Closer is a song by Nine Inch Nails, released as the second single on their second studio album, The Downward Spiral (1994). Released on May 30, 1994, it is considered one of Nine Inch Nails‘ signature songs and remains their most popular song.
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, which was also released as a separate promotional single for club-play). The single is the ninth official Nine Inch Nails release, making it “Halo 9” in the band’s official Halo numbering system.
A promotional single provided by the label to radio stations included both long and short vocal-censored (i.e. silenced profanity) versions. Although the song addresses themes such as self-hatred and obsession, its sexually aggressive chorus led to widespread misinterpretation of the song as an anthem of lust, which helped it become Nine Inch Nails‘ most successful single up to that time and cemented Trent Reznor‘s status as an industrial rock icon.
Commercially, Closer reached No. 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100, No. 25 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 3 on the Australian Singles Chart. Censored versions of the song and its Mark Romanek-directed music video received substantial airplay on radio and MTV.
Lyrically, Closer is a song about self-hatred and obsession; to Reznor‘s dismay, the song was widely misinterpreted as a lust anthem due to its chorus, which famously includes the lines (I wanna fuck you like an animal, I wanna feel you from the inside).
In 2003, VH1 ranked the song at No. 93 in its countdown of the 100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years. The song was ranked at No. 2 on AOL‘s 69 Sexiest Songs of All Time due to the explicit frankness of the chorus. Although there were numerous remixes of Closer, the version titled Closer to God was heavily reworked, as the vocals were completely re recorded and the overall song retained only a few elements from the original version. Closer to God was also released as a promotional single separate from Closer, mainly intended for club play.
Disc 1: Further Away
Tracklist:
- Closer
- Closer (Deviation)
- Closer (Further Away)
- Closer (Precursor)
- Closer (Internal)
The music video of Closer 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. Several sections of the video were shot inside the former Linda Vista Community Hospital in Los Angeles. 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.
Nine Inch Nails
Trent Reznor: lead and backing vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, programming, sampling
Chris Vrenna: drum samples
Flood: special hi-hat programming
