Editing I'm Afraid of Americans (section)

==Releases==
The original version of "I'm Afraid of Americans" was released on the ''[[Showgirls]]'' soundtrack on 26 September 1995.{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 10}} ''Earthling'' was released on 3 February 1997{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=441–455}} on CD and [[Phonograph record|LP]] formats through [[RCA Records]] in the UK,{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=430–433}} [[Virgin Records]] in the US,<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Artists & Music |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=11 October 1997 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-10-11.pdf |page=18 |via=worldradiohistory.com |access-date=25 November 2021 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307112141/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1997/Billboard-1997-10-11.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Arista Records]] and its parent distributor [[Bertelsmann Music Group|BMG]] elsewhere.{{sfn|Trynka|2011|pp=494–495}} "I'm Afraid of Americans" was the eighth and penultimate track, between "The Last Thing You Should Do" and "Law (Earthlings on Fire)".{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=Partial Discography}}

[[File:Trent Reznor-FEB2008 (cropped, but higher quality) (2).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|alt=Trent Reznor in 2008|The CD maxi-single featured various remixes by [[Trent Reznor]] ''(pictured in 2008)'', who appeared in the song's music video.]]
Virgin issued "I'm Afraid of Americans" as a [[Maxi single|maxi-single]] in North America only on 14 October 1997, where it was backed by six remixes;<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |last1=Huey |first1=Christian |title='I'm Afraid of Americans' [US] – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/im-afraid-of-americans-us-mw0000596405 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=24 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122222349/https://www.allmusic.com/album/im-afraid-of-americans-us-mw0000596405 |archive-date=22 November 2021}}</ref>{{sfn|Pegg|2016|p=786}} the V3 mix featured guest vocals from rapper [[Ice Cube]] while the V5 mix was created by producer [[Photek]].{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=128–129}}<ref name="CD single" /><ref name="LP single" /> The project was instigated by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, continuing his and Bowie's association following the [[Outside Tour]]. Reznor, who stated that he "tried to make it a bit darker",{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=128–129}} stripped the production to its roots to create what biographer David Buckley calls "an eerie, psychotic track".{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=441–455}} The ending result is an almost 40-minute project that, in Bowie's words, was "not just a remix [but] almost...an album piece in itself. I was absolutely knocked out when I heard what [Reznor] had done. It was great."{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=128–129}}  Commercially, the single reached number 66 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and remained on the chart for 16 weeks, becoming Bowie's biggest hit in the country since "[[Day-In Day-Out]]" ten years earlier.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=441–455}} It was the final Bowie single to chart on the Hot 100 until the release of "[[Blackstar (song)|Blackstar]]" in 2015.{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 10}}<ref name="Vice" /> It also stayed in the Canadian top 50 for six months.{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=441–455}}

Reznor also starred as the titular Johnny in the [[Dom and Nic]]-directed [[music video]],{{sfn|Spitz|2009|pp=370–371}} which was shot in [[New York City]] in October 1997 during the American leg of the [[Earthling Tour]]. Bowie explained that he chose the duo because they were "making very interesting, quite hard-edged British videos at the moment. I felt it was important that it retained that outsider's perspective of America".{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=128–129}} The video depicts Bowie as a man who is chased around the streets of New York by a stalker portrayed by Reznor,<ref name="RS essentials" /> reflecting the song's theme of a frightened European in an American city.{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 10}} Discussing his character, Reznor stated: "They wanted a kind of ''[[Taxi Driver]]'' feel to the whole thing. That's kind of what it's based on. That's why I'm in my [[Travis Bickle]] outfit!"{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=128–129}} According to Spitz, the video received heavy rotation on [[MTV]], a first for Bowie in over a decade.{{sfn|Spitz|2009|pp=370–371}} It also earned Bowie a nomination for [[MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video|Best Male Video]] at the [[1998 MTV Video Music Awards]].{{sfn|Buckley|2005|pp=441–455}}

O'Leary states that while the track has no "definitive" version, Reznor's V1 mix is the most recognisable,{{sfn|O'Leary|2019|loc=chap. 10}} which has appeared on the [[compilation album]]s ''[[Best of Bowie]]'' (2002),<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |author-link1=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=''Best of Bowie'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-bowie-mw0000694821 |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=30 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127175533/https://www.allmusic.com/album/best-of-bowie-mw0000694821 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Nothing Has Changed]]'' (2014),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18494/reviews/4148401 | title=David Bowie – ''Nothing Has Changed'' | last=Lukowski | first=Andrzej | work=[[Drowned in Sound]] | date=12 November 2014 | access-date=11 August 2017 | archive-date=12 August 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812134401/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/18494/reviews/4148401 | url-status=live }}</ref> and ''[[Legacy (The Very Best of David Bowie)|Bowie Legacy]]'' (2016).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Erlewine |first1=Stephen Thomas |title=''Legacy'' – David Bowie |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/legacy-mw0002986167 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508195207/https://www.allmusic.com/album/legacy-mw0002986167 |archive-date=8 May 2019}}</ref> The ''Showgirls'' version, V1 mix and Plati's "Original Edit" were included on the bonus disc of the ''Earthling'' expanded edition in 2004.{{sfn|Pegg|2016|pp=430–433}}<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=Earthling (reissue) |others=David Bowie |year=2004 |location=US |publisher=[[Columbia Records]]/ISO |type=CD booklet |id=CK 92098}}</ref>