Closer ( Nine Inch Nails song ) - wikipedia Closer ( Nine Inch Nails song ) `` Closer '' US CD single cover Single by Nine Inch Nails from the album The Downward Spiral B - side `` March of the Fuckheads '' `` Memorabilia '' Released May 30, 1994 ( 1994 - 05 - 30 ) Format CD 12 '' cassette Recorded 1993 -- 94 Studio Le Pig ( Benedict Canyon, Los Angeles ) The Record Plant, A&M Studios ( Hollywood, Los Angeles ) Genre Industrial rock Length 6 : 13 Label Nothing TVT Interscope Atlantic Songwriter ( s ) Trent Reznor Producer ( s ) Flood Trent Reznor Nine Inch Nails singles chronology `` March of the Pigs '' ( 1994 ) `` Closer '' ( 1994 ) `` The Perfect Drug '' ( 1997 ) `` March of the Pigs '' ( 1994 ) `` Closer '' ( 1994 ) `` The Perfect Drug '' ( 1997 ) Halo numbers chronology `` Halo 8 '' ( 1994 ) Halo 8 1994 `` Halo 9 '' ( 1994 ) Halo 91994 `` Halo 10 '' ( 1995 ) Halo 10 1995 Audio sample file help `` Closer '' is a song by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from their second studio album, The Downward Spiral ( 1994 ). It was released on May 30, 1994 as the album 's second single. Most versions of the single are titled `` Closer to God '', a rare example in music of a single 's title differing from the title of its A-side. ( `` Closer to God '' is also the title of an alternate version of `` Closer '' featured on the single. ) Labeled `` Halo 9 '', the single is the ninth official NIN release. A promotional single provided by the label to radio stations included both long and short vocal - censored - i.e. : silenced profanity - versions. In spite of misinterpretations of the song as a lust anthem, `` Closer '' became Nine Inch Nails ' most successful single up to that time, cemented Reznor 's status as an industrial rock icon, and remains arguably his best - known song. Censored versions of the song and its Mark Romanek - directed music video received substantial airplay on radio and MTV. Contents 1 Composition 2 Music video 3 Chart performance 4 Formats and track listings 4.1 U.S. CD 4.2 U.K. CD 4.3 U.S. cassette 4.4 U.K. 12 '' vinyl -- Part 1 : Further Away 4.5 U.K. 12 '' vinyl -- Part 2 : Closer to God 5 Personnel 6 Charts 7 Live performances 8 Cover versions 9 References 10 External links Composition `` Closer '' has been described as industrial rock, techno, and alternative rock. `` Closer '' uses elements of funk, avant - garde, and electronic music. The drum track of `` Closer '' features a heavily modified bass drum sample from the Iggy Pop song `` Nightclubbing '' from his album The Idiot. The bass drum in `` Nightclubbing '' was from a Roland drum machine, which is sampled in `` Closer ''. Trent Reznor also sampled a Roland TR - 808 drum machine, utilizing its `` low end '' kick. The samples were produced using two Akai S1100 samplers, each with an expander ( essentially four samplers ). The samples were then combined with beats produced by a Roland R - 70 drum machine. The production features sound effects such as a bass squelch, synth echo, and feedback growl. Radio edits of `` Closer '' were created by muting the vocal track for the duration of each deleted obscenity. Lyrically, `` Closer '' is a meditation on self - hatred and obsession, but to Reznor 's dismay, the song was widely misinterpreted as a lust anthem due to its chorus, which included the line `` I wan na fuck you like an animal ''. In 2003, VH1 ranked the song at number 93 in its countdown of the `` 100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years. '' The song was ranked at the number 2 position on AOL 's `` 69 Sexiest Songs of All Time, '' mostly due to the explicit frankness of the chorus. `` Come on dude : ' I wan na fuck you like an animal ' ? '' remarked Mötley Crüe drummer and The Downward Spiral contributor Tommy Lee. `` That 's the all - time fuck song. Those are pure fuck beats -- Trent Reznor knew what he was doing. You can fuck to it, you can dance to it and you can break shit to it. Since I 'm engaged now ( to Mayte Garcia ), I 'll just say that the most memorable episode that I remember with ' Closer ' took place on a swing. '' In July 2009, the song was voted in at number 62 on Triple J 's Hottest 100 of all time, and in 2010 it was number 42 on Pitchfork Media 's Top 200 Tracks of the 90s. Music video This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( January 2010 ) One of the many controversial images from the `` Closer '' music video. The music video was directed by Mark Romanek and first aired on May 12, 1994, having been filmed in April of that year. It was cut down from its original length to 4 : 36. The video was popular and helped bolster the success of the band. Set in what appears to be a 19th - century mad scientist 's laboratory, the video 's imagery involves religion, sexuality, animal cruelty, politics, and terror, including : A heart connected to some sort of device ; the beat of the heart corresponds to the beat of the song A nude, bald woman with a crucifix mask. A monkey tied to a cross. A severed pig 's head spinning on some type of machine. A diagram of the vulva / vagina. Reznor wearing various fetish gear, such as an S&M mask, ball gag, and long leather gloves while swinging in shackles. Several times, Reznor, wearing leather pants, floats and rotates through the air, suspended by invisible wires. There are also scenes of Reznor being blown back by a wind machine while wearing aviator goggles. These images seem to be inspired by the art of Joel - Peter Witkin, as well as Francis Bacon and George Tooker. The video is also very heavily inspired by the Brothers Quay 's animated short film Street of Crocodiles. For the television version, certain removed scenes were replaced with a title card that read `` Scene Missing, '' and the instances of the word fuck being edited out were accompanied by a stop in the video motion, making it appear as if the stop was a result of defective film ( this was supposedly done to make sure the flow of the song was not affected ). According to director Mark Romanek, the video was filmed using `` a slightly out of date film stock but it was still a contemporary film stock. '' They had stopped making it three years before and we found some of it. All the new color film stocks have this T - Grain, like little Ts that are interlocking. The film stock we used had the original old granular grain. The new stocks are just really modern looking, really sharp, really contrasty, very fine grain. We did n't want that. Normally you do n't want to use that kind of stock because the colors will be off. It does have a shelf life but in this case we did n't care, the more fucked up it was the happier we were. The unedited version of the video was shown on Playboy TV 's music video show Hot Rocks in 1994. In mid-2002, the unedited version aired on MTV2 as part of a special countdown showcasing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV. This countdown was only shown late at night due to the graphic imagery of `` Closer '' and several other videos. In 2006, `` Closer '' was voted number one in a VH1 Classic poll titled `` 20 Greatest Music Videos of All Time. '' In retrospect, Reznor said of the video that `` The rarest of things occurred : where the song sounded better to me, seeing it with the video. And it 's my song. '' The unedited video is included in Closure, The Downward Spiral ( DualDisc ), Directors Label Volume 4 : The Work Of Director Mark Romanek and VEVO, and it is available for download from the United States iTunes Store under the band 's page. Behind - the - scenes footage with commentary by Romanek is included in Closure ( DVD ) and Directors Label. Chart performance `` Closer '' had some radio airplay before it was released as a single. This factor increased within weeks, leading Interscope to release the song in May 1994. When it premiered, the single charted on several Billboard magazine music charts ; debuting near the bottom spot of the Billboard Hot 100, it missed the Top 40 spot ( peaking at No. 41 ). It crawled to No. 11 on the Modern Rock Tracks, and went on to reach No. 35 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks, No. 29 on the Dance Music / Club Play Singles, and No. 29 Hot Dance Music / Maxi - Singles Sales, this is the band 's first crossover hit and remains their most popular song to date. The single 's highest peak is the Top 5 on the Canadian Singles Chart. `` Closer '' did not top any of these charts, and failed to reach No. 1. However, while it did not gain enough success in the US, it was a massive success in Canada on the Canadian pop charts and the Alternative 30 charts both hitting No. 5. Formats and track listings The version of `` Closer '' on the single is 13 seconds longer than the album version ; on the album, the piano tune at the end of the song is abruptly cut off in order to segue into the next track, `` Ruiner ''. On the single, the piano and background sounds of `` Closer '' are allowed to play out longer. In addition, the U.S. CD single contains five guest remixes of `` Closer '', a remix of its fellow The Downward Spiral track `` Heresy '', an instrumental track `` March of the Fuckheads '' ( unrelated to `` March of the Pigs '' ), and a cover version of Soft Cell 's song `` Memorabilia '', from their 1982 EP Non-stop Ecstatic Dancing. The UK single releases contain the same tracks split between two discs ( each sold separately ). A cassette single was issued in the U.S. and Australia, pairing `` Closer '' with a live - performance version of NIN 's previous single, `` March of the Pigs ''. The album art was done by photographer Joseph Cultice. U.S. CD TVT Records / Interscope Records / Atlantic Records 95905 -- 2 TVT Records / Interscope Records 0694959052 ( Reissue ) No. Title Length 1. `` Closer to God '' ( Remixed by Trent Reznor, Sean Beavan, Brian Pollack ) 5 : 05 2. `` Closer ( Precursor ) '' ( Remixed by Coil, Danny Hyde ) 7 : 16 3. `` Closer ( Deviation ) '' ( Remixed by Jack Dangers, Craig Silvey ) 6 : 15 4. `` Heresy ( Blind ) '' ( Remixed by Dave Ogilvie, Anthony Valcic, Joe Bisara ) 5 : 32 5. `` Memorabilia '' 7 : 21 6. `` Closer ( Internal ) '' ( Remixed by Bill Kennedy, Scott Humphrey, John `` Geetus '' Aguto, Paul Decarli, Eric Claudiex ) 4 : 15 7. `` March of the Fuckheads '' ( Remixed by Adrian Sherwood ) 4 : 43 8. `` Closer ( Further Away ) '' ( Remixed by Kennedy, Humphrey, Aguto, Decarli, Claudiex ) 5 : 45 9. `` Closer '' 6 : 26 U.K. CD Island Records CID 596 854 059 -- 2 ( Disc 1 ) Island Records CIDX 596 854 061 -- 2 ( Disc 2 ) Disc 1 : Further Away No. Title Length 1. `` Closer '' 6 : 26 2. `` Closer ( Deviation ) '' 6 : 15 3. `` Closer ( Further Away ) '' 5 : 45 4. `` Closer ( Precursor ) '' 7 : 16 5. `` Closer ( Internal ) '' 4 : 15 Disc 2 : Closer to God No. Title Length 1. `` Closer to God '' 5 : 05 2. `` Heresy ( Blind ) '' 5 : 32 3. `` Memorabilia '' 7 : 21 4. `` March of the Fuckheads '' 4 : 43 U.S. cassette Nothing Records / TVT Records / Interscope Records / Atlantic Records 98263 - 4 Side A No. Title Length 1. `` Closer '' 6 : 25 Side B No. Title Length 2. `` March of the Pigs ( Live ) '' ( appears to be the live rerecording from the music video ) 3 : 12 U.K. 12 '' vinyl -- Part 1 : Further Away Island Records 12IS 596 854 059 -- 1 -- UK 12 '' Vinyl 1 Side A No. Title Length 1. `` Closer ( Deviation ) '' 2. `` Closer ( Further Away ) '' 3. `` Closer '' Side B No. Title Length 4. `` Closer ( Precursor ) '' 5. `` Closer ( Internal ) '' UK 12 '' vinyl -- part 2 : Closer to God Island Records 12ISX 596 854 061 -- 1 -- UK 12 '' Vinyl 2 Side A No. Title Length 1. `` Closer to God '' 2. `` March of the Fuckheads '' Side B No. Title Length 3. `` Heresy ( Blind ) '' 4. `` Memorabilia '' Other versions in other formats and countries have the same track listing as the U.S. CD release. Personnel Trent Reznor -- vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, programming Chris Vrenna -- drum samples ( drum sample taken from Iggy Pop 's `` Nightclubbing '' ) Flood -- hi - hat Charts Chart ( 1994 -- 95 ) Peak position Australia ARIA Charts Canada RPM Alternative 30 5 Canadian Singles Chart 5 UK Singles ( OCC ) 25 U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks 11 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 41 Live performances During the Self Destruct and Fragility tours, bassist Danny Lohner and guitarist Robin Finck joined Reznor on keyboards for the song, with Reznor performing an extended synth solo. There are performance videos of `` Closer '' on And All that Could Have Been and Beside You in Time. In the tours following the release of With Teeth, Nine Inch Nails performed a shorter version of `` Closer '' with the keyboard solo played as a guitar solo and a breakdown incorporating a portion of `` The Only Time, '' a track from Pretty Hate Machine. Two performances of this version of the song appear on Beside You in Time. Cover versions `` Closer '' has been covered by many musical acts, including MGMT, Blood on the Dance Floor, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine, Eric Gorfain, Maroon 5, Maxwell, The Asylum Street Spankers, Asking Alexandria, Rosetta Stone, In This Moment and Japanese Voyeurs. Thirty Seconds to Mars uses samples from `` Closer '' when they perform `` The Fantasy. '' Toronto - based Alternative R&B act The Weeknd samples `` Closer '' in the song `` House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls. '' `` Weird Al '' Yankovic has paid tribute to `` Closer '' twice : in `` The Alternative Polka '' on his album Bad Hair Day, a section of the song was used in which the word `` fuck '' is replaced with a cartoon sound effects. `` Germs '' on his Running with Scissors album is a style parody of several Nine Inch Nails songs. The Asylum Street Spankers occasionally perform a bluegrass version, available at the Live Music Archive. In 1995, the Australian novelty act Nine Inch Richards covered the song under the title `` Closer To Hogs ''. Sung in a southern drawl, it combined Trent Reznor 's sexually charged lyrics with barnyard animal samples, humorously implying that the song is about bestiality. A video clip of the parody was taken at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. This single peaked at # 51 in Australia. In 2008, Sy Smith performed the song as part of her `` Conflict Tour ''. In August 2010, Smith performed the song again at `` Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Heights Plaza ''. In 2013, a cover was done by an independent artist named Kawehi. While many other covers alter the song, this cover follows the original very closely in structure though she appears to improvise many of her own effects through the aid of Ableton Live. In 2014, from the compilation album in the Punk Goes 90 's 2 has been covered by British metalcore Asking Alexandria. In 2016, singer - songwriter Father John Misty covered the song live in Chicago during two separate performances. Fellow Interscope act Limp Bizkit parodied `` Closer '' ( as well `` The Perfect Drug '' and `` Burn '' ) in their song `` Hot Dog ''. The chorus goes, `` You wan na fuck me like an animal, You 'd like to burn me on the inside, You like to think that I 'm a perfect drug, Just know that nothing you do will bring you closer to me. '' Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst said he was a big fan of Nine Inch Nails, who inspired his music. However, reviewers and even Reznor have often interpreted the lyrics as negative. References Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2012 - 07 - 01. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 26. Jump up ^ Dyer, Richard ( 1999 ). Seven -- BFI Modern Classics. British Film Institute. p. 12. ISBN 0 - 85170 - 723 - 8. Retrieved 9 April 2014. Jump up ^ May 6, 1995. `` Song Of The Week : Filter 's `` Hey Man Nice Shot '' ``. MTV. Retrieved May 10, 2017. Jump up ^ Grierson, Tim. `` Top 10 Essential Rock Songs ''. About.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2015. Jump up ^ Richard Buskin ( September 2012 ). `` CLASSIC TRACKS : Nine Inch Nails ' Closer ' ''. Sound on Sound. Retrieved January 23, 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Downward Spiral ( Deluxe Edition ) by Nine Inch Nails on Apple Music ''. iTunes. Retrieved January 6, 2017. Jump up ^ McGovern, Kyle. `` The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994 : # 1 ( Nine Inch Nails -- Closer ) ''. Spin. Retrieved September 12, 2014. Jump up ^ Childers, Chad. `` 23 Years Ago : Nine Inch Nails Unleash ' The Downward Spiral ' ''. Loudwire. Retrieved May 10, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Nine Inch Nails and Coil : Recoiled ''. PopMatters. April 11, 2014. Jump up ^ Dan, Jen ( September 24, 2007 ). `` Nine Inch Nails -- Year Zero ''. Delusions of Adequacy. Retrieved May 10, 2017. Jump up ^ Greg Rule ( April 1994 ). `` Trent Reznor ''. Keyboard. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ McGovern, Kyle ( August 14, 2014 ). `` The 100 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1994 ''. Spin Magazine. Retrieved September 4, 2017. Jump up ^ Huxley, Martin ( September 1997 ). Nine Inch Nails : Self Destruct. St. Martin 's Press. ISBN 0 - 312 - 15612 - X. Jump up ^ Blender, November 2002 Jump up ^ `` Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 90s ''. Pitchfork.com. 2010 - 09 - 02. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 12. Jump up ^ Daniel Robert Epstein ( 2005 - 09 - 06 ). `` Mark Romanek ''. SuicideGirls.com. Retrieved 2012 - 08 - 27. Jump up ^ `` 70 's, 80 's & 90 's Classic Rock, Soul & Pop Music Videos VH1 ''. VH1 Classic. Archived from the original on 2010 - 09 - 23. Retrieved 2012 - 02 - 09. Jump up ^ The Work of Director Mark Romanek DVD Jump up ^ `` The Downward Spiral > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles ''. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2009 - 09 - 13. Jump up ^ `` Closer to God album art ''. Pop Is Personal. 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2015. Jump up ^ `` WebCite query ''. Webcitation.org. Archived from the original on October 26, 2009. Retrieved 2012 - 12 - 04. Jump up ^ http://www.morganic.com/Sounds/Cartoons/Bonk.aif Jump up ^ `` Music Review : Running With Scissors, by Weird Al Yankovic ''. Entertainment Weekly. Jump up ^ `` Nine Inch Nails -- Pretty Hate Machine Review ''. sputnikmusic. 2005 - 01 - 14. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Internet Archive : Details : Asylum Street Spankers Live at Milestones, on 2005 - 05 - 14 ''. Archive.org. Retrieved 2012 - 05 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Nine Inch Richards `` Closer To Hogs '' ``. YouTube. 2010 - 06 - 29. Retrieved 2012 - 02 - 09. Jump up ^ `` The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart -- Week Ending 21 May 1995 ''. Imgur.com ( original document published by ARIA ). Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 25. Jump up ^ Renshaw, David ( 15 April 2016 ). `` Father John Misty covers Nine Inch Nails ' ' Closer ' ''. NME. Retrieved 15 April 2016. Jump up ^ Alona Wartofsky ( 2000 - 10 - 18 ). `` Limp Bizkit, Stuck in Orbit Around Its Star '' ( fee required ). Washington Post. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 23. `` Hot Dog ''... takes on Nine Inch Nails ' Trent Reznor in what Durst has described as a parody of NIN... Jump up ^ Interview with Fred Durst by K - Rock New York. 2000. Jump up ^ Hector Saldana ( 2000 - 11 - 30 ). `` Raw rules with Limp Bizkit '' ( fee required ). San Antonio Express - News. pp. 4F. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 23. Jump up ^ `` This tour needs some new anger '' ( fee required ). Telegram & Gazette. 2000 - 10 - 24. Retrieved 2008 - 03 - 23. Jump up ^ `` CD Reviews New Releases '' ( fee required ). The Hartford Courant. 2000 - 10 - 19. External links `` Closer '' Official music video on YouTube Halo 9 at NINCollector discogs.com : Closer to God ( US CD5 `` ) discogs.com : Closer to God ( US CD5 '' Re-release ) discogs.com : Closer to God ( US 2x12 `` ) discogs.com : Closer to God ( disc 1 ) ( UK CD5 `` ) discogs.com : Closer to God ( disc 2 ) ( UK CD5 `` ) discogs.com : Closer to God ( disc 1 ) ( UK 12 `` ) discogs.com : Closer to God ( disc 2 ) ( UK 12 `` ) discogs.com : Closer ( UK 2x12 `` ) Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor Atticus Ross Robin Finck Alessandro Cortini Ilan Rubin Chris Vrenna Richard Patrick James Woolley Jeff Ward Danny Lohner Charlie Clouser Jerome Dillon Jeordie White Aaron North Josh Freese Alex Carapetis Rich Fownes Justin Meldal - Johnsen Eric Avery Adrian Belew Joshua Eustis Pino Palladino Lisa Fischer Studio albums Pretty Hate Machine The Downward Spiral The Fragile With Teeth Year Zero Ghosts I -- IV The Slip Hesitation Marks Live releases Closure And All That Could Have Been Beside You in Time Another Version of the Truth Remix albums Further Down the Spiral Things Falling Apart Year Zero Remixed Box sets Halo I -- IV Extended plays Broken Fixed Live 2013 EP Remix 2014 EP Not the Actual Events Add Violence Singles `` Down in It '' `` Head Like a Hole '' `` Sin '' `` March of the Pigs '' `` Closer '' `` The Perfect Drug '' `` The Day the World Went Away '' `` We 're in This Together '' `` Into the Void '' `` The Hand That Feeds '' `` Only '' `` Every Day Is Exactly the Same '' `` Survivalism '' `` Capital G '' `` Discipline '' `` Came Back Haunted '' `` Copy of a '' `` Everything '' `` Less Than '' Promotional singles `` Happiness in Slavery '' `` Wish '' `` Burn '' `` Piggy '' `` Hurt '' `` Starfuckers, Inc. '' `` Deep '' Other songs `` Something I Can Never Have '' `` Gave Up '' `` Mr. Self Destruct '' `` Just Like You Imagined '' `` All the Love in the World '' Compilations Lights in the Sky : Over North America 2008 Tour Sampler NINJA 2009 Tour Sampler The Fragile : Deviations 1 Games Quake Year Zero Nine Inch Nails Revenge Tours Pretty Hate Machine Tour Series Self - Destruct Dissonance Fragility Live : With Teeth Performance 2007 Wave Goodbye Twenty Thirteen Tour Related Bands Option 30 The Innocent Exotic Birds Lucky Pierre Prick Pigface Tapeworm Marilyn Manson How to Destroy Angels Filter Jane 's Addiction Queens of the Stone Age People Mariqueen Maandig John Malm Jr. Marilyn Manson Kevin McMahon Rob Sheridan Gary Talpas Albums Natural Born Killers Lost Highway The Social Network The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Gone Girl Before the Flood Pretty Eight Machine Radiant Decay Recoiled Articles Discography Trent Reznor discography Awards and nominations Band members Live performances Concert tours Nothing Records The Null Corporation Broken ( film ) Beats Music `` I 'm Afraid of Americans '' Book Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Closer_(Nine_Inch_Nails_song)&oldid=826491541 '' Categories : Nine Inch Nails songs 1994 singles 1994 songs Music videos directed by Mark Romanek Songs written by Trent Reznor Song recordings produced by Flood ( producer ) TVT Records singles Nothing Records singles Interscope Records singles Song recordings produced by Trent Reznor Songs about sexuality Obscenity controversies in music Hidden categories : Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats Articles that may contain original research from January 2010 All articles that may contain original research Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español فارسی Français Galego Italiano Latviešu Polski Português Русский Türkçe Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 19 February 2018, at 12 : 40. 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Question: what does the song closer by nine inch nails mean
Answer: a meditation on self-hatred and obsession