Everyone has heard of Nine Inch Nails (NiN) now, but when "Pretty Hate Machine" came out in 1990, it was revolutionary -- the first of industrial music that went mainstream and was accessible while still being menacing. It sounds dated now, overtaken by the genre it helped create but in 1990 it was amazing. Being a super collector, I got the "Sin" CD single not long after the LP came out. Aside from the three different version of "Sin" was the B-side of Queen's "Get Down, Make Love", from their 1977 LP "News of the World". Not being a fan I never had this LP, and thus had never heard the song -- you certainly won't hear it on classic rock radio.
I was immediately struck by the NiN version and it was in high-rotation during many a 1990s party. While it clearly sounded like NiN, it had an extra dimension that many of their songs did not. Turns out, that's the Queen contribution (and Al Jourgensen/Ministry too!).
And as crazy, raw, dungeon-esque as the NiN version is... it's all there in the Queen version too, albeit with a sparser, non-synth instrumentation. It's still pounding, steamy, and intimidating. It's also the type of song that few performers could can pull off without sounding like a hollow parody of a rawk song. Led Zeppelin (there are obvious similarities to "Whole Lotta Love"), Prince, maybe a few others... and Trent Reznor.
If you want to take a detour from the uplifting, Live Aid elements of the film and focus on BDSM elements they hinted at, then listen to both versions of "Get Down, Make Love".
Queen - "Get Down, Make Love"
NiN - "Get Down, Make Love"
If we see the film again I'll have to blog about "Stone Cold Crazy", and although it's cool that Metallica covered it I'm sad to say I don't love it. If we see it a fourth time, then I've got nothing.
Bonus link (just in case the BDSM link was not clear):
NiN - "Sin"
(somehow this video snuck through the Youtube censors)
