Samples In NIN Songs

Nine Inch Nails has sampled numerous parts of songs, movies, and other audio into its songs. This page will attempt to catalog each usage.

Pretty Hate Machine

"Sanctified" samples:

• The film Midnight Express, the talking that begins at about 3:20 and also the screaming that can be heard right before it segues into "Something I Can Never Have".

"Something I Can Never Have" samples:

• The atmospheric keyboards from an unused This Mortal Coil session.

"Something I Can Never Have" (Natural Born Killers Version) samples:

• A thunderclap (at the very beginning)
• Nocturnal birds (during the fade off of the thunderclap)
• A movie sample of the two main characters (Mickey and Mallory) arguing (just after the piano starts)
• A rattlesnake (during the movie sample after the man speaks the second time)
• Fire crackling and hissing (towards the end)
• Native American chanting (just after the fire sounds)

"Sin" samples:

• Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim (both songs could possibly share the same sample)

"Ringfinger" samples:

• Alphabet St. by Prince
• Had a Dad by Jane's Addiction

Head Like A Hole

"Head Like A Hole (Copper)" samples:

• Body Language by Queen

"Head Like A Hole (Opal)" samples:

• Tamborine by Prince
• Release It by Prince

Track 11 samples:

• "Let's hear it for Nine Inch Nails— woo, they're good!" cheered by Kelly Ripa

Sin

"Get Down, Make Love" samples:

• Moaning from Japanese pornography films
• News of the World by Queen
• We Will Rock You by Queen
• The intro is an extract from 1962's "The Cabinet Of Caligari"

Broken

"Pinion" samples:

• It's No Game by David Bowie

"Physical" samples:

• Recordings of Trent Reznor's dog Maise barking
• "Ow!...fucker!" said by Sean Beavan after Maise bit him

"Help Me I Am In Hell" samples:

• Ambient Noises from The Empire Strikes Back (When the Tie Fighters are sending bombs into the asteroid where Han and Leia are hiding)

Fixed

"Fist Fuck" samples:

• "I could feel that way too... I bet you will someday" from the film Showboat

The Downward Spiral

"Mr. Self Destruct" samples:

• Begins with a sample from the film THX 1138

"Closer" samples:

• "Nightclubbing" by Iggy Pop

"The Becoming" samples:

• Screams in the background from the film Robot Jox

"Reptile" samples:

• Intro machine sounds from the film Leviathan
• Looping female voice from the film Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

"The Downward Spiral"

• Watery noise at the beginning from the film Alien

Closer To God

"Memorabilia" samples:

• "What do your nipples look like?" taken from a phone conversation between Robin Finck and a female impersonator

Further Down the Spiral

"Self Destruction, Part Two" samples:

• Time by David Bowie

"Self Destruction, Final" samples:

• Time by David Bowie

"Piggy (Nothing Can Stop Me Now)" samples:

• Put Your Love (In My Tender Care) by The Fatback Band

"Heresy (Version)" samples:

• In Suburbia and Television Believers by Aron Ranen's Religion

The Fragile

"Starfuckers, Inc." samples:

• You're So Vain by Carly Simon
• Fireworks and yelling at the end from Shout It Out Loud by Kiss (appears only on the version on The Day The World Went Away single)

The Perfect Drug

"The Perfect Drug" samples:

• Amen, Brother by The Winstons

Things Falling Apart

"Metal" samples:

• UFO by ESG

"Starfuckers, Inc. (Version) - Adrian Sherwood" samples:

• Shout It Out Loud by Kiss

Ghosts I-IV

"11 Ghosts II" samples:

• Songe d'une nuit de sabbat by Berlioz

"15 Ghosts II" samples:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEqZkglTVYE (around 0:12 to 0:18)

"24 Ghosts III" samples:

• Get the door , get the door from the film The Mothman Prophecies

"30 Ghosts IV" samples:

• Saddam Hussein hitting the table in front of him (during his Trial Verdict, on Nov 5 2006)