The Slip (album)
The Slip is the seventh studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released on May 5, 2008, digitally[3] on the Nine Inch Nails website, and on CD on July 22 by The Null Corporation. It was their second release in 2008, following their sixth album Ghosts I–IV, released two months prior. The album was produced by frontman Trent Reznor with collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder.
The Slip
May 5, 2008
April 2008
43:45
The Null Corporation
Although originally intended to be an EP, the project was later expanded into a full length album. Recording took place over the span of three weeks, and is described by Reznor as simply "garage electronics". Like Ghosts, the record was released under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license via the band's website for no-cost, with a limited-edition physical version following two months later. The album's only single, "Discipline", was distributed by Reznor to radio stations less than 24 hours after it was mastered by Moulder.
The Slip was well received by critics, with particular praise towards its production and unorthodox method of release. The album reached number 13 on the Billboard 200, while the digital release was downloaded nearly 2 million times.
Background and recording[edit]
Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor announced in 2007 that the band had completed its contractual obligations to its record label Interscope Records, and would no longer be working with the company. Reznor also revealed that Nine Inch Nails would likely distribute any future material independently.[4] Following the announcement, Nine Inch Nails released the 36-track instrumental album Ghosts I–IV in March, 2008 on Reznor's independent label The Null Corporation.
Reznor returned to writing soon after the release of Ghosts, and after a month of work, The Slip was recorded in three weeks of studio time at Trent Reznor's in-home studio.[5] The album was engineered by Atticus Ross and mixed by Alan Moulder, both of whom co-produced it with Reznor. It was originally intended as an EP. Some instrumental performances were contributed by NIN live band members Josh Freese, Robin Finck and Alessandro Cortini, though they did not participate in the songwriting process; their contributions were limited to small parts rather than complete song recordings.[6] During recording sessions, Reznor sent the album's first and only single, "Discipline", to radio stations before the remainder of the album was completed, and less than 24 hours after the track had been mastered.[7] According to Reznor, the track listing and lyrics were finished on a Wednesday, the final mix and album sequencing on Thursday, the mastering on Friday, artwork on Saturday and the album was released on Sunday, May 5.[5] Reznor reflected on the quick turnaround by saying "that was fun [...] you never could have done that before".[5]
Release[edit]
Reznor posted on the official Nine Inch Nails website on April 21 a message saying "2 weeks!" Reznor employed a similar tactic to tease the release of the band's previous album (Ghosts I–IV) earlier the same year.[14] The following day, Reznor released the single, "Discipline", by email to radio stations and as a free download on the official Nine Inch Nails site.[14] The song reached numbers six and 24 on Billboard's Hot Modern Rock Tracks and Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts, respectively.[15][16] Another song, "Echoplex", was released as a free download from iLike later.[17] The ID3 tags of these MP3 files also pointed to the date May 5, just as Reznor's post had.[17] On May 5, a free direct download link to the album in MP3 format was posted on the official Nine Inch Nails website, with a message from Reznor that said: "Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years - this one's on me."[18] The digital download is available in a variety of DRM-free audio, in both CD standard and higher resolution formats. The lyrics for each track are embedded using ID3 tags, for viewing in supported media players.
Like the previous Nine Inch Nails studio album Ghosts I–IV, The Slip was released under a Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial share-alike license, in effect allowing anyone to use or rework the material for any non-profit purpose, as long as credit is provided and the resulting work is released under a similar license.[19][20] The website further expands this by saying "we encourage you to remix it, share it with your friends, post it on your blog, play it on your podcast, give it to strangers, etc."[21] As with Ghosts I–IV and Year Zero, multi-track audio source files of the album were also made available at the official Nine Inch Nails remix site. Reznor also plans on giving away the online software and digital infrastructure through which both The Slip and Ghosts were released.[5]
The Slip was released on CD in the United States and Canada on July 22; unlike the digital release, however, the physical version of the album was not free. The physical package was released as a six-panel digipack which contained the album itself, a 24-page booklet, a sticker pack, and a DVD with live rehearsals of "1,000,000", "Letting You", "Discipline", "Echoplex", and "Head Down". Three of these videos were featured on Pitchfork prior to the CD/DVD release.[22] The physical release of the album was limited to 250,000 numbered units worldwide and as of December 2011 is still available. An unlimited 180-gram gatefold vinyl was released in the US and Canada on August 12, and in the United Kingdom August 18.[23]
Commercial performance[edit]
A month and a half after its online release, The Slip had been downloaded 1.4 million times from the official Nine Inch Nails website.[49][50] The physical release of the album debuted at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, selling 29,000 copies in its first week.[51] As of May 2013, it had sold 112,000 copies in the United States.[52] The album also charted internationally, including number 12 on the Canadian Albums Chart, number 22 on the Australian Albums Chart, and number 25 on the UK Albums Chart.[53][54][55]
Reznor spoke positively of the unconventional releases of Ghosts I–IV and The Slip, especially having the freedom to create with no outside influence from a record company. In an interview seven months after the album's release, Reznor said "In most ways, it feels like a blessing, because labels truly, truly have no idea what they’re doing. [...] To see that infrastructure die mainly due to their own ignorance and greed is a great thing to watch from a distance."[56]