“The Only Time” by Nine Inch Nails

"The Only Time" comes from Pretty Hate Machine, the Nine Inch Nails debut that TVT Records unleashed on October 20, 1989, and like most of that record it's Trent Reznor's show from start to finish. He wrote the words and the music, sang it and recorded it himself, then shared the production with John Fryer and Keith LeBlanc, with LeBlanc handling the mix as well.

It wasn't one of the singles ("Down in It", "Head Like a Hole" and "Sin" carried that load), but it lives in the same cold, clanking world: industrial grind and rock muscle bolted onto a frame of synthesizers, with angst, betrayal and lovesickness running all through the album's lyrics. Dancefloor pulse and bedsit sulk, sharing a wall.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.