Closer

This song definitely is not just a sex anthem. There is a much darker and sinsister meaning. It is actually very sad and depressing. The character in the song is so broken down and so empty that sex is the only things that still makes him feel alive. Also, as a side note, I personally make a connection to religion, in that, especially in Hinduism as well as other Eastern religions, sex is in fact viewed as a spiritual connection with another person and God. Sex is sacred, not profane, as it is viewed by modern Christianity and society as well. In the video as well the part that has the monkey on the cross, I relate to something I saw on an early "Faces of Death" movie, where people where gathered at a table and took turns hitting a monkey in the head with a small hammer until it was dead and then eating its brain. This was done because it was believed that eating the monkey's brain would bring them closer to god. I think the S&M bondage style sex that is referenced is also a reflection of the psychological nature of being sadistic/masochistic, which is considered as a disorder, and is refering to the reasons why you can become this way, i.e. through being beaten down mentally and emotionally until you are virtually broken and empty until you find a way to regain power over yourself through sadistic/masochistic behavior, this behavior, of course, only deepens the wound leaving you desensitized in an extreme way so that you become regretful, suicidal, delusional?, etc.. The reason sex is glorified in this song is because it is the only thing the main character has left,therefore it in a way is his god, it controls him, it gives his life meaning and purpose as miserable of an existence as that sounds, that is the message being conveyed in this song as well as throughout The Downward Spiral.