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[Hirway] I loved the sound

I loved the sound, and I couldn't wrap my head around what it was, and I still don't...

Song Exploder • S02E02 • 2020

[Hirway] I loved the sound, and I couldn't wrap my head around
what it was, and I still don't understand what it is. [Reznor] I was actually thinking
about this sound. We've come up with a trick
where we could take a note on whatever instrument. That sounds like strings, but I'm not… Like violin,
but I'm not sure if it was that. Feed it for a second into,
like, an infinite reverb, and it gets locked into a tone that sounds almost pipe organ-y
a little bit. Because it's not coming out
of a synthesizer, it's not quite in tune. It's not quite right. It has a… It feels, um, human… and that was meant to turn the lights up. You've been underwater. Bring you up to kind of emphasize
the climax of the song. [playing "Hurt"] ♪ What have I become? ♪

Full Transcript

00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:02.162

[Hirway] I loved the sound,

00:00:02.241 --> 00:00:04.403

and I couldn't wrap my head around what it was,

00:00:04.484 --> 00:00:06.325

and I still don't understand what it is.

00:00:08.568 --> 00:00:11.998

[Reznor] I was actually thinking about this sound.

00:00:11.691 --> 00:00:14.614

We've come up with a trick where we could take a note

00:00:15.174 --> 00:00:16.495

on whatever instrument.

00:00:16.576 --> 00:00:18.297

That sounds like strings, but I'm not…

00:00:18.378 --> 00:00:20.009

Like violin, but I'm not sure if it was that.

00:00:20.981 --> 00:00:24.223

Feed it for a second into, like, an infinite reverb,

00:00:24.744 --> 00:00:26.466

and it gets locked into a tone

00:00:26.546 --> 00:00:29.749

that sounds almost pipe organ-y a little bit.

00:00:30.389 --> 00:00:32.592

Because it's not coming out of a synthesizer,

00:00:32.672 --> 00:00:35.395

it's not quite in tune.

00:00:35.475 --> 00:00:36.836

It's not quite right.

00:00:36.917 --> 00:00:37.917

It has a…

00:00:38.558 --> 00:00:40.076

It feels, um, human…

00:00:40.084 --> 00:00:43.803

and that was meant to turn the lights up.

00:00:44.483 --> 00:00:46.001

You've been underwater.

00:00:46.926 --> 00:00:50.931

Bring you up to kind of emphasize the climax of the song.

00:00:51.998 --> 00:00:52.932

[playing "Hurt"]

00:00:54.133 --> 00:00:57.136

♪ What have I become? ♪

Duration

57 seconds

Views

29

Timestamp in Movie

00:12:18

Uploaded

May 27, 2025

Season

2

Episode

2

Genres

documentary, music

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Movie Summary

Weaves together in-depth interviews, archival footage, and raw recordings as each artist breaks down their song, layer by layer, sharing intimate insight into the personal inspiration behind the music and lyrics.