Changes

| length =5:4215| BPM = 149| versions =The Perfect Drug<br>The Perfect Drug (Edit)<br>The Perfect Drug (''We're In This Together'' version)<br>The Perfect Drug (Instrumental)<br>The Perfect Drug ([[Meat Beat Manifesto]])<br>The Perfect Drug ([[Plug]])<br>The Perfect Drug ([[Nine Inch Nails]])<br>The Perfect Drug ([[Spacetime Continuum]])<br>The Perfect Drug ([[The Orb]])<br>The Perfect Drug (Aphrodite)| live =N/A[[Cold And Black And Infinite Tour]]}}'''"The Perfect Drug"''' was written and recorded for the ''[[Lost Highway Soundtrack]]'' in 19971996. [[Trent Reznor]] has expressed dissatisfaction with the song, saying in a VIVA 2 Magazine interview,<blockquote>"At that time I was listening to a lot of Drum 'n' Bass and Jungle and stuff. And I think that's the most I've ever seen external influence come out in my own music.And it was a transition period, that's what I want to stress, it was time when I was feeling out what I wanted to do artistically and given the liberation of working within the context of a soundtrack, it's not like a major work. I always treated that as an area to be freer and try things. I'm glad it was in that context. There was never any consideration to include that on [''[[The Fragile (halo)|The Fragile]]'']. It really was an area where I was feeling out the landscape to see what I wanted to do."[http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/xint52.shtml]</blockquote>

*Production: [[Trent Reznor]]

*Engineering: [[Dave “Rave” Ogilvie|Dave "Rave" Ogilvie]]

*''[[The Perfect Drug (halo)|"The Perfect Drug " Versions]]''*''[[Closure]]''

This is the original version that can be found on the ''Lost Highway'' soundtrack as well as some versions editions of ''"The Perfect Drug " Versions''. It features prominent acoustic guitars playing a quick, ascending riff similar to the chorus of "[[The Wretched]]". It is backed by frantic and complex drum machine programming commonly associated with the drum 'n' bass genre, which opens up into simpler patterns for the pre-choruses. The chorus features heavy guitars backed by more frantic drums, while the bridge is composed mainly of percussion patterns and percussive synthesizers and guitar riffs, which build in intensity to give way to a slower, simpler, quieter coda. ===The Perfect Drug (Edit)==='''''Running Time: 4:22''''' The original song shortened by fifty seconds to suit radio airplay. Available on radio promos only. ===The Perfect Drug (''We're In This Together'' version)==='''''Running Time: 5:42'''''

===The Perfect Drug===From the third ''We're In This Together'' single and international ''Into The Void'' singlessingle, this version is the same as the original, but does not cut off at the end, rather repeating further and fading out.

'''''Running Time: 4:50''''' Released by Reznor via his account at [[remix.nin.com]], this version features a differently-structured ending, but is otherwise the same as the original version minus the vocal tracks.

===The Perfect Drug ([[Plug]])==='''''Running Time: 6:53''''' 

===The Perfect Drug ([[Spacetime Continuum]])==='''''Running Time: 5:42''''' 

===The Perfect Drug ([[The Orb]])==='''''Running Time: 6:11''''' 

'''''Running Time: 6:10 (Vinyl version), 5:38 (DJ Aphrodite upload)''''' This remix is exclusive to the vinyl edition of ''"The Perfect Drug " Versions.'' It's set in a different key than the other remixes and has a fast, electronic beat. As with most of the other remixes, it is light on lyrics, consisting only of "can't keep control/can't keep track," "taking me," and "you are perfect." A CD-quality The track as released in 1997 was mastered at a slower speed. An MP3 file of the track this version was uploaded by Reznor on [[remix.nin.com. The original, unaltered track was eventually uploaded to Soundcloud by DJ Aphrodite, who stated: "This is the original speed the remix was made at. For the vinyl, [[Nothing Records]]slowed it down to around 160bpm, perhaps to lower the vocals, and at the time the general music loving public were still not used to the speed and energy of Jungle/D&B."

"The Perfect Drug" was not played live until [[NIN songs never played live2018/09/18_Morrison,_CO|has never been played liveSeptember 18, 2018]] despite its popularity with many NIN fansat Red Rocks, Colorado, though it was attempted during rehearsals for a few previous tours. It is was widely speculated that the complex drum solo in the song is was responsible for this, although it is was probably not out of the range of current drummer drummers [[Josh Freese]] or [[Ilan Rubin]]. It is also likely that Reznor does not personally like the song very much, as he concedes that it was produced quickly for the ''Lost Highway'' soundtrack. NIN fan Trollmanen was able to ask ex-drummer Josh Freese about the rehearsal process for the song:<blockquote>"The one question I asked him was about playing The Perfect Drug live, and how the rehearsal process went for that song and why it never worked out. The first thing he said, without hesitation was that the song itself isn't that difficult to play live on the drums. He said something about the programmed beats part was the only thing that was sort of complicated (it was a little hard to hear him at times, crappy connection), but that it worked live with him playing it. The drumming sounded good and everyone was happy with that. He said the problem with the song was the ending. The whole song was really rocking and pushing through, then you get to the ending and it just never seemed to work. He said they tried four or so different endings to the song. They tried it kinda mellow sounding, and that didn't work. They tried a really aggressive ending, and that didn't work either. They did a simple ending, same result. They just couldn't find an ending to the sound that seemed to do it justice. The thing was that the song sounded really good, but to get to the ending and just not sound good, it was kind of a let down. He said [Trent Reznor] just seemed uninterested with it after a while and they just gave up on it."</blockquote>

Then-current drummer [[Jerome Dillon]] said Fellow NIN fan Whiskers had previously asked the band has "never rule[d] out same when he had lunch with the possibility" of playing the song, in response to a fan's question posted on [drummer. [http://forum.nin.com/access]] on 2005bb/read.php?30,234801,665605#msg-07-19:[[Image:2005_07_19Questions2.gif]665605 link]

NIN fan Trollmanen was able to ask ex-drummer [[Josh Freese]] Reznor answered a question about the rehearsal process for the songplaying "The Perfect Drug" live directly during a 2017 Q&A in Chicago. He said:

<blockquote>"The one question I asked him was about playing The Perfect Drug live, and how the rehearsal process went for that song and why We've tried it never worked out. The first thing he said, without hesitation was that the song itself isnunsexy answer is it just doesn't sound that difficult to play good live on the drums. He said something about the programmed beats part was the only thing that was sort of complicated ( And it was a little 's hard to hear him at timessing, crappy connection), but that and it worked live with him playing it. The drumming sounded good and everyone was happy with that. He said the problem with the song was the ending. The whole song was really rocking and pushing throughends up making me angry, then you get to the ending and it just never seemed to work. He said they tried four or so different endings to the song. They tried it kinda mellow sounding, and that didnwe don't work. They tried a really aggressive ending, and that didn't work either. They did a simple ending, same result. They just couldn't find an ending to the sound that seemed to do it justice. The thing was that the song sounded really good, but to get to the ending and just not sound good, it was kind of a let down. He said [Trent Reznor] just seemed uninterested with it after a while and they just gave up on it."</blockquote>

[[Image:TPDstill.jpg|thumb|Screenshot from the "The Perfect Drug" video]][[Mark Romanek]], who also directed "[[Closer]]," directed the [[Nine Inch Nails music videos|music video]] for "The Perfect Drug" in 1997. It was one of the most expensive videos at the time as , costing over $850,000 to make. Building the costs of building two main sets (a refrigerated set, renting period costumes, and securing use a rooftop set) and commissioning the giant hand sculpture were some of Gustav Klimt's ''The Kiss'' painting were all factors in the almost $1 million costlarger expenses.[http://www.nin-pages.de/perfect_drug_video_quelle.htm]

The concept of the video is widely interpreted as [[Trent Reznor]] portraying a man mourning the death of a child and detaching himself from reality through absinthe. [[Charlie Clouser]], [[Danny Lohner]], and [[Chris Vrenna]] appear in the video, most notably playing string instruments at the beginning of the video. The aesthetics were heavily influenced by the illustrations of 20th-century artist Edward Gorey (1925–2000), the most obvious reference coming from the boy sitting on the cushion in front of the painting.

[[Category: NIN Songs]][[Category: NIN Songs Never Played Live]][[Category:Music Videos]][[Category:Rare NIN Songs]]