I’ve loved what “Closer” does to me for years now. There are times when the song describes better than any words how I feel. That said, I’ve only now started exploring Nine Inch Nails’ oeuvre. I’m including a link to the Man in Black’s cover of Hurt in addition to embedded video of Closer below. I suspect that a few of you are NIИ fans—any faves you want to point my way?
Now if I could only make out what word they keep censoring out of this video…
10 responses so far ↓
1 Chandelle // Jul 14, 2009 at 8:12 am
HOW did you make a backward N?!
I love NIN. It carried me through high school. The Downward Spiral had a – well, I can’t say it had a POSITIVE affect on me, but its language and movement certainly had some kind of influence, so much that it’s painful to hear it now.
I adore The Fragile and I consider it Reznor’s best work. (Absolutely hated Starfuckers, though.) I play this album at least once a week.
2 Chandelle // Jul 14, 2009 at 8:22 am
Also, two unrelated and possibly TMI tidbits:
1. “Closer” was integral to my adult awakening. Actually, when I really think about it, a lot of bizarre shit was a part of my puberty experience, like Rocky Horror, Hedwig, and a couple of Tool’s music videos. I don’t know what that says about me and my sexuality.
2. NIN and Marilyn Manson both cultivate a sense of hideous beauty and functional androgyny. The Manson/Sneaker Pimps “Long Hard Road Out of Hell” video is a good example. I consider Manson’s music somewhat juvenile as an adult, but I still like it just because of that aesthetic. It’s beautiful in a way that destroys boundaries. I credit both artists with opening my mind to imagery most people consider repugnant and useless.
3 JohnW // Jul 14, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Chandelle I’m on board with the Tool videos as cultivating a similar aesthetic. Manson’s aesthetic just struck me as more shock-oriented than hideous beauty. At least that was my emotional reaction. “Oh, MM is trying to shock me. Boring.”
4 Chandelle // Jul 14, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I definitely get that. But I think if you look at some album art or his lesser-known videos (“Tourniquet” comes to mind), it’s easier to see some of the more serious aesthetic that goes beyond the shock-rock image. I loved his take on Tarot cards, for example.
5 Alli. // Jul 15, 2009 at 9:10 am
Pretty Hate Machine was my album of choice pre-grunge era. Head Like A Hole still is one of my very favorite songs in the world. Terrible Lie and Down In It are also faves.
6 Alli. // Jul 15, 2009 at 9:13 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXtQhtSI_9I
7 Chandelle // Jul 15, 2009 at 9:23 am
Oh, “The Perfect Drug” is another excellent video, and if you haven’t already heard it a thousand times, Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans” is not to be missed (featuring Reznor).
8 wren // Jul 16, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Pretty Hate Machine was my favorite. I saw NIN at the first lollapalooza back in ’91. Good times. Damn fine cd to listen to when you’re going through hard times.
9 chosha // Jul 22, 2009 at 4:56 am
I know so little about NIИ. Once I got past the first two lines (I get it, but still made me squirmy, haha) I really liked Closer. It just seeps under your skin, no?
10 xJane // Jul 24, 2009 at 12:57 am
This was one of the first songs that I really liked when I broke out of the hole I had been living in and discovered music with words that got bleeped. It was one of my faves because it was also one of the most explicit. But I hadn’t seen the video, and when DH discovered this a few years ago, he immediately whipped out his laptop and found the unedited version (all those “scene missing”s? check teh intarwebs for the version with the crucified monkey)—which had apparently gotten banned from MTV! I like the song, but I like the [unedited] video even more.
I also never noticed how [French] Steampunk it is!
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