Difference between revisions of "Sin (song)"

Latest revision as of 03:18, 12 March 2025

Album:Pretty Hate Machine

Length:4:06

Tempo:129 BPM

Versions:Sin
Sin (Long)
Sin (Dub)
Sin (Short)
Sin (Radio Edit)
Sin (Demo)
Sin (And All That Could Have Been)

Live:"Pretty Hate Machine" Promotional Tour
through Wave Goodbye Tour
Cold And Black And Infinite Tour through present

"Sin" is the seventh track on the 1989 release Pretty Hate Machine. Remixes were featured on the Sin single along with a B-side (a cover of Queen's "Get Down, Make Love"). The song is often amped up when played live, usually featured at the beginning of setlists.

The "sha" samples used at the beginning and end of the song appear to be from "Paid In Full" by Erik B & Rakim, though they may also have sampled the same original source. The line "Stale incense, old sweat, and lies, lies, lies" is a direct quote of Clive Barker from his short story "In the Hills, the Cities" from Books Of Blood, in which he uses it to describe old European churches.

Song Credits

Production: Trent Reznor, John Fryer
Remix: Keith LeBlanc
Engineering: John Fryer, Keith LeBlanc, Kennan Keating, Ken Quartarone
Mix: Keith LeBlanc, Trent Reznor

Appearances

Halos

Pretty Hate Machine
Sin
Closure
And All That Could Have Been (CD/DVD/VHS)

Seeds

Other

Demos & Remixes

Versions

Sin

This is the original album version from Pretty Hate Machine. The loud cry from the end of "Kinda I Want To" segues into the track as the hisses jump back and forth between the left and right audio channels, stereo panning being a prominent feature of the track. The song itself is very beat driven with much synthesized layering and uses the lyrics as the melody for most of the song, lacking any real "lead" parts. It's also notable for its unique sample of a loud whistling, which is most likely a sped up sample of a saxophone.

Sin (Dub)

Running Time: 5:00

This remix is almost completely stripped of lyrics, save for the words "sin," "control," and "lies" scattered throughout the track.

Song Credits

Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc

Sin (Long)

Running Time: 5:51

This remix has extended instrumentals including a massively extended outro composed of what sounds like wind or running water and muted synthetic chimes.

Song Credits

Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc

Sin (Short)

Running Time: 4:19

This remix incorporates some of the elements of the "Long" and "Dub" remixes, but it has a more drawn-out outro. This version is used in the music video.

Song Credits

Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc

Sin (Radio Edit)

Running Time: 3:19

Available on a promotional-only "special DJ edit" UK vinyl pressing. It was also widely circulated on the Demos & Remixes bootleg.

Sin (Demo)

Running Time: 4:11

A demo for "Sin" leaked in clips on the internet before leaking in full in 2025. The leak stated: "this demo from 1987 was included on tapes distributed by Reznor before securing a record deal."

Per the clips that had leaked earlier, there is an alternate version of this demo that uses the same instrumental but a different vocal take. Based on what fans have heard, this is the version that is on a cassette in possession of Martin Atkins, who has allowed fans to hear playbacks.

Sin (And All That Could Have Been)

This live version features a theremin solo during the introduction and live drums, otherwise remaining close to the studio arrangement on Pretty Hate Machine.

Live

The song's intro seems to be performed differently by every NIN keyboardist. For example, Danny Lohner in the Woodstock '94 performance is seen playing an additional melody to the intro. During the Fragility tour, Charlie Clouser used a theremin before the guitar intro is played, while Alessandro Cortini's performance of the intro is a tad closer to the original. Other than that, the rest of the song is performed closely to the album version in most live performances, though when Jeordie White played the song, he played its harmonic progression on bass guitar rather than the keyboards used in most other live arrangements. The persistent high-pitched percussion loop from the "Long", "Short" and "Dub" mixes is also usually present in the live iterations.

Music Video

Screenshot from the "Sin" video

A music video was made, using the "Short" remix of the song. It was directed by Brett Turnbull. The video contains two women dancing with each other at the beginning before cutting to the main focus of the video. A woman, nude except for what looks like straps to spelunking gear and a halogen lamp, walking a shirtless, wrist-bound Reznor with a bag over his head through what looks like an industrial warehouse complex. He is then strapped into an aerotrim where she spins him throughout the remainder of the video. These scenes are intercut with two young gay lovers, a man and woman wearing ritualistic dressings and dancing, as well as visuals of pierced genitalia (both male and female).

The video was filmed in December 1990 in London, during a short trip by Reznor and John Malm to prepare for the upcoming UK releases and tour through Island Records. [1]

The video was banned from MTV and most major outlets. It remained unreleased in any official capacity until a partial version of the video was included on Closure. There were reports that the complete video was shown at dance clubs in the early 1990s and can now be found on the internet, as the full video became available through TVT's website.[2] [3] The officially released version was incomplete due to interference from TVT Records.[4]

Credits

Director: Brett Turnbull
Producer: Sarah Bayliss
Cameraman: Brett Turnbull
Editor: Brett Turnbull

Lyrics

    You give me the reason                        
    You give me control
    I gave you my Purity
    My Purity you stole
    Did you think I wouldn't recognize this compromise?
    Am I just too stupid to realize?
    Stale incense, old sweat and lies, lies, lies
    
    It comes down to this
    Your kiss
    Your fist
    And your strain
    It gets under my skin
    Within
    Take in
    The extent of my sin
    
    You give me the anger
    You give me the nerve
    Carry out my sentence
    I get what I deserve
    I'm just an effigy to be defaced
    To be disgraced
    Your need for me has been replaced
    And if I can't have everything well then just give me a taste
    
    It comes down to this
    Your kiss
    Your fist
    And your strain
    It gets under my skin
    Within
    Take in
    The extent of my sin

On the final album version, the placement of the words "defaced" and "disgraced" in the second verse is switched.

External Links

"Sin" music video (incomplete; NSFW)

Previous track - "Kinda I Want To"

Track 7 from Pretty Hate Machine

Next track - "That's What I Get"

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-"'''Sin'''" is the seventh song from [[Pretty Hate Machine]].
+{{song
+| title =Sin
+| album =''[[Pretty Hate Machine]]''
+| length =4:06
+| BPM = 129
+| versions =Sin <br> Sin (Long)<br>Sin (Dub)<br>Sin (Short)<br>Sin (Radio Edit)<br>Sin (Demo)<br>Sin (''[[And All That Could Have Been (halo)|And All That Could Have Been]]'')
+| live =[["Pretty Hate Machine" Promotional Tour]]<br> through [[Wave Goodbye Tour]]<br>[[Cold And Black And Infinite Tour]] through present
+}}'''"Sin"''' is the seventh track on the 1989 release ''[[Pretty Hate Machine]].'' Remixes were featured on the ''[[Sin (halo)|Sin]]'' single along with a B-side (a cover of Queen's "[[Get Down, Make Love]]"). The song is often amped up when played live, usually featured at the beginning of setlists.
-==The Video==
+The "sha" [[samples]] used at the beginning and end of the song appear to be from "Paid In Full" by Erik B & Rakim, though they may also have sampled the same original source. The line "Stale incense, old sweat, and lies, lies, lies" is a direct quote of Clive Barker from his short story "In the Hills, the Cities" from ''Books Of Blood'', in which he uses it to describe old European churches.
-A video was released, using the "(short)" remix of the song, which featured two girls dancing with each other at the beginning, cutting to a black and white footage of a woman, naked except for what looks like straps to spelunking gear and a halogen lamp, walking a wrist bound [[Trent Reznor]] with a bag over his head through what looks like an industrial warehouse complex and eventually to strap him into a large rotary harness where she spins him throughout the video. These scenes are intercut with two young gay lovers who eventually fight, a man and woman wearing ritualistic dressings and dancing, as well as visuals of a pierced penis and clitoris, all reflecting the song's dark, sexual aspects.
+===Song Credits===
+*Production: [[Trent Reznor]], John Fryer
+*Remix: Keith LeBlanc
+*Engineering: John Fryer, Keith LeBlanc, Kennan Keating, Ken Quartarone
+*Mix: Keith LeBlanc, Trent Reznor
+==Appearances==
+===Halos===
+*''Pretty Hate Machine''
+*''Sin''
+*''[[Closure]]''
+*''[[And All That Could Have Been (halo)|And All That Could Have Been]]'' (CD/DVD/VHS)
+===Seeds===
+*''[[Collected]]''
+*''[[The Definitive NIN - The Singles]]''
+===Other===
+*''[[Demos & Remixes]]''
+==Versions==
+===Sin===
+This is the original album version from ''Pretty Hate Machine.'' The loud cry from the end of "[[Kinda I Want To]]" segues into the track as the hisses jump back and forth between the left and right audio channels, stereo panning being a prominent feature of the track. The song itself is very beat driven with much synthesized layering and uses the lyrics as the melody for most of the song, lacking any real "lead" parts. It's also notable for its unique sample of a loud whistling, which is most likely a sped up sample of a saxophone.
+===Sin (Dub)===
+'''''Running Time: 5:00'''''
+This remix is almost completely stripped of lyrics, save for the words "sin," "control," and "lies" scattered throughout the track.
+====Song Credits====
+*Remix: [[Adrian Sherwood]], Keith LeBlanc
+===Sin (Long)===
+'''''Running Time: 5:51'''''
+This remix has extended instrumentals including a massively extended outro composed of what sounds like wind or running water and muted synthetic chimes.
+====Song Credits====
+*Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc
+===Sin (Short)===
+'''''Running Time: 4:19'''''
+This remix incorporates some of the elements of the "Long" and "Dub" remixes, but it has a more drawn-out outro. This version is used in the music video.
+====Song Credits====
+*Remix: Adrian Sherwood, Keith LeBlanc
+===Sin (Radio Edit)===
+'''''Running Time: 3:19'''''
+Available on a promotional-only "special DJ edit" UK vinyl pressing. It was also widely circulated on the ''Demos & Remixes'' [[bootlegs|bootleg]].
+===Sin (Demo)===
+'''''Running Time: 4:11'''''
+A demo for "Sin" leaked in clips on the internet before leaking in full in 2025. The leak stated: "this demo from 1987 was included on tapes distributed by Reznor before securing a record deal."
+Per the clips that had leaked earlier, there is an alternate version of this demo that uses the same instrumental but a different vocal take. Based on what fans have heard, this is the version that is on a cassette in possession of [[Martin Atkins]], who has allowed fans to hear playbacks.
+===Sin (''And All That Could Have Been'')===
+This live version features a theremin solo during the introduction and live drums, otherwise remaining close to the studio arrangement on ''Pretty Hate Machine''.
+==Live==
+The song's intro seems to be performed differently by every [[NIN]] keyboardist. For example, [[Danny Lohner]] in the [[Woodstock '94]] performance is seen playing an additional melody to the intro. During the [[Fragility]] tour, [[Charlie Clouser]] used a theremin before the guitar intro is played, while [[Alessandro Cortini]]'s performance of the intro is a tad closer to the original. Other than that, the rest of the song is performed closely to the album version in most live performances, though when [[Jeordie White]] played the song, he played its harmonic progression on bass guitar rather than the keyboards used in most other live arrangements. The persistent high-pitched percussion loop from the "Long", "Short" and "Dub" mixes is also usually present in the live iterations.
+==Music Video==
+[[Image:Sinstill.jpg|thumb|Screenshot from the "Sin" video]]
+A [[Nine Inch Nails music videos|music video]] was made, using the "Short" remix of the song. It was directed by Brett Turnbull. The video contains two women dancing with each other at the beginning before cutting to the main focus of the video. A woman, nude except for what looks like straps to spelunking gear and a halogen lamp, walking a shirtless, wrist-bound Reznor with a bag over his head through what looks like an industrial warehouse complex. He is then strapped into an aerotrim where she spins him throughout the remainder of the video. These scenes are intercut with two young gay lovers, a man and woman wearing ritualistic dressings and dancing, as well as visuals of pierced genitalia (both male and female).
+The video was filmed in December 1990 in London, during a short trip by Reznor and [[John Malm]] to prepare for the upcoming UK releases and tour through Island Records. [https://happinessinheresy.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/scene.jpg]
+The video was banned from MTV and most major outlets. It remained unreleased in any official capacity until a partial version of the video was included on ''Closure.'' There were reports that the complete video was shown at dance clubs in the early 1990s and can now be found on the internet, as the full video became available through [[TVT Records|TVT]]'s website.[https://www.theninhotline.com/news/permalink/1004906701] [http://web.archive.org/web/20020311020744/http://www.tvtrecords.com/artists/select-video.jsp?art_id=110] The officially released version was incomplete due to interference from [[TVT Records]].[http://nindestruct.com/mags/HitParaderSept94.html]
+===Credits===
+*Director: Brett Turnbull
+*Producer: Sarah Bayliss
+*Cameraman: Brett Turnbull
+*Editor: Brett Turnbull
 ==Lyrics==
       You give me the reason
       You give me control
       I gave you my Purity
       My Purity you stole
-      Did you think I wouldn’t recognize this compromise
+      Did you think I wouldn't recognize this compromise?
-      Am I just to stupid to realize
+      Am I just too stupid to realize?
-      Stale incense old sweat and lies lies lies
+      Stale incense, old sweat and lies, lies, lies
       It comes down to this
@@ Line 26: / Line 109: @@
       Carry out my sentence
       I get what I deserve
-      I’m just an effigy to be defaced
+      I'm just an effigy to be defaced
       To be disgraced
       Your need for me has been replaced
-      And if I can’t have everything well then just give me a taste
+      And if I can't have everything well then just give me a taste
       It comes down to this
@@ Line 40: / Line 123: @@
       The extent of my sin
-[[Category:NIN Songs]]
+On the final album version, the placement of the words "defaced" and "disgraced" in the second verse is switched.
+==External Links==
+*[https://vimeo.com/3609548 "Sin" music video (incomplete; NSFW)]
+<BR>
+{{succession box
+| title=[[Pretty Hate Machine#Track Listing|Pretty Hate Machine]]
+| before= [[Kinda I Want To]]
+| after= [[That's What I Get]]
+| track= 7
+}}
+[[Category:NIN Songs]][[Category: Music Videos]]

Difference between revisions of "Sin (song)"

Latest revision as of 03:18, 12 March 2025

Contents

Song Credits

Appearances

Halos

Seeds

Other

Versions

Sin

Sin (Dub)

Song Credits

Sin (Long)

Song Credits

Sin (Short)

Song Credits

Sin (Radio Edit)

Sin (Demo)

Sin (And All That Could Have Been)

Live

Music Video

Credits

Lyrics

External Links