Gave Up
{{short description|Nine Inch Nails song}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Gave Up
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Nine Inch Nails
| EP = Broken
| released = {{Start date|1992|9|22}}
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Industrial metal{{Cite web |url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/9576/reviews/1680239-nine-inch-nails-live--beside-you-in-time-dvd |title=Nine Inch Nails - Live: Beside You In Time (DVD) |last=Nettleton |first=Chris |date=March 5, 2007 |access-date=December 25, 2016 |publisher=Drowned in Sound |archive-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215121319/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/9576/reviews/1680239-nine-inch-nails-live--beside-you-in-time-dvd |url-status=dead }}
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=8}}
| label = Nothing, TVT, Interscope
| writer = Trent Reznor
| producer = Trent Reznor, Flood
}}
"Gave Up" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Written by frontman Trent Reznor and co-produced by Flood, the song serves as the sixth track of Nine Inch Nails' 1992 EP, Broken. The song is noted for its multiple music videos and became a concert favorite during the band's live performances.{{cite web | url=http://www.treblezine.com/celebrate-the-catalog-nine-inch-nails/ | title=Celebrate the Catalog: Nine Inch Nails | publisher=Treblezine | date=March 2, 2012 | access-date=May 28, 2013 | author=Blyweiss, Adam}}{{cite web | url=http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/nine-inch-nails/ | title=NIN at the Electric Factory 5/19 | publisher=Delirium's Realm. | access-date=May 28, 2013}} The video, which features Marilyn Manson, was filmed at the house where Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the Manson family.{{cite web |title=This Nine Inch Nails Video Was Shot At The Scene of An Infamous Murder |url=https://gizmodo.com/this-nine-inch-nails-video-was-shot-at-the-scene-of-an-1646334249 |website=Gizmodo}}
Music and lyrics
The song is noted for its aggressive tone, fast tempo and heavier use of guitars, in contrast to Reznor's previous dance-oriented songs from the album Pretty Hate Machine. The song also features prominent use of Mellotron MKIV, which was previously owned by the Beatles' deceased frontman John Lennon.{{cite magazine | title=The Pleasure of Pain | author=Hochman, Steve | magazine=Rolling Stone |date=January 1993}} Robotic vocal effects are also present in the song.Truesdell (2007), p. 198
Lyrically, the song addresses the themes of isolation, belongingness, self-hatred and agony.{{cite journal | url=https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/52949/EMR000124a-Brown.pdf | title=Artist autonomy in a digital era: The case of Nine Inch Nails | author=Brown, Steven C. | journal=Empirical Musicology Review | year=2011 | volume=6 | issue=4 | pages=199| doi=10.18061/1811/52949 | hdl=1811/52949 }}{{cite journal | title=Broken review | journal=CMJ |date=December 1992}} Reznor's angst-filled lyrics in this song, such as "After everything I've done I hate myself for what I've become" was regarded as a solidification of his status as "the dark lord of doom."{{cite journal | title=Interview with Trent Reznor | author=Rees, Paul | journal=Kerrang! |date=December 1999}}Smithouser and Waliszewski (1998) p.214
Music videos
{{main|Broken (1993 film)}}
Two different videos exist for "Gave Up". One is footage of the band performing the song at the Le Pig studio at 10050 Cielo Drive, where Nine Inch Nails recorded The Downward Spiral and parts of Broken (directed by Jon Reiss). The album version of "Gave Up" was not used for the video's audio; rather, the band re-recorded the song specifically for the video, which featured Nine Inch Nails members Reznor on vocals, Chris Vrenna on drums, and Richard Patrick on vocals and guitar. In addition, studio guests Manson appeared on vocals and Brian Liesegang appeared on keyboards. The video was the last one to feature Patrick, as he left Nine Inch Nails shortly after to form the band Filter alongside Liesegang.
The other "Gave Up" video is the original footage of the finale to The Broken Movie. This video used the original audio of "Gave Up" from Broken.
In popular culture
The song was extensively played during the shooting of the Lost Highway
References
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book | title=The spectre of sound: music in film and television | publisher=BFI | author=Donnelly, Kevin J. | year=2005 | isbn=1844570258}}
- {{cite book | title=Chart Watch: From the Editor's of Focus on the Family's Plugged in | url=https://archive.org/details/chartwatchfromed0000smit | url-access=registration | publisher=Tyndale House Publishers | author=Smithouser, Bob and Bob Waliszewski | year=1997 | isbn=156179628X}}
- {{cite book | title=Mastering Digital Audio Production: The Professional Music Workflow with Mac OS X | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | author=Truesdell, Cliff | year=2007 | isbn=978-0470165768}}
External links
- [http://www.nin.com Official Nine Inch Nails website]
{{Nine Inch Nails}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Nine Inch Nails songs
Category:Songs written by Trent Reznor