Me, I'm Not
Me, I'm Not: Olof Dreijer
"Me, I'm Not" is the sixth track on the 2007 release Year Zero.
Contents
Interpretation
The song discusses a conflict with another person or entity which is causing the singer to lose himself or to become something worse. It seems as if this fight is removing a sort of disguise from the singer, revealing what might be called his true nature, but a nature which the singer "defines himself" by denying. The subject of the song also admits to being responsible for the initiation of "this thing" which may refer either to the conflict or the self-degeneration or both, and explains that he is unable to stop it. He explains that the only way to win is "knowing not to fight," and he expresses that the conflict could have been prevented if he had known what he "knows right now."
It may also be describing, from a first-person perspective, a character infected by the Red Horse biological agent.
Leak
At the February 19th, 2007 Nine Inch Nails concert in Barcelona, Spain, a second plain-looking USB flash drive was found in a bathroom stall. This drive had two MP3 files: one called 2432.mp3 and the other "Me, I'm Not."
Trent Reznor on sounding like KMFDM
A forum user said on The Spiral and ETS:
- Play Me, Im not.
- Then play 03 - You're No Good - KMFDM - Hau Ruck
- Exact same bass line ... and sounds the same
- Its kmfdm revamped .. nothing new ...
- (kind of)
- again ...
- ITS STOLEN FROM KMFDM -
- but KMFDMs version is better ...
- You're no good - Hau Ruck
Trent Reznor replied on The Spiral:
- You: go fuck yourself. Now. The day I steal something from KMFD-Fucking-M is a sad fucking day indeed. Call up Sasha and have him sue me if you feel that strongly about it, meanwhile let everyone have some goddamned fun without you pissing on the parade.
Song Credits
- Backing vocals: Saul Williams
Appearances
Versions
Me, I'm Not
This is the original album version. Highly repetitive, it features a consistent drum loop and manipulated bass riff throughout. On top are layered various synthesizers and samples in addition to Reznor's vocals, which are mostly sung in his lower range, sometimes nearly whispered.
Me, I'm Not: Olof Dreijer
This remix is on Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D. Coming in at over 14 minutes long, it's the longest Nine Inch Nails remix to be officially released. Very different from the album original, it begins with a simple beat and synth melody, over which a high-pitched droning sound element is added. This sound invokes similarities to the instrumental melody within the original song's chorus. The sound is a lot like a wave, cresting and receding. Soon, a basic percussion beat comes in on top of these sounds. At around 4 minutes in, the higher sound drops out, and finger-snap percussion joins in shortly thereafter. A hi-hat beat joins in and another beat comes in. At around 5:25 the higher sound begins to creep in and whispered vocals ("I'm not used to this") come in and out through this portion of the song. A lower synth melody comes in almost halfway through as the higher part again disappears momentarily. The higher sounds return as vocals appear sporadically in this sequence. Once again, a wave-like pattern is invoked in the sound elements dominating this piece. Past the 9-minute mark, the lyrics "I define myself/By how well I hide" and "What I know right now" are clearly audible through the rest of the sounds. The finale contains several sound elements emerging and fading away in a repeated cycle before fading out altogether.
Song Credits
- Remix and additional production by Olof Dreijer
- Olof Dreijer is represented by DEF Ltd.
- info@d-e-f.com
Live
"Me, I'm Not" was first played live on May 9, 2007 at Luna Park in Sydney, Australia, on the Performance 2007 tour. Reznor and Alessandro Cortini both play keyboards and synths on this song, with a computer hooked up to Reznor's machine. In the song's first live performances, Reznor played slide guitar but it has since been played by Aaron North in subesquent performances. Josh Freese and Jeordie White do not play on this song live.
Lyrics
And it's happening
Never planned on this
You got something I need
Kind of dangerous
And I'm losing control
I'm not used to this
What you want from me?
I'm not used to this
Can't seem to shut it off
This thing I've begun
And it's hard to tell—just
Where it's coming from
And it's hard to see
What I'm capable of
And it's hard to believe—just
What I've become
Hey
Can we stop?
Me, I'm not
I can swallow it down
Keep it all inside
I define myself
By how well I hide
Feel it coming apart
Well at least I tried
I can win this war
By knowing not to fight
If I take it all back
Some way somehow
If I knew back then
What I know right now
Hey
Can we stop?
Me, I'm not
The ninth line of the first verse was shortened in the actual recording:
I can't shut it off