"CLOSER" musical analysis/breakdown | Nine Inch Nails (The Downward Spiral)
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- Опубликовано: 17 окт 2024
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Link to the piano cover at the end standalone video: • "Closer to improv" - N...
EXTENDED PIANO COVER NOW AVAILABLE for download on Bandcamp along with all piano covers from The Downward Spiral! iximusix.bandc...
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For song & album requests and to support my channel and musical projects, please consider joining my Patreon (I can't monetize my videos): www.patreon.com/iximusic 🙌 You can also commission me to analyze your original music or do a piano cover. 🎹 And I teach private & group lessons, do film/video game scoring, and music transcriptions 🎶 TIPS: www.buymeacoffee.com/iximusic 💄
"This song is about self-loathing" THANK YOU finally someone agrees with me, yes it's sexy but it's sexy in the desperate to feel good at all for once ever way
Yes, agreed! It's not about sex at all. It's not about fucking in the sexual sense. The way I've always interpreted it is as inner monolog about one's internal demons/issues. It is sexy because vices are seductive which makes them difficult to get away from.
The downward spiral is kind of like a narrative of a person unraveling thru all of the stages of depression. Closer is kind of at the midpoint of the story, where the frustration and anger towards life finally succumbs to hopelessness and emptiness. I think closer is the pivotal point in the narrative where “desperation” is introduced, like you said. Tired of feeling worthless and empty, desperate to feel good about anything. We as humans, tend to fill our void in life with affection and relationships, not necessarily in a sexual manner. But Of course at the end of TDS , it’s obvious whatever short-lived relationship exists ends up crashing and burning, making the protagonist feel worse than ever. Thus, feeling like there is no other option but to end it all... I always felt like the song “A Warm Place,” to me, was like that brief euphoria a person gets right at the moment they decide to kill themselves, knowing their worries are finally over and their grief is finally over. It’s kinda like a joyful moment, which is why the song is morose but uplifting at the same time .
Just a few other quick song analysis’s:
I Do Not Want This: making one final attempt to reach out for help but but finding that people either just don’t care or don’t understand.
Big man with a Gun: I think is just simply the obvious fact of formulating a plan to end it and choosing a gun as the weapon.
Reptile : to me, reminds me of a time in my life when a S.O betrayed me, and even tho I knew she was sleeping around and losing interest in our relationship, I desperately clung to her in a very toxic unhealthy, self-destructive way because I felt like I couldn’t live without her.
The last two songs I think are obvious, just the moment of no turning back. The screams in the song TDS are literally how I feel inside when the mental anguish takes over and Suicide seems like the only way out. Hurt is kinda like the final goodbye to life and loved ones..
Anyways, those are just my interpretations. It’s different for everyone. Sorry for dumping this on your comment and if anyone actually reads all this bs, thank you. And tell me what you think.
@JordanMy take is that it's about self destruction and/or self sabotage, whatever form that might take. One's personal demons, whatever firm that takes, enacting on themselves from the inside. That's why it's great songwriting because it's personal to the songwriter as well as able to be relatable to the listener as well.
I've just always been annoyed by listeners who take the lyrics literally.
@Skyler White I enjoyed your profound insight! Your comments are spot-on and were very helpful to me. Thank you.
I completly agree , since i first heard the song. I engaged in the Lyrics. But it never seemed to be the kind of sexy other people who knew it seemed to view it as. This song is desperate. Desperate for feeling free. A deep sadness and discomfort lays in it. The singer seems to want to achieve a state of relieve with those longingly, violent, thirsty and 'sexy' acts, their describing and ask for.
Trent is such a genius, literally made like 25 different melodies all around like one cord and one simple beat
One of my weird pet-peeves has been how so many people think 'Closer' is just a kinky sex song to shake your hips to on the dancefloor. It's obviously more than that, but most people never think past the chorus. So thank you for getting into it
Interesting as it depends on how you arrived at nin, I came through bands like Depeche mode who did play with sexuality a lot. It's almost a reaction to admitting you're gay to before coming out to the world.
The late 80s was a very different time, excesses and recession.
Yes! I understood this when I first heard it at 17.
Exactly... the chorus is not a declaration of what he “wants” to do; it’s a lamentation about what he’d rather not do.
That fucked up depth is what actually makes it so hot! Lol
@@jordanf.4876 I don’t know about that. I think it’s an admission of what he wants to do to her, but his reasoning is what’s important. His reasoning for wanting to do these things is because he hates himself, and having disgusting (in the best way I imagine) dirty raunchy sex is a perfect escape for him to lose himself and forget about his self loathing. But I still read it as the things he wants to do. He’s doing it for entirely selfish reasons, so maybe in a roundabout it way it’s things he’d rather not do as in if he truly loved himself maybe he wouldn’t do these things, but seeing as he does hate himself it still comes across as an admission of his sexual desires.
I’m sorry .... is this a frikken FORTY-EIGHT MINUTE VIDEO ANALYSIS ON CLOSER ?!?!?!
This is the content I’m here for. 😎💛🖤🌻
EDIT: holy effin’ shit thanks so much for all the love! 💛 This is my most liked comment on anything EVER ... that’s it pigs. She’s finally made it 💅🏻
fourty. eight. "fucking". minutes.
Ive seen you on that NIN fan page! I guess that’s all I gotta say haha
Yeah I see new ixi, I see the song, I see the length, I say YES inside!!!
LOL at the fact I just gave this comment the 69th like.😉🤣
(Btw this is Melissa of Nin My Nothing, I just have Fragile tulips on my profile here.🌷🌷🌷)
Clearly the song is more complex and worthy of analysis than you're giving it credit for. Perhaps you should watch and learn.
One thing I've noticed about the 'kick, snare' beat is it perfectly mirrors the sound and BPM of a heartbeat. Almost forcing you to groove with it
Totally. But a slightly elevated hear rate. There's some stress chemicals flowing.
I'm new here, but wow, as a musician and NIN lover this channel is a gift.
It's been a gift to me too 🖤
yeahhhh
Your videos have really helped me reclaim my enjoyment of NIN after some traumatic experiences that made them a serious no-go trigger for me for a *while*. I just wanted to say thank you for that, it means a lot.
♥️
What was the trigger?
@@iximusic Explain to me how someone can come up with something so complex and everchanging. Just the amount of different sound layers is incredible. It's like playing techno mix with 3 decks set in early '00s.
Currently the best content producer on RUclips, hands down. You should be so fucking proud of what you're doing.
🙏
Yes absolutely agree!! The quality is out of this world!
This song is just firing heavy on so many musical cylinders. It’s funky, it’s textural, it contains brilliantly memorable melodies, the lyrical content is unforgettable and perfectly matches the unease and ambivalence of the musical ideas. It all feels amazing at the same time it feels like it’s wrong for it to feel amazing. Because it’s dark and brimming with tension. All these decades later it somehow comes across as more of a sonic achievement to me than it did back then. Just masterful, it’s art but it’s really fun visceral art. Rare!
beautiful analysis!
Just thinking about mixing this song makes me want to cry. That's a very underrated quality of NIN. Having 18 layers means nothing if it's not EQd and mixed properly.
That's actually a very underrated quality of Sean Beavan and Alan Moulder.
@@VuotoPneumaNN 100%. The Fragile alone must have taken ages to mix.
Your dog is adorable!!!
Especially with how the layers are just, every frequency. It seems like the synths are so dirty with so many harmonics its impossible to mix it without losing something. But here we are! They did it.
The arrangement and mixing of this song working in concert are absolutely masterful. I’ve been writing and producing music professionally a long time now and it’s even more impressive to me now than it was all those years ago. Anytime I want a section to get dense but not cluttered I think about Closer. Every sound occupying a perfectly carved out space for it, like it was just waiting to be filled and you just hadn’t noticed it yet
To me the Downward Spiral puts you in deeply into someone else's consciousness - a head that is full of voices and chaos. The vocals are the thoughts, conflict, and personalities. The music fills in impulses, feelings, and emotions. With this song's conflict around lust and physical escapism, we can almost feel the body attached to that head, the heartbeat pounding in our ears, anxious, turned on, and tormented.
It's one of the best songs ever written. Yes, it's one of the bands biggest successes, and it deserves it. The layering in the climax is unreal.
I don’t know anything about music at all, but these dives into NIN have been wonderful and it feels like you’re giving us a peek behind the curtain and seeing the guts of all these songs. Thank you so very much
Couldn’t agree more.
Yup. Ive only now really started becoming more aware of music breakdown in my 30s.
Agreed. Man I’d love to know if Trent has seen this video of hers and what he thought of her analysis.
Just got chills when you described the song as being about self loathing. It's exactly what I got from the song. I thought I was the only one.
I agree,I have always heard it as a song about not having a good time inside your own head
Things are almost back to normal... The Cold, the Black, and the Infinite tour 2021... I better seeee you ALLLLL there! You are definitely not the ONLY one!
@@DrScott666 And new NIN material on its way. I'll be here for the listening party 🎉🎉🎉
I always thought Closer was about trying to fill the inky black void of self-loathing by grasping on to increasingly empty, fleeting and depraved attachments to lust. If you’ve been close to that mental space, you know exactly what Trent is talking about
@@sdwscience yeah...and those attachments only deepening and driving on that self loathing...its the same thing really just different words to describe it
I could never get over how well the video fit the sounds. I can't not hear that snare and think of a heart shooting steam out of the valve. So good.
Anyone who's heard Trent interviewed, will know he's not a shallow character.
The mix of upbeat and dark elements in the music and lyrics really reflected how I felt as a young man.
You have great energy to be creative but also self destructive.
It's the protagonist verses Mr. Self Destruct.
Thanks for watching and commenting on this behemoth of a video, pigs! And for those that are enjoying my "Closer to improv" at the end: 🙏
Unlike the protagonist, I am not per-fect 🎶 so, CORRECTIONS: It seems I've fallen into a bout of "wishful hearing" with Trent's "closer to God" run; I always thought he was aiming for an A up top but it actually sounds like a Gish, which is in some ways even weirder, so Trent, thank you for constantly surprising me. I also made some notational errors in the sheet music, spelling the note as a G♭ instead of F# in a few places. I appreciate y'all making me better!
For those that want to download the multitracks for themselves, Jerry Langwell, one of my Patrons, runs this site out of the goodness of his steampunk heart: www.nindestruct.com/remix.html
I made a solo arrangement for this on keys and play this live all the time. During the beginning of the song (C section) I usually play around a C min Pentatonic rhythm lick but I use a full blown C7 chord when the Help Me section starts.. Then I when I modulate to the F section (Chorus) I play a F7 Chord (2x) then hit 2 octaves using the notes A to Bb to fill the end of this sequence while holding the F note for added bass (So I play F7 - F7 - A - Bb but hold the F octave with your left hand while hitting the A octave to the Bb octave on your right hand). On the 2nd verse I kinda manually arpeggiate the C rapidly using middle C as a drone and play the sequence on my right hand with two fingers using the notes C/F (16x) - C/E (8x) - C/G (4x) - C/Bb (4x) but on the 2nd turnaround I hold on the C/G (8x) instead of going up to C/Bb for the final 4 count then you rinse and repeat it all over until you modulate back to the F. On my left hand I just hit a C octave on the Bass. Then I arpeggiate the final walkdown melody in almost the same way I do to the 2nd verse using the C as a drone but I walk it down a couple times until the very end where I play the single notes to end the song. But I took the most dominat tones of the sequence and used them to flesh out the song for a solo arrangement. Fortunately its easy to get a backing band to play this with you because the Song only has 2 chords and it's sorta bluesy... But I do use the two 7th chords to play this live..
I was gonna ask where you got or how you did the filtered-out tracks... Thanks! I have some more listening and responding to do, but right now it's beautiful out
I always thought the song was about suicidal self destruction not confusion. God is dead is a reference to Nietzsche. You get me closer to god is him getting closer to death. Fits the concept of the downward spiral.
@@EnsignRickey Do you have a recording? As much as I enjoy talking theory, I'm very ear-based so it's hard for me to appreciate what you're describing without hearing it :) I'd love to hear all these dominant 7 chords. I imagine that's funky!
@@tommymartinelli6043 Interesting interpretation. I like it and it does fit. Some have mentioned they think he's saying "you get me closer to becoming God". This whole song could have double...or triple, meanings.
The bit at 34:19 is the thing that made me want to how to play and produce music when I was a teenager.
Now that's a youtube crossover that I wasn't ready for but actually makes a lot of sense :D
When she plays F Dorian section on the piano it sounds like a TOOL section. 🖤
I was about to comment on how cool that bit sounded
never would expect to see you here, Guy... welcome, though!
Hello Guy. Yeah, that synth from Perfect Drug is really creative like that too.
Holy shit, I wasn't ready for that ending. Standing ovation.
Thank you!! ♥️
I always wondered if Trent may have listened to a John Farnham album from 1986. Probably not a fan of Australian pop, but inspiration comes from all sorts of places. My parents played this album, Whispering Jack a lot when I was a child, and inevitably, I always end up singing the lyrics of Love to Shine over the ending of Closer.
ruclips.net/video/A0uOghhkgOw/видео.html
@@peterthompson4084 Wow! Thanks for sharing :)
The part about discovering the similarity between the mechanical synth in verse 2 and the baseline from piggy was awesome
This video was totally worth the wait! Your breakdown of TDS is educational, and a thoughtful celebration. We're all hooked.
Well, that was epic. An incredible breakdown of an iconic song.
I love being able to isolate and focus on all these individual elements of these songs. What I’ve learned from this video, is you can take like and 2 or 3 layers and you’d still have a banger of a track - that would be the best of what most other artists would do. That Reznor and team are able to take 30 of these layers and they all coordinate perfectly (and imperfectly, when intended) is the genius behind all this.
Awesome job as usual, this channel is great. 😊
I always thought that Kick sounded almost like a heartbeat. Like a slow plodding heartbeat.
Same here.
I've always thought the same. And the snare is like a valve(atrium/ventricle) releasing steam or blood.
@@MrFatshit6 yes, like a mechanical heart
I’m a musician, studied music theory in college, and am a NIN fan. This channel is amazing! IXI does a fantastic job of both articulating what I’ve thought about this music, and bringing a new perspective of it for me. Keep doing exactly what you’re doing!
Thank you, fellow musiciaNIN :) I find myself going to my college textbook a lot more than I used to now that I'm making these videos haha
This whole series has given me an entirely new appreciation for an album I've listened to thousands of times over the past 20-or-so years - thank you so much!
Let's not kid ourselves. We all know we were waiting for this video ever since we discovered this amazing channel!
I may be atypical, but my first thought when this series started was "I can't wait til she gets to A Warm Place".
@@charlesrense5199 a warm place is literally one of my favorite NIN songs. Idk why. Ever since I was a kid riding around listening to TDS in the car, I always loved a warm place. My all time favorite song when I was around this age (maybe 3 or 4) was the mark has been made. Still one of my favorite songs of all time. Probably because it didn’t have lyrics, so even at that age I was able to understand it on an intuitive level. I was too young for the lyrics to resonate (that came later) but the music just sucked me in. Trent is a fucking dope ass dude and a true original, with a keen and unique ear for composition in the landscape of (vaguely) modern music.
Wanted to like this comment until I saw it was already at 69 likes 🤷♂️
@@gfoor93 Buncha pervs! 🤣
Correct lol
That final piano melody makes me think of playing an old piano in a deceased grandparent's house--they leave you all this stuff in this old house, but you're the one who has to assume it all in grief. You sit down at an old piano that you used to play with this loved one, and before you begin this arduous task, you play that melody.
That's a powerful visual, thanks a lot.
@@soaribb32 it's me from the future and thank you kind person.
This is a whole new level of quality and lovely lipstick color on this one.
The hours you spent on this one, definitly pays out.
You're amazing.
You are one of my go to youtubers because I learn music theory concepts I've always struggled with along the way. Thanks. My songwriting is improving enormously.
Ah that means the world to me. I'm so glad to hear it. And maybe...I'll get to hear it (your music) someday? 🎶
I know what you mean, I've started playing around with trentones because of these analyses, it's marvelous.
This is great, I really hope you continue to do breakdowns like this. I really appreciate how you re-play segments on your keyboard multiple times as you continue to drive your point home and explain your structural perception. A lot of other youtubers make it a point to avoid previous information at all costs to keep the video under 15 minutes.
This is honestly my favorite song, thank you so much for this video. I loved how you both went into the lyrics, composition AND sound design (that was my fav part because imo the timbre/sound design is the most important part of the track)
This was amazing and outstandingly thorough. I can't wait for "Ruiner" which remains one of my top favorite NIN songs since 1995. Its really comforting to see someone not only analyze but simply notice and mention the multitude of sonic idiosyncrasies that pepper this whole album particularly the sound collage samples.
the bridge/guitar solo in ruiner remains as probably my favourite Music Moment of all time
The Closer > Ruiner > The Becoming run remains one of the greatest 3 song runs of any album.
That ending gave me those chills and goosebumps you get when music reaches out and touches your soul a little bit. Thank you, that was amazing.
Love this deep dive into these songs. I think that a lot of bands don’t really know exactly what they’re doing when they’re writing - they just do what feels right BUT I feel like Trent does everything deliberately. You could teach this as a college course!
Skillshare pls!
Yeah! Without talking to him this is all conjecture, but I imagine Trent is doing what feels right to him, but being deliberately descriptive and creating a narrative. I think he is quite discerning and there are no accidents. Something that was a "mistake" or an experiment is either intentionally kept or discarded. He's got such a great ear. He intimately knows when something is standard and when it's unusual. When something is familiar and when it's novel. And he plays with that. How much Western tonal music theory he knows, I'm unsure, but I think he's a master at translating feelings and physical states into music through TENSION and RELEASE, harmonically, and in so many other ways.
@@iximusic summed up perfectly 😀
I often consider "Closer" as the perfect song and you just did its perfect analysis !
Thank you very much !
One thing I find really interesting about Trent is that I think he intentionally sings in between pitches. If you listen to your samples where he’s bouncing between the Major/minor thirds, like you mentioned, he sometimes sings between the two pitches. What confirms his intention for me is that he plays with quarter tone music in his Ghost Tracks. Normally I hate quarter tones, but man he kills it. He really perfects it.
I’m a classically trained vocalist so it makes singing along a fun challenge for me 😬
Right like he sings neutral 3rds and kind of slides around in between them and it's just hard for me to believe he's just being careless. He's not a careless musician. That is very interesting to hear from your perspective as a trained vocalist. I've really gotten so much more comfortable with microtonality because of him and have even started to enjoy singing that neutral 3rd. Now I just have to understand how it makes me FEEL!
If I could ask Trent one question and get an answer, it would be about the 3rds.
Anyway I'm glad I'm not alone ;)
@@iximusic I never appreciated microtonality in college but he just makes it so appealing. If you haven’t listened already, 12 Ghosts and 36 Ghosts focus heavily on quarter tones and it’s the creepiest and yet, somehow most comforting/familiar feeling. I think you’d love them!
Maybe one day you’ll get to ask him about those thirds haha. A superficial observation of mine is just that he knows how important the third is to determining most keys and so, of course why not play with it and make the listener understand the discomfort and uncertainty he’s trying to portray. We live with uncertainty and discomfort so why not create a song that exemplifies that. And then when he really wants to make his point, he adds those thirds in. Just like you pointed out with the outro. It’s heard loud and clear and we finally feel home. But not for long ;)
@@victoriasteele5966 I've not spent much time with Ghosts - thanks for the recommendation! And I love your interpretation...that's what I want to believe :)
One of the most incredible videos I've ever seen. That ending was just sublime, thank you.
Ah thank you for watching, really happy you enjoyed it so much!
The downward spiral was in part influenced by the pink Floyd concept album “the wall”
Trent wanted to create an album that would be an uncomfortable place to crawl into when you’re feeling low. Just like the wall, the downward spirals songs are all connected in their melodies in very complex ways. Love your break downs! Thank you ixi, I’m addicted!
I think he succeeded. What a masterpiece!
The infamous lyrics gave the song notoriety, but the song itself is so good musically, especially as the layers build. It's unfortunate that the radio version had to cut out so much of the end of the song. Thanks for doing this song justice!
Yeah, I almost hate hearing this on the radio now, because I know they'll be cutting down the build, which grates on me no end after listening to the whole thing so many time.
I have to compliment you on your ability to describe what I’m feeling in my head about the music but don’t know how to express in words.
It always blew my mind that 'Closer' was such a huge hit. I mean, yeah, plenty of people got stuck on the chorus lyrics and mostly left it at that, but it's such a complex song, layers upon layers, building up and then being stripped away, for six minutes (longer than your average radio hit). It's really something else. Great analysis as always. It never fails to amaze me that these songs hold so many things below the surface that I've never noticed.
I've always liked The Downward Spiral as an album, but never noticed the details in Closer. It's wonderfully haunting. Thanks!
Oh my gosh, can you please do “The Perfect Drug”? That song still perplexes me to this day and I love it!
It's coming! After TDS :)
Second the motion! Would love to see "The Perfect Drug" breakdown.
Agree 👍😘🇸🇪
As someone with an amateur interest in composition, your videos are so much fun to watch -- especially as you are analysing songs that I discovered in my younger days :) I think a really key part of this song is the incredible sound design and arrangement of the sounds. The resulting song somehow simultaneously has minimal vibe while actually being very rich and full. I think a big part of that is the very careful selection of the sounds that form the layers in the track. Also great to see a fellow Reason user! :D
Always have loved Closer. Your outstanding breakdown has made me love it even more. I can't read piano music, don't know the names of chords, etc., but you've help me listen for these things. You and Rick Beato are just killing it. I can't believe this is 48 minutes, and it never felt long. Brava
The carnival-like organ has always been my favorite part of this song. Frission every time.
Is that the goosebumps reaction?
@@iximusic Precisely, though I appear to have goofed up the spelling. The word should be "frisson" since it's derived from French. Today I learned haha
From Acadiana here .....appreciate the word usage lol.
There is a interview where his band at the time mentioned when trent showed them this song before the lyrics. Chris and Rob both were like oh this is definitely going to be the single for this album. And Trent being Trent came back days later with lyrics for this song and they were like well there goes that, this is no longer the single.
Funny how it ultimately still turned out to be that way despite the content of the lyrics
Love your deep dives. I continously look forward to your videos!
This is the greatest channel that I’ve needed for such a long time. It gets redundant as a musician, to explain to people why a certain group of notes can make me crumble and cry in the best way. I’ve been a musician since I was a kid and I’m 43 now. I’ve always felt music and learned by ear. I have minimal knowledge in music theory. I’m a guitar player for the most part but I’ve always the “independence” of piano compositions. I’ve been turned on to several DAW’s by the means of iOS and love creating. Although I think I would benefit immensely from more musical training at this point.
It's very rewarding to be able to show another person why music moves you in a way that it clicks for them. One of the best things about being human in my opinion!
Would you like to take some music theory lessons with me or do some feedback sessions with your music? lessons@iximusic.com
This was so good, thank you!!! I’ve been obsessing over this track for the past few weeks (esp the Woodstock live performance), and only figured out why a couple days ago - Closer is the most perfect example of a push-pull dynamic in melodic form.
It lures you in with that direct beat but then there’s all this chaos as the track unfolds - the squishy bassline, the fucked up funhouse organ riff - the vocals whispering in your ear then screaming at you lol - it’s all attraction and repulsion, and it’s so much fun.
It always reminded me of that poem with the line ‘the centre cannot hold, things fall apart’. Except instead of falling apart, it has this beautiful melodic resolution that is really soothing and feels like a lullaby.
You’ve broken this song apart perfectly, I’m gonna be studying this vid for awhile :)
Wow. Such an amazing deconstruction!
Thank you, ixi! Your mind is so clear to process all of the details of the production, wonderful!
You have beautiful voice!
This breakdown is AMAZING. I don’t know much about music theory, but what a pleasure it is to get such in-depth insight! Would have never thought how fascinating it is and how relevant it is to define how and why we feel when we listen to music. Trent truly is a genius.. and so are you!
We praise you Queen of Nails!
Ixi, this is absolutely fascinating. As a long-term NIN fan, I've never heard an analysis anywhere NEAR as illuminating as yours! It really goes a long way to explaining why I've continued enjoying Trent's music over the years, unlike so much other music I listened to at the time which I've long since forgotten. It's kind of a revelation, and I'm SO grateful you're doing it.
Please, do a podcast :-)
Thank you Anthony, really glad this meant so much to you!
Wow. Great video. The piano piece at the end was hauntingly beautiful.
Ixi, saying I'm ECSTATIC about finding your channel and breakdowns of NIN is an understatement. I've been waiting for your next one and this is just amazing. Being able to dive this deep is like living the album in such a new light. Thank you so much for this. 🙏❤️ I'm looking forward to the rest of the album....and whatever you do next.
Thank you, I'm really happy you are getting so much out of these breakdowns. ♥️
Nightclubbin version with Murphy, Reznor, Ross and Twiggy is one of my fav songs.
Yeah that is a pretty great performance!
I think I learned how to play the piano part based on that performance
That entire set is amazing, worth finding on youtube
Love that one too!
I like Peter's work on Reptile.
You are awesome. It isn't very often that someone as classically minded has such impeccable taste in contemporary music.
Thank you so much, you have really given me some new perspectives on music I have known since childhood!
You mentioned how trent brought people into the song with words and finished with 3 mins of music.. then you did that. Awesome! So clever.
A common and important aspect of BDSM the separation of fantasy + reality. In a BDSM relationship people take on roles and personalities that are often very different than their respective realities. That's partly why powerful people like CEOs are often submissive in the bedroom, it's a release from the daily monotony, pressure, and responsibility that they face in every day life. They can switch off that part of their brain and be someone else for a short while and just enjoying themselves.
The lines
"(Help me) the only thing that works for me , Help me get away from myself "
"(Help me) you make me perfect, Help me become somebody else" sums up this concept perfectly
The song is full of obvious sexual themes and innuendo , and you're right there is a lot of self-loathing involved. To me this song is very much about exploring a BDSM relationship and how that helps the character get release from their own daily life.
Also randomly Chris Vrenna said in an interview that he was thrilled with the early versions of this song, they were just missing the lyrics. He went to bed in his apartment in the pool house of the Sharon Tate house while Trent stayed up to write and record the lyrics.
The next morning his reaction to hearing the track was: "You've ruined it, you've taken the most catchy/dance-able song we've ever written and ruined it by putting "I'm gonna fuck you like an animal" in the middle of it." Implying it would never get radio air play.
Trent responded "Yeah I know, but it will be funny!"
Vrenna went on to say the popularity and airplay this song got astonished him given the lyrics, but it's still one of his favorites.
You’re playing the pieces on piano at the end are necessary from now on, love this channel. Love this album the deeper you go in. Thx
One of the best videos I've watched do far. So much time and heart in it. Thanks ixi you are a shining star
Mad props for keeping in the lyrics (as much as possible... ). Having to bleep out lyrics is like having to blur Michelangelo's David. This is an artistic discussion, and you did an amazing job! :)
Just found this video and man this is such a great analysis. You truly broke down every aspect of this song. Every sound in this song is just interesting and captivating and just forces you to feel something.
When I discovered your channel, I was just starting to write an album as a wedding gift for my fiancé. And after 28 years of playing music, your videos are giving me so many new tools to work with and it means a lot to me. I can't thank you enough for what you're doing here. You are a wonderful teacher and a brilliant creative musician in your own right.
To piggyback off of another of your comments: stop making me cry! 🖤
Thank you very much for the amount of effort and attention to detail you put into this. Your channel was randomly recommended to me, and I'm very happy it was!
This deep analysis is exactly what these songs deserve. So glad this channel is growing fast, it's given me a new love for a band I keep occasionally coming back to (and a reason to give NIN a proper focused listen again). Congrats, and all the best going forward!
p.s the lipstick/top combos are always on point!
🙏
Thank you for this. Your passion for both the music and analysis comes through so genuinely and in spades. The layering of the outro has always been a pinnacle of musical emotional expression for me, and your thoughtful deep dive through it's many layers has enabled a whole new and next level appreciation of it for me. Excited to watch more of your NIN analysis videos -- can't wait for The Perfect Drug :)
When Ruiner hits it's going to blow all our friggin' socks off.
man this is FANTASTIC. thank you for dissecting one of my favorite songs of all time in a way that actually brings new appreciation to it. not all youtubers actually deliver...
Thank you, so glad I could do it some kind of justice!
This intense analysis is something I haven't been able to share with many people. I realize now what it was I felt when I took that req'd intro to music course in college and considered changing my major to music. I wanna learn music theory!!! Thank you, from a very excited new listener who stumbled on this.
Hey so glad you got something out of the video! If you're ever interested in learning some theory with me, I have a waiting list for lessons I'd be happy to put you on! lessons@iximusic.com
This breakdown was frickin' magical. Thank you so much for sharing.
The production and song writing of Closer is a masterclass in destruction.
There are very few examples of pain laid out in audible form that match Closer.
I know absolutely nothing about music but the way you explain everything and give examples is super interesting. I think this might be my favorite new channel, keep up the good work!
The first time I heard this was in a nightclub, when I was 21.
I bought the Downward Spiral CD the next day and fell in love with whole album.
I love putting the headphones on and listening to Closer, I still find parts of the song that are "new" to me or I haven't noticed before...it's amazing
Hi! I just wanted to thank you for this video! I'm so happy i found it, and that someone with all this knowledge about music that i lack is geeking on the crazy layers of this song, and this album in general!
And i just see that you've been doing that for a lot of time and for a lot of good musics so THANK YOU and i can't wait to dive into it!
I always thought of the kick in closer as a heart beat. 100%. Its hard to picture it as anything else imo.
I've just discovered your videos like 5 days ago I'm blowed away by the content this is the best one yet!! Keep up the good work!!
this was genius and so well put together, thank you. forever will be my favourite song. i loved your playing at the end btw
Love these videos so much. Can't wait for more.
Can I just say that I just discovered your channel tonight and as a HUGE NIN lover and someone that has studied music theory and music has played a huge part of my life, this is absolutely fantastic!!! From the analyzing of the notes and melodies to the why's and how's of why the song is the way it is. Wow. All I can say is wow. I love your content!!
I LOOOOOVE how obviously/shamelessly sequenced NIN sounds, and this song embodies that.
As a beginner piano player it's so awesome to hear your breakdowns and see you at the piano (reading notes is still challenging for me, but being able to see you play really helps). I have been in love with this song since it came out, thanks so much for making an extra long vid for this one!!!
I'm glad it's helpful! I'd like to get a fancy camera angle of my hands close up at some point.
The first time I heard closer, I remember listening transfixed to the second part of the song because I'd never heard anything like it before. This complex carnival of synths and sounds, I remember thinking that there was so much cool musicality going on and I had no idea how any of it worked. It still feels like music from another dimension.
I know nothing about sheet music or any formal music training. But I love your videos! You have very infectious enthusiasm and the demonstrations help me understand. It makes me want to learn formal music.
"This song is in some ways one of the darkest on the whole album." Agree. The outro has the same simple, haunting, beautiful melody that reappears in the title-track. I consider it "the suicide theme", as it were. To me, it's signifies utter finality, or the lowest point possible, for the protagonist.
Hi! I just found out about your channel last week and have been binge watching your videos ever since. As a 20+ years hardcore fan of Nine Inch Nails, I never realised The was still even more room for me to grow my live for this band even more. The last time I felt like that was when I first listened to The Fragile Deviations (which I would highly recommend if you haven’t listened to it yet since your last Q&A. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and passion. Much love from Portugal.
I agree with the ashamed tone of this song. Especially the way he describes his actions in relation to whatever or whoever he’s singing to. “You let me”, like he knows he shouldn’t have gone where he did and the other person should’ve stopped him and helped him.
I love this!! Thank you for these analysis’s! A few of your videos have let me hear things I haven’t ever heard in a song I’ve heard over a few hundred times.
This is my same story about how I got into NIN. Hearing this song on the radio changed my life and inspired my interest in electronic music and making my own tracks. Listened to downward spiral on repeat for years and it still remains one my fave albums of all time.
I only just found your channel a few weeks ago, but I have to say...you are by far the best breakdown channel for music on RUclips as a whole. No one comes close to picking apart songs the way you do so that we see how they actually tick and what’s at play in them. As someone who’s trying to get a better understanding of theory and song composition, you are a godsend for me, so thank you. It only helps that you exclusively break down one of my favorite bands of all time.
TL;DR: you are without a doubt the best musical breakdown channel and I love everything about what you do. Thank you for everything and keep up the stellar, immaculate work.
I don't have musical training, but you're confirming for me that I'm not crazy to hear this album as sounding very bluesy. I wonder if it is simply the result of having rock elements, and I'm just hearing the blues in rock, but I feel like it sounds even bluesier than most rock. I wish I knew how or why. But thanks for your wonderful videos, it's like close reading for music. You're a great teacher! I hope Trent sees these!
I've been waiting for someone to have an in-depth look at this song. An amazing job well done, thanks!
The Downward Spiral theme hits me every time, man, and it hits HARD
Its like finality falling down
This vid is a masterpiece. Along with many others, I had the same obsession with this song upon hearing it for the first time. It was ear candy to have you break down all the different layers and beautiful sounds. Your work on The Spiral album continues to be something that I (and thousands of others) look forward to each week.
I always thought Closer was about someone using sex as a way to reduce the suffering the character was experiencing in the story. But as we quickly realized, it wasn't working. Maybe the sex was bringing only a temporary relief
Sex always only brings temporary relief.
I saw Closer as him believing he's like God when he makes others suffer. Since he only sees God as a ruiner, infector, and destroyer.
I just stumbled upon your channel recently. I've seen this episode and Teardrop by Massive Attack. I think it's interesting that these tunes toying with the 3rds became more apparent around this time, and I do hear it more often now. Not sure if it was me becoming more aware, or if it just started happening more, but I'm all for it. Love the content!
In 7th grade, our teachers asked us to wear our favorite t-shirt, something that represented us. I wore my Downward Spiral shirt. One theory/comp major to another, this channel is great. Keep it up!
Wow! What an amazing debrief of the message of this song. My favorite LP, and as you have shown much deeper than it seems.
Loved it when NIN had funky bass lines. Always thought Happiness in Slavery had a funky bass line at points
RUclips decided I needed to watch this video. I know basically next to nothing about music theory and analysis, but I've literally been listening to Nine Inch Nails forever-- like I distinctly remember listening to "Closer" on the radio on car rides with my mom when I was six (my mom is a huge NIN fan) and I'm 34 now.
What I'm getting at here is that I've legitimately been listening to these songs for basically my entire life, and I think it's so great that there are people like you making videos like this that allow me to gain an appreciation of these songs (which I already think are great) on a more technical level. There's definitely aspects here that I've had a kind of internal understanding of, even I didn't realize it. But there's also so much in this video that just makes me think that Trent Reznor is too good.
It's also pretty great actually hearing different pieces of the song isolated like you do for this, because I would literally never do this casually. I can't wait to check out these other videos.
I love this comment, glad I can help in any way!