Starfuckers, Inc. (song)

Album:The Fragile (Right)

Length:5:00

Tempo:146 BPM

Versions:Starfuckers, Inc.
Starfuckers, Inc. (Instrumental) (Apple Music)
Starfuckers, Inc. (Instrumental) (Deviations 1)
Starfuckers, Inc. (The Day The World Went Away cassette)
Star***kers, Inc.
Starsuckers, Inc.
Starsuckers, Inc. (Video Version)
Starfuckers, Inc. (Version—Adrian Sherwood)
Starfuckers, Inc. (Version—Charlie Clouser)
Starfuckers, Inc. (Version—Dave Ogilvie)
Starfuckers, Inc. (And All That Could Have Been)

Live:Fragility through Lights In The Sky Tour
Cold And Black And Infinite Tour

"Starfuckers, Inc." is the sixth track on the right disc of The Fragile. While the lyrics portray a take on pop music celebrities in general, Trent Reznor has stated that the song also refers to Marilyn Manson and his lifestyle.

Song Credits

• Writing: Trent Reznor and Charlie Clouser, including some lyrics from Carly Simon's "You're So Vain."
• Chanting: Buddha Boys Choir—Nigel Wiesehan, Nick Scott, Steve Duda, Keith Hillebrandt, Clint Mansell, Adam Persaud, Eric Edmonson, Doug Idleman, and Marcus London
• Contains a licensed sample of "Shout It Out Loud" by KISS

About

The song started out as a drum loop that was created by Charlie Clouser for use in the Tapeworm project.[1] Reznor stated that he almost didn't put it on the album because of having a different feel from the rest of the songs.[2]

The "Buddha Boys Choir", credited for background chants on this track, comprised Keith Hillebrandt, Clint Mansell, Steve Duda, members of New Orleans band Deadhandsystem, and various Nothing Studios employees. The impromptu group's name in the liner notes comes from Igor's Buddha Belly, a bar across the street from the studios.

The word "Starfucker" was apparently the original title of the Rolling Stones song "Star Star," released on the 1973 album, Goats Head Soup. The term "starfucker" was later used by the artist Tori Amos in her song "Professional Widow," released on her 1996 album, Boys For Pele. In this song, the eponymous "professional widow" and "starfucker" is widely considered to be Courtney Love. "Starfucker" is also the tenth track on Hanzel Und Gretyl's 1997 industrial metal album Transmissions From Uranus.

Appearances

Halos

• The Day The World Went Away
• The Fragile
• The Fragile: Deviations 1
• Things Falling Apart
• And All That Could Have Been

Seeds

• Collected
• The Definitive NIN - The Singles
• The Definitive NIN - Heavy Tracks

Versions

Starfuckers, Inc.

This is the version found on The Fragile. Slowly fading in with a quiet beat and moving synthesizers, the first verse then erupts, with locked drum loops and synthesized bass. Reznor's verse vocals were manually chopped and spliced by Charlie Clouser[3], with the result sounding as if each word is from a different vocal take, possibly as a stab at the pop music celebrities the lyrics seem to satirize. In contrast, the chorus is loud and guitar-heavy, with several repeated group shouts. A wah guitar solo similar in sound to the one from "The Wretched" connects to the second verse. After the second chorus, the song quickly quiets for the lonely guitar-and-vocal bridge before erupting back into the loud chorus.

Starfuckers, Inc. (Instrumental) (Apple Music)

Running Time: 5:09

Released exclusively through Apple Music as part of The Fragile Instrumental, this is the album arrangement, but also retains the ending KISS sample used on the single version, with an earlier fade out. It lacks the KISS "Woooooo!" and the "Complication" guitar.

Starfuckers, Inc. (Instrumental) (Deviations 1)

Running Time: 5:33

The Fragile: Deviations 1 version. This is about 25 seconds longer than the Apple Music version. The ending lacks the KISS "Woooo!", but still has the crowd noise overdubbing with the girls chanting "Nine Inch Nails!" However, that overdubbing ends after the girls, and the original KISS track applause continues, including the crowd chanting "We want KISS!"

Starfuckers, Inc. (The Day The World Went Away cassette)

Running Time: 5:24

This version has an extended ending, incorporating fireworks and applause from KISS's "Shout It Out Loud," found on Alive II, and the beginning guitar riff of "Complication" as the track fades out. It is also overdubbed with crowd noise (looped twice) that includes some girls chanting "Nine Inch Nails!" The version on the cassette single lacks the "Complication" guitar, and the overdubbed crowd noise continues on instead of looping, with larger crowd chants of "Nine Inch Nails!" in the audience.

Star***kers, Inc.

Running Time: 5:09

In this heavily edited version, it fades in half as fast. The word "bitch" is censored, as is the word "fuck" - during the chorus, it is silenced. The guitar solo that comes next is cut in half. In the second verse the word "fucking" is censored, as is "asskisser". Also censored is the word "suck", but, interestingly enough, the word "whore" is not. During the loud chorus at the end of the lonely bridge, an added guitar that plays nine times in the studio plays only four in this edit. Also, at the very end, a part that plays thrice plays only twice. However, at the end of this edit, there is the KISS extended ending, but it fades out sooner.

Starsuckers, Inc.

Running Time: 4:13

This is a heavily censored version, released on the Starsuckers, Inc. promo disc. It incorporates all the censorship and edits of "Star***kers, Inc.", except that the word "starfuckers" is replaced by "starsuckers" throughout. It does not include the KISS ending.

Starsuckers, Inc. (Video Version)

Running Time: 4:18

This is a heavily censored version, released on the Starsuckers, Inc. promo disc. It is identical to "Starsuckers, Inc." except that the bridge verse is changed from the Carly Simon lyrics. While this is ostensibly the version used in the music video, the music video actually contains additional censorings: "suck you" (instead of just "suck") and "taste" in the second verse.

Starfuckers, Inc. (Version)—Adrian Sherwood

Running Time: 5:11

This remix integrates siren noises and various noises reminiscent of old sci-fi movies, as well as samples from "Shout It Out Loud" by KISS (from Alive II.) It has very little in the way of lyrics, consisting only of "starfuckers," "starfuckers, incorporated" and "you're so fucking beautiful."

Song Credits

• Manipulation: Adrian Sherwood for 140dB
• Additional production: Adrian Sherwood, Mark Stewart
• Engineering: Alan Branch

Starfuckers, Inc. (Version)—Dave "Rave" Ogilvie

Running Time: 6:06

This is a more dance-oriented remix, with emphasis on percussion and melodic synthesizers.

Song Credits

• Manipulation: Dave Ogilvie

Starfuckers, Inc. (Version)—Charlie Clouser

Running Time: 5:09

A more industrial remix, this is very heavy on percussion and light on lyrical content.

Song Credits

• Manipulation: Charlie Clouser

Starfuckers, Inc. (And All That Could Have Been)

This live version is similar to the album original, with the exception being an extended bridge that features Reznor declaring, "Well, fuck you!" after repeating "Don't you?" many times. The tempo is also increased from the album's 146 BPM to 159 BPM.

An Easter Egg on the DVD includes a performance of this song at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 9th, 2000 with Manson. It then goes into a performance of Manson's "The Beautiful People." They had re-established a friendship, which did not last long after that performance.

Music Video

Screenshot from the "Starsuckers, Inc." video

The music video for "Starfuckers, Inc." debuted on May 2, 2000, on MTV's Total Request Live, under the title "Starsuckers, Inc." due to censorship issues. The interlude lyrics were also changed for the video, allegedly to avoid a copyright infringement lawsuit. The video was co-directed by Robert Hales and Marilyn Manson. The video represented a short-lived period of reconciliation between Reznor and Manson.

A glammed-out Reznor and a strung-out, leggy blonde are riding in the back of a limousine. They stop at a run-down carnival at a trailer park, hosted by a one-armed dwarf, and participate in the games there. These games include smashing plates bearing head shots of popular musicians, throwing CDs in a toilet, breaking busts of various musicians (including Reznor himself), and a dunk tank that involves a large man dressed like Courtney Love falling into a tank filled with toxic waste.

At this point in the video, it becomes a commentary on the state of music at the time. Bands like Limp Bizkit were extremely popular while Smashing Pumpkins and R.E.M. seemed to be past their prime in the eyes of the record labels and many consumers. After the dunk tank, Reznor and the blonde return to the car. It is then that the blonde is revealed to be Manson dressed in drag.

The video contains several references to the films of David Lynch. The opening scene with the road and the red-tinted scenes refer to Lost Highway. The limousine and Reznor's clothes and oxygen mask refer to the character Frank Booth in Blue Velvet, who has an addiction to gases and is the perfect figure of depravity. During the throwing of CDs into a toilet, discs are seen of Marilyn Manson's Mechanical Animals and Smells Like Children as well as Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral.

Reznor on the songwriting

In a 2005 interview with Kerrang[4], Reznor gave the following insight:

You start out thinking you can change the world, but when cool people at clubs who wouldn't even talk to me were like, "Whoah, he's got a platinum album, who's that guy?" It was strange. I realised that the guys who beat me up in high-school were now in my audience. Money, fame, power - things I'd never had - those things are recipes for massive personality distortion. In my life I was standing on the edge of a cliff about to jump off because my brain wasn't working. After The Downward Spiral I felt like I had to make the best record in the world but my addictions meant my head was packed with cotton. "Starfuckers, Inc." doesn't fit in with the rest of that record, but it came from bits of lyrics I'd written over a long period and was focused at Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love. I'm not saying I haven't fallen prey to this at times, but I think in their environment your priorities can totally flip before you realise.

Live

"Starfuckers, Inc." made its live debut on November 14, 1999 and was played at the vast majority of shows on the Fragility tour, usually at a significantly faster tempo.

During the Live: With Teeth tour, the song was performed at about one-third of the shows, mostly early ones. Reznor stopped the song and skipped the breakdown, bantering to the audience before going right into the song's finale.

"Starfuckers, Inc." made rare appearances on the Performance 2007 tour, and featured at at two shows on the Lights In The Sky Tour where that tour's production was unavailable. In 2018, "Starfuckers, Inc." returned for four shows on the Cold And Black And Infinite Tour.

Lyrics

    My god sits in the back of the limousine
    My god comes in a wrapper of cellophane
    My god pouts on the cover of the magazine
    My god's a shallow little bitch trying to make the scene
    
    I have arrived and this time you should believe the hype
    I listened to everyone now I know that everyone was right
    I'll be there for you as long as it works for me
    I play a game
    It's called insincerity
    
    Starfuckers
    Starfuckers
    Starfuckers, Inc.
    Starfuckers
    
    I am every fucking thing and just a little more
    I sold my soul but don't you dare call me a whore
    And when I suck you off not a drop will go to waste
    It's really not so bad you know once you get past the taste
    (Asskisser)
    
    Starfuckers
    Starfuckers
    Starfuckers, Inc.
    Starfuckers
    
    All our pain
    How did we ever get by without you?
    You're so vain
    I bet you think this song is about you
    Don't you?
    Don't you?
    Don't you?
    Don't you?
    
    Now I belong I'm one of the chosen ones
    Now I belong I'm one of the beautiful ones

The screamed final line is not printed in the liner notes:

    I have become

In "Starsuckers, Inc.," the lyrics in the breakdown are changed to:

    All our pain
    How did we ever get by without you?
    Overplayed
    And soon you'll make us forget about you
    Won't you?

External Links

• "Starsuckers, Inc." music video
• Discogs entry for CD single

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