"We're in This Together" is a song by

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten ...

band Nine Inch Nails released in 1999. It is the 15th official Nine Inch Nails release and is a single for the album '' The Fragile''. It was released as a three-disc single (also known as a "triple single").

Background

According to ''The Fragile'' contributor Keith Hillebrandt, "the whole song started from something eznoractually played at the end of another track ... he wrote it up into an entirely new song". The lyrics seem to be inspired by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's song " ‘Heroes’" from the same-named 1977 album, such as with the line "You're the queen and I'm the king" and describing two people trying to fight against an ominous and seemingly unstoppable force. Bowie, who is recognized as one of Reznor's greatest influences, is given a special thanks credit in the liner notes of ''The Fragile''. MTV's Gil Kaufman described the song as "a seven-minute-plus cathartic pop song with somewhat hopeful lyrics over a plodding hip-hop beat, walls of distorted guitars and an eerie slasher-film cricket sound". Both "10 Miles High" and "The New Flesh" originally appeared on the vinyl version of ''The Fragile''. The song was featured in the first official teaser trailer for Marvel Studios film '' The Avengers''. * * * The song peaked at #21 on the US

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

Billboard. Despite being one of the band's most popular songs, the band has only played it live five times, all during the Performance 2007 Tour.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by Mark Pellington and released on August 27, 1999. An extended version of the video has since surfaced.

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

and a large group of black-clothed men are seen running down empty streets, onto a train, and into a field. There are also shots of several elderly people, and a brief scene with a young woman. The video was filmed in Guadalajara and in the dry lake of Sayula.

Release and reception

"We're in This Together" was released on a three-part single, which was only available in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and Japan; it was not released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Two radio promos (the first with the album mix and radio edit of the song, the second with just a unique short edit of the song) were released in America as ''Halo 15'' as well.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

critic Christian Huey has reviewed the single release, describing the title track as a "strong song" and "different turn for him emotionally" while stating that "this adrenaline-infused, white noise territory was mined to even better effect on "

Wish A wish is a hope or desire for something. In fiction, wishes can be used as plot devices. In folklore, opportunities for "making a wish" or for wishes to "come true" or "be granted" are themes that are sometimes used. In fiction In fictio ...

." Huey also criticized the three part single release, particularly referring to the orange disk as "the least substantial and the most redundant of the bunch" and "a tired repackaging of material." ''Spin'' reviewer

Ann Powers Ann K. Powers (born February 4, 1964) is an American writer and pop music critic. She is a music critic for NPR and a contributor at the ''Los Angeles Times'', where she was previously chief pop critic. She has also served as pop critic at ''The ...

referred to the song as "a sweet pop tune encased within the armor of industrial rock." The track was listed as number 19 on ''Spin''s list of "The 69 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1999." Critic Christopher R. Weingarten has stated: "Though the anthemic chorus borders on “ hit single,” the song still grinds with crunchy noise, whining guitars and a trash-can-sounding snare drum."

Track listing

Personnel

– writing, performance, and production *

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, ...

- chorus drums *

Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music fro ...

– production, engineering, mixing * Porter Ricks – remixing *

Danny Lohner Daniel Patrick “Danny” Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project. He has also played for Methods of M ...

– remixing on "Complications of the Flesh" * David Carson – design and photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

*
Single "We're in This Together"
at the NinWiki
Song "We're in This Together"
at the NinWiki

at NINCollector.com
discogs.com: ''We're in This Together'' (disc 1) (CD5")discogs.com: ''We're in This Together'' (disc 2) (CD5")discogs.com: ''We're in This Together'' (disc 3) (CD5")
{{DEFAULTSORT:We're In This Together Nine Inch Nails songs 1999 singles Nothing Records singles Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Trent Reznor Songs written by Trent Reznor Music videos directed by Mark Pellington Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder Black-and-white music videos