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"Only" is the eighth track on the 2005 album With Teeth. It was released as a single in summer 2005, receiving the designation Halo 20. It is known for its upbeat and synthesizer-driven instrumentation, and casual lyric delivery, reminiscent of 1989's "Down In It." It was censored on radio, though it was obvious that the word "fucking" was being cut out. "Only" was the last song finished for With Teeth. It was the second song that saw the release of its multitracks for fan remixes.
In a 2005 interview with Kerrang, Reznor gave the following insight: "It's about the business. When you get on this path of trying to sell records it becomes about selling more records and playing bigger venues. It's like, "I'm friends with Tom Morello but Audioslave are releasing something on the same day as us and I must destroy him." It's like, "Wait a minute!" The goal has to be about making the best music possible or else it becomes something that will make you implode. Although, I'd rather have money than not because I know what not having it is like and not being able to pay the gas bill sucks. I feel lucky that I can do this but I constantly have to remind myself what the goal is. Should I say yes to that Microsoft commercial because I could use a new house? Or do I say no because this is something precious that would be tarnished if I did that? I find myself saying this to record labels and business manager guys, and they're like, "You won't do what because of what?" My feelings were hurt when I heard David Bowie's "Heroes" on a fucking Microsoft commercial. It's like, "Why? Fuck!"
The drum machine used is the same as was used in the How To Destroy Angels track "Fur-Lined". Per the titles of the song's multitracks, a Bösendorfer piano was used on this song.
"Only" contains a verse that is very similar to a verse in the song "Down In It."
"Down In It": Just then a tiny little dot caught my eye it was just about too small to see/But I watched it way too long it was pulling me down
"Only": Well the tiniest little dot caught my eye/And it turned out to be a scab/And I had this funny feeling/Like I just knew it's something bad
The music video for "Only" was directed by David Fincher and was largely created using advanced CGI by visual effects company Digital Domain. It features a desk with a laptop (A 17" Mac PowerBook), speakers, a cup of coffee, a Newton's cradle and a Pin Art desk toy being brought to life and animated by the music. The video starts with a hand pressing the space bar on the computer, which starts its music program (iTunes with the Visualizer turned on). The Newton's cradle begins to sway to the beat as ripples appear in a cup of coffee. Reznor appears in the Pin Art, singing the song. As it gets to the second verse, the songs builds and the vibrations get more intense. Reznor seems to almost break out of the Pin Art as the balls on the cradle sway almost uncontrollably. The ripples in the coffee also have greater frequency. The climax of the song dislodges the top-most apple in a nearby bowl, after which Reznor's impression walks off and the scene dies down. At the very end, a blurry image of a car can be seen driving away. The video was almost entirely computer-animated, with Reznor filmed live in front of a green screen and then mapped onto the Pin Art. It is reported that the only parts that were live-action were the hand at the very beginning (that of Fincher) and the bowl of apples at the end.
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![Cruel Melody [Explicit Version]](https://lastfm.freetls.fastly.net/i/u/300x300/a61d2c57281848ac9aec4a5a02095aa4.jpg)
