits===
*Engineering: Trent Reznor, Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc, Kennan Keating
*Mix: Adrian Sherwood
==About==
In a 1991 interview[https://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/display/580][https://www.nin.live/artists/nin/concerts/1991-9-1-de-doelen], Reznor gave some background on the song:
<blockquote>"Down In It"... That was probably... that was the first song I'd ever written. And I sat down, I took a very experimental approach to it. And the original version I did was about half speed of the one on the record. And it was a total rip-off of "Dig It" by [[Skinny Puppy]]. I'll admit that now. But, um, lyrically, I was just experimenting with just kind of a train-of-thought, writing down whatever I thought and all it was was a kind of... I hate to say what I'm talking about, but I'll do it now, since it's so old I just like to think about it now. It was just this feeling of, like, at an earlier stage of my life I thought I had my act together, I thought I knew what I wanted to do. I thought, and thought I had pride in myself, and as I'd gotten older, and realized that certain things don't work out the way you hoped they would at a certain stage and a lot of the illusions you had been led to believe growing up in a fairly sheltered environment... Just, I dunno, I was kind of coming of age, realizing that, you know, things might not work out sort of feeling. That's kind of the bridge of the song.</blockquote>
At some point in the early 90s, a Gatorade commercial was using a "Down In It" soundalike song, and Reznor looked into the possibility of suing them.[https://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/display/598]
==Appearances==
===Other===
*''[[Purest Feeling (halo)|Purest Feeling]]'' (unofficial)
*''[[Demos and & Remixes]]'' (unofficial)
==Versions==
===Down In It===
This version originally appeared on the ''Down In It'' single as the "Skin" mix, and would become the version that appears on ''Pretty Hate Machine.'' In chronological order, this is the first [[Nine Inch Nails]] song ever released to the general public. A different version was originally intended for the album, but [[TVT Records]] chose to use the "Skin" mix was chosen instead.[httphttps://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/getdowninit.shtmldisplay/530] Since the ''Down In It'' single had been released ahead of the album and this substitution had not yet been made, it was not referred to as the original or album version on the single.
Producer Keith LeBlanc mentioned in a printed interview[https://imgur.com/gallery/bgq1z] that "Down In It" was the song he got to "really put my signature on". His revisions (the "Shred", "Singe", and "Skin" mixes) draw heavily from the tracks "Mechanical Movements" and "Einstein" from his album ''Stranger Than Fiction'', released earlier the same year (1989). The fast-paced synth prominent at the beginning of "Skin" is from "Mechanical Movements", and the main drum pattern is from "Einstein". Additionally, the crowd chant [[samples]] during each chorus have appeared in other tracks associated with KeithLeBlanc's band Tackhead, such as "Reality" by Gary Clail & Tackhead and "Stadium Rock" by The Barmy Army.
====Song Credits====
*Reproduced and remixed by Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc
===Down In It (Skin)===
*Reproduced and remixed by Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc
===Down In It (Keith LeBlanc Mix)==='''''Running Time: 4:28''''' Leaked in 2025. The leak stated: "this early mix was included on an internal tape of ''ClosurePretty Hate Machine'' made in the [[TVT Records|TVT]] offices in 1989. As the rest of the tape contained final mixes, it is thought to be the originally intended version to appear on the album, referred to by Trent Reznor as the 'original mix' in a March 1990 ''Alternative Press'' interview." This seems to line up with a 1995 article from ''Musician'' magazine[https://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/display/614] which states that LeBlanc had done pre-production work on "Down In It" before it was handed over to Adrian Sherwood. This version begins with a short beat containing the hi-hat and kick drum with a bit of synth work before the kick drum continues on, with the main synth melody beginning the album version. This is then followed by a stripped-back first verse similar to the demo version from the "Head Like a Hole" single, before progressing similarly to the final/"Skin" version. ===Down In It (Demo from ''Head Like A Hole'')==='''''Running Time: 3:55''''' Appears on ''Head Like a Hole'' (US) as the last track. Also appears on the ''Demos and Remixes'' and ''Purest Feeling II'' [[bootlegs]]. On the UK ''Down In It'' single, the [[Untitled (from Head Like A Hole)|unlisted track]] from ''Head Like A Hole'' is appended to this track. This version is a live stripped down and begins with two hits of the snare before going into the first verse, without the heavy synth work beginning the album/"Skin" version found . ====Song Credits====*Writing, performance, production, mixing: Trent Reznor ===Down In It (Demo from ''Demos & Remixes'')==='''''Running Time: 4:35''''' Appears on the ''ClosureDemos & Remixes'' home videobootleg. It was filmed Almost exactly the same as what is heard on ''Purest Feeling'', simply lacking the extra layering and sound effects as well as the distorted outro, though it does retain the extended drumbeat intro. There also exists a version (with a running time of 4:26) from a cassette tape handed out by Reznor to important figures. One of these cassettes is in the possession of [[Self-Destruct TourMartin Atkins]] between 1994 and 1996 and cut , who has allowed fans to include different footage and accompanying audio from different performanceshear playbacks. Based on what fans have heard, this is the same demo. ===Down In It (Big Whole Mix)==='''''Running Time: 4:09''''' Appears on the ''Demos & Remixes'' bootleg. It's an odd version with Reznor whispering a good portion of his vocals under an odd beat. It also includes faux-Oriental sounding synths which are noticeably absent in any of the other versions of the song.
===Down In It (''Purest Feeling'')===
===Down In It (Big Whole Mix''Closure'')===Appears This is a live version found on the ''Demos and RemixesClosure'' bootleg, running 4:09home video. It's an odd version with Reznor whispering a good portion of his vocals under an odd beat. It also includes fauxwas filmed on the [[Self-Oriental sounding synths which are noticeably absent in any of the other versions of the songDestruct Tour]] between 1994 and 1996 and cut to include different footage and accompanying audio from different performances.
==Live==
As of [[Fragility 2.0]], Reznor had stated that he didn't like the song as much as he used to, but during the later legs of the [[Live: With Teeth]] tour, it seemed as if he's changed his mind about the song, playing it more as the tour progressed. The song usually features a lot of destruction from Reznor towards the end.
While the song was not performed by Nine Inch Nails during the [[Peel It Back Tour]], [[Boys Noize]] would play the "Boys Noize Dubwerk" remix of the song (a shortened version of the "Singe" remix) in his opening set.
==Music Video==
[[Image:Downinitstill.jpg|thumb|Screenshot from the "Down In It" video]]
"Down In It" was the first Nine Inch Nails [[Nine Inch Nails music videos|music video]], completed in September 1989 to accompany the single release. [https://cplorg.contentdm.oclc. org/digital/iiif/p16014coll5/39203/full/full/0/default.jpg] It was directed by Eric Zimmerman and Benjamin Stokesfor H-Gun, who also directed "[[Head Like A Hole (song)|Head Like A Hole]]"." The video depicts Reznor running through downtown Chicago and climbing to the roof of a building, where he slips and falls to his death. Bandmates [[Richard Patrick]] and [[Chris Vrenna]] discover the body days later. An extended version of the video also exists, which is set to the "Shred" mix.
This was the first video to be met with controversy. To film the shots of lifeless Reznor, he was covered with cornstarch to create the illusion of decay and cameras were tied to heavy-duty balloons that were tied down. During the filming of these scenes, one of the balloons broke free and took the camera with it, drifting some 200 miles before being found by a farmer in Michigan. The camera was turned over to local police who, upon seeing the raw video footage, assumed it was a snuff film and the FBI was called in to investigate. The incident was even reported on ''Hard Copy'' and recalled in an interview for ''SPIN'' magazine. Because MTV and its US affiliates were uncomfortable with the video's subject matter, all scenes that depict Reznor's body lying on the ground behind the building were deleted.
I was up above it
Now I'm down in it
The second line is changed on the final recording to:
Sometimes I don't believe them myself and I decided I was never coming down
The fourth line is changed on the final recording to:
Backing vocals in ''Pretty Hate Machine'' version:
Rain , rain , go away, come again some other day.
During the last shows of the [[Wave Goodbye Tour]]live performances, the last line of the third verse was is often changed to:
I looked him right in the eye and waved goodbye
==External Links==
*[httphttps://vimeo.com/3608189 17071944 "Down In It" music video (Director's CutRemastered)]*[httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKGFt3HAJCQ NkphW38WyYo "Down In It" (Shred) music videolive in Europe 2000]*[httphttps://vimeo.com/17037838 ''Hard Copy'' segment about the FBI investigation]*[http://ninlive.com/audio/NiNterviews%20Set%201/1995_02_09%2006%20Recording%20Process.mp3 Interview] disc sourcing the Krissy lyrics
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