Discipline

Album:The Slip

Length:4:30

Tempo:122 BPM

Versions:Discipline (Album Version)
Discipline (MP3 Version)
Discipline (Multitrack combined version)
Discipline (Live At Rehearsal)

Live:Lights In The Sky Tour through Wave Goodbye Tour
NIN 2022

Discipline Track Art

"Discipline" is a single from Nine Inch Nails and also the fourth track on Halo 27, The Slip. It contains a beat reminiscent of "Only" from With Teeth, and its lyrics seem to have a sado-masochistic overtone.

The song was released to radio stations simultaneously around 2:30pm EST on April 22, 2008, being mastered only the day before, and was then made available as a free download via discipline.nin.com, which eventually redirected to theslip.nin.com. When downloaded, it comes with track art and a note found in the comments box of the song info saying "Go to www.nin.com on May 5", which was the release date of the then-unannounced album The Slip. The lyrics are also contained.

About

"Discipline" is the first radio single from NIN since becoming an independent recording act, following their final release under a major record label, 2007's Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D. Due to the advertisement and short notice of the release, the song was posted on YouTube almost immediately after release. The multitrack files for this track were released at remix.nin.com.

The track art resembles a lowercase 'd'. It also resembles a person sitting with their knees drawn up to their chest, facing to the left. Lastly, the shape also resembles the portion of the Art is Resistance logo that contains the star. For the physical release booklet, the red line on the "Discipline" artwork continues over to the opposite lyrics page crossing over the phrase "I cannot help myself".

Appearances

Halos

• The Slip

Other

• The Definitive NIN - The Singles - online playlist(s); not on original Seed release
• Fringe: Season 1: Midnight (04/28/09) [1]

Versions

Discipline (Album version)

The track opens with a disco style drum pattern, followed by a heavily distorted synth bass. Trent Reznor's vocals enter and the instrumentation remains generally the same until the second verse, when a bass guitar is used alternately with the synth bass and a piano melody enters. For the bridge, the drum pattern becomes more minimal and is accompanied only by the piano and some undistorted synth bass notes as Reznor's vocal gradually returns with a different lyrical section. The full instrumentation returns and the song continues this way until it fades out.

The version on The Slip is 4:19 and starts to fade out at the end, but then abruptly cuts off as it segues into "Echoplex." You can find in the scrapped 24/96 WAV format download, a 4:34 version that fades out slower and to a more complete silence than the MP3 version. However the final WAV24/96 does have the regular 4:19 version.

Discipline (MP3 download version)

The original download version is 4:29 in length and fades out at the end.

Discipline (Multitrack combined version)

The version that can be created from separate multitracks is 5:08 when combined, and does not fade out. Instead, the outro continues for an additional 3½ measures with extra unused vocals before abruptly coming to a halt.

Discipline (Live At Rehearsals)

This version of the song was filmed and recorded in the band's rehearsal space in mid 2008 and directed by Rob Sheridan. It features on The Slip, on a DVD of rehearsal footage. Its ending is the same as the multitrack combined version, but shorter.

Live

This song made its live debut at the dress rehearsal show of the Lights In The Sky Tour. It was a staple that year and remained a feature throughout the Wave Goodbye Tour the following year, but did not return until 2022. There are no significant changes from the album version, save an extended outro.

Lyrics

    Am I still tough enough?
    Feels like I’m wearing down
    Is my viciousness
    Losing ground?
    Am I taking too much
    Did I cross a line
    I need my role in this
    Very clearly defined
    I need your discipline
    I need your help
    I need your discipline
    You know once I start I cannot help myself
    
    And now it's starting up
    feels like I'm losing touch
    Nothing matters to me
    Nothing matters as much
    I see you left a mark
    Up and down my skin
    I don't know where I end
    And where you begin
    I need your discipline
    I need your help
    I need your discipline
    You know once I start I cannot help myself
    Once I start I cannot stop myself

External Links

• "Discipline" Live from Rehearsals

Previous track - "Letting You" Track 4 from The Slip Next track - "Echoplex"