"Closer" by Nine Inch Nails (His Perspective)

Allow me to present my favorite song to blast at red lights. Double points if you make eye contact with the driver next to you while belting out the chorus. I've dubbed this "His" perspective, because it's a little less complicated and nuanced. A bit rougher, a bit more blunt in its honesty. Trent Reznor gets straight to the point, which is that he wants to have sex with whoever he's singing about. Definitely rough sex, too. That's not to say it isn't deep. There's obviously a need there that has to be filled. For example, the second verse ends with "You make me perfect/Help me become somebody else." Woah! Clearly, he's getting a lot more out of sex than you'd think....but doesn't everybody. That's why it's pretty great. I'm going to stop there before this becomes X-rated.

To be honest, when I hear "Closer," I think of "Project Runway" and Santino Rice. More specifically, "Project Runway: The Musical," which made the rounds on MySpace when YouTube and fan montage videos were a relatively novel idea. In the video, Santino - one of the designer contestants - is making fun of Andre (another designer) by saying the lyrics to "Closer" in a mock Tim Gunn-voice. It's actually kind of mean. He had this whole story, that Tim Gunn and Andre were dating and argued at Red Lobster. That was my big problem with Santino - he was always such an asshole when it wasn't necessary. Tim Gunn is just about my favorite person in the fashion industry and he dealt with a lot of bullying as a kid. True, it was funny and good TV, and luckily Tim Gunn was super cool about it, but still, Santino's a dick. And no, I don't believe that line that he was "doing it out of love." If that were true, he wouldn't have been so embarrassed that Tim found out about it. Anyway, it was fucking difficult to find that clip because it's so old. Therefore, I'm posting it out of nostalgia.

Back to "Closer"....the video is kind of weird but it's Nine Inch Nails, so that's okay. Expected, even. They were being purposefully creepy and that's always the best. Like "American Horror Story." Some nudity but not overly done. The video is more about inferences to sex, dancing around the topic, rather than outright being sexy. And maybe that's a good thing, since the lyrics cut right through the bullshit. Again, I'm thinking of this song as the thoughts in someone's head, so the video is more like a metaphor. He's ready to go but he doesn't want to be so fucking obvious about it. Oh. My. God. Did I just figure something out?!!!?1?!! Let's just say I did. I'm not a philosopher or a music theorist, and I make no promises that this is the correct interpretation of the song.

"Closer" Video

Santino Imitating Tim Gunn