Wiki
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Release Date
1 January 2002
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Length
9 tracks
Still (also known as Halo 17 CD2 or And All That Could Have Been: Still), released on January 22, 2002, is both an individual Nine Inch Nails release and the second disc of the deluxe edition of And All That Could Have Been. It contains original songs as well as stripped down versions of old songs. The old songs are done in the manner of similar ones performed at the The CRC Sessions.
Trent Reznor explained the concept behind the album in a Q&A lifted from a press sheet: "We did a radio show in Chicago where we did such songs as "The Fragile" and "Hurt" that were stripped down, though it was not us with acoustic guitars, singing Poison songs. So I took those performances, and added some other ones we'd done in the studio, several new instrumental tracks, a new song called "And All That Could Have Been," and worked it into a heavily melancholic suite for a rainy, fall, Sunday afternoon."
Reznor stated on nin.com/access that some of the tracks on Still are evolutions of rejected themes that were originally written for Mark Romanek's One Hour Photo. Romanek had to reject Reznor's work due to pressure from the studio, who wanted him to work with an established film composer.
The title may be referencing the Joy Division album of the same name, from which their song "Dead Souls" - covered by NIN during The Downward Spiral era - comes. The album was originally intended to be called Quiet, a name that was later reflected in The Definitive NIN - Quiet Tracks.
The overall And All That Could Have Been release was dedicated to the memory of Rodney Robertson, a close friend and employee of Reznor's who was murdered in 2001. Reznor was too deep in his addictions to attend Robertson's funeral, and he saw this as the impetus to fully get clean and sober.
While the album was at one point available as part of the deluxe edition of And All That Could Have Been, it was also offered from the beginning as a standalone disc directly from nin.com. Its availability has been on and off since its release, causing extraordinary prices on eBay at times. The tracks are currently available through most digital outlets.
Three music videos were made to accompany Still, for the new versions of "Something I Can Never Have" and "The Becoming" and for the new track "Gone, Still". They were all directed by Rob Sheridan.
The Becoming: This featured Trent Reznor, Danny Lohner and Jerome Dillon performing at Nothing Studios. The audio for "The Becoming" was the same as featured on the album, though the performance captured in the video did not synch up to the sound and is clearly from a different take.
Something I Can Never Have: This featured Trent Reznor and Jerome Dillon performing in the living room of Reznor's former home in New Orleans. The performance in this video is not the same as featured on the album. Both the audio and video were recorded solely for this release, though the audio take here is very similar to what was used on the album.
Gone, Still: The only new song on the release to get a video, this again featured Trent Reznor and Jerome Dillon, performing in the same room as "Something I Can Never Have". The audio is an entirely different take than the one on the album. It is strictly acoustic and lacks the synth pads from the album version, and also adds a few improvised notes. The windows are open in the room, and a thunderclap can be heard at the end.
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