Johnny Mercyside

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

My Top 100 Favourite Music Videos: #31

#31: "Only" - Nine Inch Nails
Release Date: 2005
Director: David Fincher
Fun Fact: The video is nearly completely done only with CGI; the only things "real" in the video are a person's hand right at the beginning of the video, and the cars in the background!

This is one of my favourite tracks by favourite band, Nine Inch Nails. Naturally it means this is one of my favourite videos by them too. In fact, this is the first of three videos by the band, the "cap" I set as the maximum videos by one band or solo artist in this list (collaborations exempt of course).

I remember vividly how I felt about this video when I first saw it, because I was so excited when I heard it was going to be a single. It was my favourite track off the album, "With Teeth", and I loved the song and its lyrics. It talks about solipsism; the idea that only you exist and everyone else in life are merely there to serve as mindless beings to "support" you in your life and its decisions. My dad actually had solipsism, or at least I feel that he did, I haven't seen him in over 12 years thank god. But the song always sticks with me because it reminds me of this philosophy and how much it pissed me off that my dad felt this way about life.

Anyways, back to the video. Trent's lyrics in the song, about a man with solipsism, gets angrier and more aggressive until the song stops, and the video channels this energy through objects in this room. The laptop, the Pin Art, the Newton's cradle, the coffee, the apples, all the objects slowly but surely move as the song gets more aggressive. Trent's image is in the Pin Art, and as the song goes on he tries harder and harder to escape. It's just a fantastic video to an amazing song, and I've always loved it since the day I saw it and it's always going to be one of my favourite music videos of all time.
Note: This is the fifth and last video from the year 2005 in this list.


Here is the video for your enjoyment!

Click here to see #30 on the list or here for #32!

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