Format CD
digital download Length 3:16 | Recorded 2012–13 | |
Released August 20, 2013 (2013-08-20) Genre Pop punk
college rock
new wave Label Columbia
The Null Corporation | ||
"Everything" is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their eighth studio album, Hesitation Marks (2013). It debuted on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 program on August 19, 2013, as was released digitally the following day.
Contents
Recording
The song was recorded during the recording sessions for the Nine Inch Nails greatest hits album, along with another song, "Satellite". These sessions gave way to more songs and ended up yielding an entire album.
From an interview with The Sun, Trent Reznor said the following about the track: "I was trying to make something that leapt out of the speakers in a very unfamiliar way. At first listen, it might seem to be in praise of life but it's supposed to come off as an arrogant, 'Fuck you. I've survived!' It also gets less triumphant and more reflective and melancholy towards the end."
Reznor went on to state, in another interview with The News & Observer: "There were a few moments of this album where I expected eyebrows to raise", Reznor says. "But that actually was not one of them. To me, 'Everything' is a descendant of Fear and Joy Division and New Order. Somehow, that song has become representative of this as my 'happy album,' although I don't hear it as such. It's certainly not meant to make you feel like, 'Look at how great everything is!' But it seems to be the shocking moment of the record. We've not played it onstage, only in rehearsals. It's become an irritant to me."
Critical reception
The song was noted for being a departure from the band's musical style. Johnny Firecloud of CraveOnline described the song as "an unexpectedly bright pop-beat jam", also stating that it is "a surprising sound from the notoriously dark & melancholy outfit." Andrew Trendell of Gigwise also reported that "Whereas recent singles 'Came Back Haunted' and 'Copy of A' where his trademark pumelling industrial metal, 'Everything' rolls with an infectious pop-punk bounce in the verse before a typically ugly but nonetheless addictive chorus." He also described the song as "probably the poppiest moment that we have ever heard from Trent Reznor." Claire Lobenfeld of Stereogum gave the song a positive review, commenting that the song is "the most pop we've ever heard from the band", while comparing it to other '90s alternative rock contemporaries, Lit and Foo Fighters.
Consequence of Sound described the song as "a sweeping rock anthem." Chris Martins of Spin magazine compared the song to the band's hit song, "Closer", while referring to it as "a surprisingly poppy, powered by major chord riffage and an upbeat backing track." He also stated that the track swerves in and out of fiery punk passages that offset the catchier songwriting quite nicely", also noting that it "finds NIN veering into non-traditional territory." Fact magazine wrote that the song is "a relentlessly upbeat affair replete with harmonies on the chorus and an unusually propulsive beat, but seeing as Trent Reznor's involved it's hardly all sunshine and rainbows." Alex Hudson of Exclaim! described the song as uncharacteristically buoyant, while noting the pop influences and the vocal harmonies in the second verse. Nevertheless, he also noted plenty of noisy and dissonant elements.
Track listing
- "Everything" – 3:16