Twisted Love Songs: "Closer," Nine Inch Nails

This is one of the most misinterpreted, most controversial songs of the nineties. The heartbeat-paced rhythm combined with Trent Reznor's half-hissed sexually explicit lyrics shocked people everywhere. The Mark Romanek-directed video was equally horrifying to most, with its images of S&M, anti-Christian symbols, and oh yeah, two sides of beef cut to look like angel wings and a spinning pig's head.

Despite all this, "Closer" is a much beloved song in the alternative music community, and not just by industrial rock fans: Maroon5 and 30 Seconds to Mars have covered it, as well as a bluegrass band called the Asylum Street Spankers (this last version is more of a parody, really, and it's pretty terrible). There's also a dubstep version floating around out there (even worse).

In my opinion, it's one of the most creative, ingenious works in modern rock. I decided to post this live version from the Beside You in Time video, because I've already featured the original music video on the site. Here's a link to it, though (be warned: the video contains nudity). Also check out Mark Romanek's narration of how they made the video. It talks about stuff like Reznor buying an antique, undeveloped roll of film to shoot with, and how the "levitation" scene in the video was actually inspired by Mary Poppins.