Wiki
-
Length
5:54
"Closer" is the fifth track on the 1994 release The Downward Spiral and is perhaps the most well-known song by Nine Inch Nails, as it received much airplay both on radio and music video television. The subject matter seems to be about a feeling of worthlessness being quelled through control over others using sex. To Reznor’s dismay, the song was widely misinterpreted as a lust anthem due to its chorus. In an interview, Trent further developed this idea: "It’s supernegative and superhateful. It’s “I am a piece of shit and I am declaring that and if you think you want me, here I am.” I didn’t think it would become a frat-party anthem or a titty-dancer anthem."
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 its chorus. In July 2009, the song was voted in at number 62 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of all time, Australia's largest music poll.
It begins with an electronic beat. A keyboard pattern and sixteenth-note cymbal pattern join in along with the vocals. Layers are continuously added before dropping out at the end, leaving a simple chromatic piano melody to end the song and segue into "Ruiner". The version on Closer To God, however, allows the final piano note and background noise to ring out completely. The bass drum is sampled from "Nightclubbing" by Iggy Pop and the synth bass is sampled from the A Poke in the Ear With a Sharp Stick, Vol. 2 sample library by Rarefaction. The track also features a reversed and heavily processed sample from "Take A Chance With Me" by Roxy Music, which is most easily heard during the ending (starting from 5:52.) The sample is also used as an intro when the song is played live. Being the third song on the album to contain the famous "Downward Spiral Motif," "Closer" plays the motif in similar structure to "The Downward Spiral," but in a different key.
Track descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. Feel free to contribute!
All user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
