Nine Inch Nails - Closer (Reaction) 

Hay if you think this song is extreme you should check out S(ain't) by Marilyn Manson that video make this one look clean.

Trent has explained that it's about a person who has a low-self esteem and depression and using sex as an escape. It's part of a concept album about a person who figuratively peels off skin, layer by layer, so each song on the album is about one thing that is hurting him. It culminates to the antipenultimate track, "Reptile" which has been seen as a story about a guy visiting a prostitute... you guys should listen to that too. Towards the end of the album, the character shoots himself in the head in the penultimate track and it ends with the song "hurt" which has been misconceived as a heroin song when it's really about a person who is alienated and lonely, and wishes they could start life over again and maybe be a better person if they had a second chance. Also, musically, the song was largely inspired by Prince. Also, Richard Geer putting an animal up his ass is just a rumor... not true. This song is also not about beastiality.

Love the way you simultaneously both took a drink when the line hit....... 😆

It blows my mind how people my age and older haven't heard this song. It was on the radio all day every day back in the 90s.

It's all about Heroin addiction really. As some of you know, the album, The Downward Spiral, is a concept album and follows a story about a person who tragically commits suicide at the end. I believe the song, Closer, is a part in the protagonist's life where he tries to escape his angst ridden feelings (drug addiction /self hatred/depression) by having sex (sex that is non-romanitic/passionate, but carnal and animalistic). He's trying to mask up his anger from the first song, Mr. Self Destruct, and he's trying to get "...closer to God", aside from his recent departure from God in the third song, Heresy. Conceptually, this song, like all the others on the album, ultimately leads the protagonist of the story further down the spiral of hate, anger, lust, and isolation.

Being a teenager in the 90's was to be witnessed to the most innovative, diverse and ass-kicking music ever made. At least, for the first half of the 90's it was. After that it was all nu metal and Britney Spears.

I doubt that there is a stripper out there, that has'nt danced to this song at least once

That look on y'alls faces when the chorus first hit was about right for hearing it for the first time 😂. I remember getting this cassette from a friend in 1994 my mama about tore my door down getting to it.

when I met Trent Reznor (the guy who is Nine Inch Nails) he told me this was inspired by the early 80's dirty Prince records. when you think of it like that...you can def hear the Prince influence all over this track!

Then most important thing to remember about NIN is that you have to listen to them wearing headphones. Otherwise you are missing about half of the song.

Fun fact. David Fincher used a remix of this song over the opening credits of the movie Se7en. This video and the opening credits look a lot alike. Great reaction!!

People can get addicted to anything that brings pleasure, but like any addiction, it starts out as wonderful, but ends with you hollowed out, unfulfilled, left wanting.

If you want to see one of many, many "other sides" of NIN, I might suggest listening to "Right where it belongs." Trent Reznor is multitalented across multiple musical disciplines. Closer is just one expression... The more shock-driven side, Each album has something entirely different to offer and often each song on an album. Great reaction Steph and Jay. Keep them coming.

I've always thought it was about a person who has an addiction that they're trying to subvert, through turning to an addiction that is even more base, such as sex. The more primal it is, the more it might undercut his less primal addiction to the thing he knows is killing him.

We know what these two got up toooooo afterwards!

This is the first time that I have seen the music video for "Closer" that was completely uncensored. At the time the single was released, the record label for Nine Inch Nails had to do heavy editing of the music video in order for it to pass muster with MTV censors. "Closer" still became a hit song, in spite of its controversial music video and lyrics.

You two are some of the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure of "meeting". You're the people I feel so strongly for and empathize with, and I hope everything always works out for you!

Bahaha, one of the best and funniest honest Reactions I've ever seen on this excellent video. The facial expressions were hilarious.

I'm so friggin loving this reaction, you are the coolest ppl. Hugs and cheers from Sweden.

Excellent- sir you are correct about what he means - I love the Sippingtons!

I Love “Closer” & Am So Happy You Two Dove Right Into It!! I’ve Been Dancing To This Since 1994!!

The look on your faces then the drink you all take Everytime the chorus kicks in is priceless.

Danced to this one at Leland City Club, Detroit way back in the day. Goth/Industrial club staple back then.

Love the timing of the first sip of drink you 2!

Trent Reznor during the 90's was, you're right addict to drugs but ALSO FIGHTING DEPRESSION AND LOOKING TO FIND HIS WAY. Now he stopped drugs, found "HIS" woman, he found her and has two children. He replaced his past destructive addictions with lots and lots of sport and the support of his family. New life and new album under his own name. Worked with the bests !

LOVE your reaction! This song is 30 years old and as shocking now as it was then.

I absolutely love this couple, lol. You have the same reactions for everything. You can tell you guys are totally in sync. It’s adorable.❤❤❤

Luv NIN, next song from them should be Heresy, March of the Pigs, Head Like a Hole, Down in It.

Steph, inadvertently referenced "The only time" by Nine Inch Nails when she gave her opinion on Closer...

"She is going to un-wine." "No, I am going to wine!" LOL!

5:59 that look to each other, and the communal liquor sip, absolutely the greatest moment in any reaction video ever lol

This guy consistently nails the ideas/themes behind songs.

Yes!!! Love this song! Your reactions were priceless when the chorus hit.

I love watching these reaction videos for Closer. It's so amusing seeing people's eyes widen at the lyrics and then see them just get totally into the music as the song progresses. :)

I haven't been there since day one, but I wasn't far from it. I miss you guys. hope the 2 of you are doing well and are in great spirits and good health.

It's great to see people react to music videos from rock and metal bands! Giving them the attention they deserve ^^

Great reaction guys, The faces you guys were making had me bustin

I love drinking with you two. You're good people. Thanks for hanging out virtually and checking out music.

It's not about fucking an animal, but stripping ourselves down to the primal human beast. Shedding our higher human thoughts and becoming one with the moment. The ending of the song is reflective of the letdown after the moment passes and life returns leaving you wanting more escape.

I love watching reaction videos for Closer because so many have it so wrong and put words in the boss' mouth. Edit: I had the joy of working for Reznor from 2013-2014. This how it was explained to me one night. The answers to what closer is about are in the video. It's about how cooperate media brainwashes people through consumerism until consumerism becomes some sort cathartic sexual release as we try to balance being human and animal. You have the cooperate white men overseeing everything in the perfect suits producing double standards by selling you sex, drugs, and war on the TV, but yet tell you these things are wrong and evil. It's like a type of blind bondage we are placed in and expected to enjoy it, and culture is hermaphroditic. The spinning head of the pig. What do pigs do? They consume. So it's symbolic for the consumerism making the world go round. Just like March of the Pigs/Piggy is about blind consumerism. You have the centipede struggling in the sawdust. Sawdust is symbolic of the damage and waste that is necessary for creation of all of the excess we use everyday. The centipede is a symbol for addiction in Asian myth because they used harvest poison and get high off it. They have a "1,000" arms and their bite feels like the pin prick of a needle. Drug addicts wallow in the bottom of the waste barrel. You have the monkey on the cross. Not to difficult to see that this is human crisis in faith, but is symbolic of evolution. Jesus is no longer on the cross, mankind is, and mankind has been taught they evolved from monkeys, or at least that used to be taught. But god in this song human emptiness from what all these nice clothes and new cars and sexual desires will never bring us. Reznor is actually a Christian, despite his crisis in faith in the 1990s, but he claims a small part of him always continued to believe back then. There is this large perpetuated myth that The Downward Spiral is about a person dealing with suicide and drugs, and it did help many deal with drug use back in the mid 1990s, but The Downward Spiral is about the decay of humanity.

You have to wonder the kind of minds that come up with the type of lyrics and imagery in this ... and then make sure those kinds of entities never get within ten feet of you.

God I love singing this song in front of a crowd

I love what an open and positive reaction this is! I see so many people strut out some reactionary condemnation on this piece and the attitudes it expresses- to the point of inventing negativity that isn't necessarily present. It's a much more subjective piece than most people give it credit.

Great video, you two! Thank the corona virus for giving me the time to find you! Would love to tip one back with you both! Thanks for the smiles today.

Nobody can hide living this song

5:15 my dude looking at his drink to see if he's trippin' hahahahaha im dying

Nice! It's so refreshing to hear how open- minded you both are. I love NIN! I saw them on that tour, what fun. Keep on keeping on.

Oh boy. Dis gun be gud

We all knew what was coming on this one lol. This is the universal stripper song for sure.

Been married 21 years - 3 kids. This song still “does it” for us. Watched several reactions today - yours made me become a new sub today! ❤️

I was 11 when I first heard industrial music. I'm 40 now. I still like the 70s 80s and 90s industrial. The kids today are lazy. I might sound old in saying so. But I use to have to work hard. I didn't have a cell phone that would do it all for me.

Trent Reznor one of the most underrated musicians of our time not to mention a highly intelligent and well spoken person

Sexual addiction is very real, although I think it needs to renamed Care Addiction. Sex, at least with the females I've spoken with, is secondary. The ladies want to be cared about, loved, told they're beautiful. When I was still able to work, I was blessed to have worked in a program for females with that issue. Addiction can come in many different forms. That's bc, behind it, is an addictive personality. I stopped a lot of negative things in my life. I'm still working on food cravings and cigarettes. The hardest, for me, is food addiction (I hate the common name of it), bc we have to eat. I previously struggled with anorexia/bulimia. I weigh too much now, but I'd rather be overweight than under.

Y'all's reaction haha. This was good.

The whole album the downward spiral is soooo freaking good it's unlike anything I've ever heard NIN is so different from the traditional bands we are all used to I highly recommend you check it out I also really loved the quake soundtrack which is a video game he scored the soundtrack to

You two are my new favorite people, EVER!! Subscribed just so I don't miss out on either of you!

Trent Reznor (i.e., NIN) explicitly said this song is about feeling bad about yourself, but somebody else that you think is great likes you, so you go for it, but it is never fulfilling when you hate yourself and you ultimately feel like you're bringing this person down. It's also a part of a concept album where a guy systematically loses everything until he kills himself. You guys should definitely check out the last song on the album, Hurt. Sonically, it was supposed to sound like a Prince song but with harder production.

Love NIN

Hahaha, you both took a drink of your respective glasses as you broke the fourth wall. Classic Jim Harper moment done organically. Subscribed.

The video is brilliant...Art at it's finest.

Stop the goddamn shuttle bus! I love you two!

I love the reaction when people listen to this song its funny but fun

Sir I agree with your interpretation- I love your reactions you both so rock! And I subscribed to ur channel- bless you both and I'm a wine drinker as well 😁

When I think of Trent Reznor, I think of Prince, Stevie Wonder, George Michael & vice versa, one human creating it all, absolute amazing..🤯

You guys are great and work well together! A lot of reaction videos, I skip the intro and get to the song, but I'll watch you guys through and through. Subbed!

Trent Reznor is a musical genius!!❤👏👍❤👏👏Great pick!!

name is trent resnor and he actually wrote the song johnny cash sang on his last album before he died "hurt".

Nice react! Good whishes from Bolivia!

Most of the reactions I watch I can't wait for them to get in with it lol but you guys crack me up!

Love you guys! This was more of a shock reaction. The surprise on y'alls face... great job!

Get your freak on brother! Both of you are awesome!!!

I laughed when the wife says I'm a little curious about S&M I thought "my man you got some work to do" but remember kids a lot of that S&M stuff only works in the mind I suppose if you're ambitious enough you could try to make some of that work in the physical world but most of that only works in the mind

Great reaction! Happy Thanksgiving!🦃 Maybe I’ll play this again later at my family gathering. 😉

I kind of knew they would like this instantly. Because the production is Trent Reznor blending hi style with his love for Prince.

My existence is flawed you get me closer to God!!!!!🦇🕷🎤💀🎸☠️🕸🎼🖤🤘Trent Reznor was solely responsible for bringing the industrial music to run out of mainstream he is an absolute genius musically and as a performer

Spot on analysis of this brilliant track. Funny too.

LOL I love the 'vanilla' reactions to this vid. MM-mm-mm ..... your straight vanilla-ness is delicious. This song / vid reaches into the places you don't go.

Reactions to this song are priceless. It’s a banger but it’s wild as hell.

New subscriber here love your channel..love the rum as well..keep up the killer work..✌✌✌

Lol I feel like I'm watching this video with my folks. You guys are awesome.

Love the reaction! New sub!

sending love! keep them vids goin!!!

Might I suggest a few NiN songs - Head Like a Hole, The Perfect Drug, Down in it, and The hand that feeds. These are a few more mainstream songs.

"I'm a piece of shit, but if you want me here I am." Reznor on Closer

7:50 The look on your face XD Everyone always seems so shocked when they listen to it and that beat grabs you. Trent is a Musical Genius XD

You guys are incredible!

😂 that intro reaction 😂

Song and video are so damn cool I have no words.

Easily the one of the most influential producers of the 90's.

Back in my hayday, 96-2000, being in my 20's, that song made my dancing- entertaining- jack Daniels loving, 120lb 5'6" long legged fun personality A LOT OF $$$

I never expected to see you guys reacting to this 😂😂omg

I love how you both just looked at each other with huge grins. Like what the Hell did we just get into? Lmao this was awesome!! Love this reaction guys!!

Check out the video " My name is Ruin " by Gary Numan. Would love to see your reactions. Interesting side note...Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails was heavily influenced by Gary Numan, and yes, the little girl in the video is his daughter.

he was spot on!!

ah life, morbidly twisted yet breathtakingly embracing, just like our God.

You guys are just too cool. Great reaction. This song is actually fire.

It is fascinating to see black people reacting to this song and music video.

🤣 mr Reznor strikes again! Freaking the masses out since 94 🙌🏽 check out the voodoo ranger hazy version as well!

"Is that dude floating? Damn this shit is strong"

Good interpretation the whole album is a story about a man whos situation in which continuously decreases or gets worse