10 Legendary Rock Songs That Were Insanely Controversial

Chances are that Trent Reznor tends to look back on his time as an industrial giant in the '90s and cringe just a little bit. Even though songs like Head Like a Hole have become staples of classic rock radio over the past decade, his intense need to shock people with his edgy approach to rock tended to feel a lot more juvenile as the years went on. The Downward Spiral has always remained pitch black though, and Closer is Trent giving in to some of his most animalistic tendencies.

Being halfway through the devolution process of Mr. Self Destruct, this song is all about satisfying someone in the sickest way possible, giving in to sexual desires that are much more aggressive than usual. While the song itself already makes you feel on edge listening to it, you're in for a surprise once you get to the music video, containing so much nudity and disturbing imagery that Trent had to release a different cut of the song with most of the disturbing moments edited out.

Not even the censorship could save this song from getting under people's skin though, showing a sign saying that the image was being censored. MTV may have been trying to protect its viewers from being scarred by what they saw, but they forgot the first rule of shock rock. Sometimes it's more about what you don't show them, and by showing those censored screens, the viewer is already thinking of something much scarier than Trent would have ever thought of.