It’s the 36th anniversary of Nine Inch Nails’ first single, “Down In It!”

Damn, do I feel old now. On September 15th, 1989, Nine Inch Nails released their first single, Down In It, which serious fans also know as “HALO 1.” Today is its 36th anniversary.

(Trent Reznor assigns HALO numbers, to Nine Inch Nails releases in chronological order. It makes one’s Nine Inch Nails collection simpler to organize. He took the idea from Depeche Mode, who use a similar system called BONG numbers.)

Down In It would become the third track on Nine Inch Nails’ debut album, Pretty Hate Machine, which came out in October 1989. This album is one of my all time favorites, and those of you who were at my DJ sessions at Crazy Go Nuts University’s pub run by the engineering students, Clark Hall Pub, know that I often played tracks from this album, including Down In It.

There are a few versions of Down In It, but my particular favorite wasn’t the heavyily-produced album version, but the more raw-sounding demo version, which was released on the Head Like a Hole maxi-single, also known as HALO 3, featured in the video below:

Here’s the official music video, which features some very oh-so-1990 alt-rock visuals and the album version of the song:

I’ve always loved the synth riff in this song — the “dee doo doo doo dee doo deedley-doo” bit — and here’s how you play it:

Down In It came out at a time when I was, well, “down in it,” and while it may be a cliché to say that it (along with the rest of the Pretty Hate Machine album) got me through some hard times, it actually did. And to this day, this track, along with the rest of the album, still holds a special place in my heart.

Happy 36th anniversary, Down In It!