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| live = [[Dissonance]] tour <br> [[Performance 2007]]<br>[[Wave Goodbye Tour]]<br>[[NIN 2014 Europe/UK Tour]]<br>[[Cold And Black And Infinite Tour]] through present}}'''"The Becoming"''' is the seventh track on the 1994 album ''[[The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward Spiral]].'' A semi-acoustic version can be found on ''[[Still]],'' which has an accompanying performance video released at the time on [[nin.com]]. The bassline on this track was done with a prototype of the Oberheim OB-Mx synthesizer.[https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw4RM5movKf/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=jqklvyc8wfw7] [[Trent Reznor]] stated in an interview[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IwIxiovt_I] that the idea for the metaphor of a person becoming a machine was inspired by [[Shinya Tsukamoto]]'s ''Tetsuo: The Iron Man''.

===Annie===In a 2004 interview for ''Alternative Press'"The Becoming"''' is , Reznor was asked about the seventh track on use of the 1994 album ''[[The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward Spiral]]name Annie in this song.''

A semi-acoustic version can be found on ''[[Still]]<blockquote><p>Oh, and "Annie" was abstractly referring to a college sweetheart/ heartbreak situation that,'' which has an accompanying video released at the time on nin.com. ===Meaning===The lyrics describe I was writing that song, was a man fighting against himself, trying valid source of emotional pain to avoid his "becomingdraw from. Her real name is Andrea Mulrain," transforming him into a machine without human characteristics and feelingsher phone number is [number deleted for privacy purposes. Its structure, described below, is indicative of this struggle-Patriot Act Ed.]</p> This is a rare example of Reznor directly referencing a name ("Annie") in his lyrics<p>—Reznor [http://www. Usually, he uses ambiguous pronounstheninhotline. This expresses the need for attachment, the need to interact intimately with another human despite the narrator's extreme attempts to detach himself from the worldnet/archives/articles/manager/display_article.php?id=11]</p></blockquote>

This is the original album version. It begins in a 13/8 time signature with a manipulated piano line, then bursts into drum and [[samples|sample ]] loops of screams taken from the film ''Robot JoxxJox''. The drum loop pattern is also nearly identical in "[[The Way Out Is Through]]"." At the 3-minute mark, it mellows into an acoustic guitar-led passage in 6/8, with machine-like loops and synthesized chorus pads sampled from Reznor's voice. The quiet portions of the song also contain a backwards sample from the film ''Angel Heart'' where the character is repeatedly yelling "I know who I am!" There is a final outburst of noise and screaming before returning to the acoustic section, which crossfades with the opening of "[[I Do Not Want This]]"."

'''''Running Time: 6:24''''' Released by Reznor via his [[remix.nin.com ]] account, this unmastered instrumental version is extended to six minutes in length, as it does not fade out the ending, rather looping the acoustic guitar riff many times until stopping.

'''''Running Time: 4:30''''' This version appears on the ''Still'' CD, which was Disc 2 disc two of the Deluxe Edition CD of ''And All That Could Have Been'' and is currently available through nin.com. Simpler in its instrumentation and without the sample loops, it transitions immediately from the end of "[[The_Fragile_%28song%29#The_Fragile_.28Still.29|The Fragile]]" and ends suddenly after the final "noisy" section. Though he is absent from the credits, [[Danny Lohner]] is clearly seen performing in the video.

This song, played live frequently on the [[Dissonance]] Tour and relegated to rarity status until its brief return on the [[Performance 2007]] Tour, was resurrected for the [[Wave Goodbye Tour]], where its arrangement during which it was closer characterized by [[Robin Finck]]'s use of an acoustic guitar throughout. However, the structure of the song stayed close to the ''Still'' album version, though with electric effects distortion used on the acoustic guitar during for the loud parts. These performances also dropped the verses''Robot Jox'' sample loop.

*[http://www.rob-sheridanvimeo.com/video/becoming.html 61677369 "The Becoming"(''Still" '') music video]