Starfuckers, Inc.
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| “Starfuckers, Inc.” | |||||
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| Single by Nine Inch Nails from the album The Fragile |
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| Released | May 2, 2000 | ||||
| Format | CD | ||||
| Recorded | Unknown | ||||
| Genre | Industrial rock Industrial Metal |
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| Length | 12 min 37 sec | ||||
| Label | Nothing Records | ||||
| Producer | Trent Reznor, Alan Moulder | ||||
| Nine Inch Nails singles chronology | |||||
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"Starfuckers, Inc." (also known as "Starsuckers, Inc." in its edited form) is the fourth single from the double album The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails. Although the song does not have an official halo, a promotional CD titled "Starsuckers, Inc." was distributed with exclusive radio edits, and a video for "Starsuckers, Inc." was produced.
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[edit] The song
Written by Trent Reznor and Charlie Clouser, "Starfuckers, Inc." is one of the heaviest songs on The Fragile. The chorus is built on heavy metal guitars and massed, shouted choruses. The verses feature breakbeats, deep bass hits, and glitchy, stuttering vocals. The outro introduces more synthesizers, distortion and sound effects.
"Starfuckers, Inc." deals with the self-involved vanity and shallow commercialization of fame.[1] The song directly references "You're So Vain", Carly Simon's ode to a self-absorbed lover, by quoting the chorus:
You're so vain
I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you?
These lyrics were changed for the video version of "Starsuckers, Inc." to:
Overplayed
And soon you'll make us forget about you
Won't you?
Other than Marilyn Manson, the lyrics are often speculated to be directed towards Courtney Love. The video version of "Starfuckers, Inc." has change to "Starsuckers, Inc.". The word "Starfucker" may have been taken from the song "Professional Widow", also rumoured to be about Love, by Tori Amos, to whom Reznor was close prior to what he refers to as "some malicious meddling on the part of Courtney Love", or from The Rolling Stones song "Star Star" (original title "Starfucker") which appeared on their 1973 album Goats Head Soup.[2]
The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2000.
[edit] The single
"Starsuckers, Inc." was released as a promotional three-track CD in the United States. It contains the original track, a radio edit in which the word "starfuckers" is replaced by the less-profane "Starsuckers", and the audio of the "Starsuckers, Inc." video with additional changes in lyrics. Its Nothing Records catalog number is INTR-10079-2.
"Starfuckers, Inc." was also included as a B-side of the first single from The Fragile, "The Day the World Went Away".
[edit] Track listing
- "Starsuckers, Inc." [4:13]
- "Starfuckers, Inc." [4:06]
- "Starsuckers, Inc." (Video Version) [4:18]
[edit] The video
.jpg/200px-Starsuckers,_Inc_(music_video).jpg)
The video for "Starfuckers, Inc." revolves around the same themes as the song in a darkly humorous manner. Reznor and a skinny blonde ride in a limousine to a deserted carnival. With the blonde videotaping his antics, Reznor attacks images of famous musicians via sideshow games: he shatters plates adorned with faces (including Marilyn Manson, Fred Durst, Mariah Carey, Michael Stipe, and Gene Simmons), tosses CDs into a toilet (Manson's Mechanical Animals & Smells Like Children and NIN's The Downward Spiral are visible), and throws baseballs through busts of Billy Corgan and himself. The most explicit mockery is Reznor dunking an overweight, grotesque Courtney Love look-a-like into a waste tank. The video ends back in the limousine, where the blonde removes her wig to reveal "her" identity as Marilyn Manson.
Viewers took Manson's appearance in the video as a sign that Reznor and Manson had renewed their friendship. Manson has sung "Starfuckers, Inc." live with NIN once, with the video recording of this performance appearing as an easter egg on the And All that Could Have Been DVD.
The video was directed by Robert Hales and Marilyn Manson.
[edit] Chart positions
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Modern Rock Tracks[3] | 39 |
[edit] References
- ^ Marilyn Manson / Trent Reznor - The Starsuckers comment at YouTube
- ^ An Interview With Trent Reznor. Spin (March 1996). Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
- ^ Billboard Music Charts - Search Results - Nine Inch Nails. Billboard. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
[edit] External links
- Starfuckers, Inc. at the NinWiki
- Halo 14 (related to only): "Starsuckers, Inc." at NINCollector.com
- "Starsuckers, Inc." at Discogs.com
