Mr. Self Destruct Lyrics

Lyric discussion by screamingpickle123 

Cover art for Mr. Self Destruct lyrics by Nine Inch Nails

I found it interesting how the overall beat of the song contributed to its message. It builds up as the song progresses in its early stages and soon sets a new, violent beat that is sustained throughout the rest of it (of course, except for the section where it mellows out). I saw it representing the struggle over power between the "human" side of us and the "mechanical" side. It also reflects what the machine does, it starts out slow, like a snowball effect, but the more power it is allowed, the more it dominates the song, which might be represented as the individual. The section where it does mellow out could symbolize how the human side has such little power, showing up for just a short duration and being drowned out completely by the machine in such a short period. At the end, the beat just takes over the song completely, moving in a new direction with a crazy guitar solo (the machine is just...well g-balling the individual so that he is completely taken over).