Changes

| album = '' [[The Downward Spiral (halo)|The Downward Spiral]]''

| BPM = 150| versions = The Becoming<br>The Becoming (Instrumental)<br>The Becoming (''[[Still]]'')| live = [[Dissonance]] tour <br> [[Year Zero Warm-Up 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''.

==About==<blockquote><p>Oh, and "'''The Becoming'''Annie" is made from many loops of industrial soundswas abstractly referring to a college sweetheart/ heartbreak situation that, showcasing at the hard sound time I was writing that song, was a valid source of emotional pain to draw from [[The Downward Spiral]]. A more acoustic version (with [[Trent Reznor]] on piano, [[Danny Lohner]] on guitar, [[Jerome Dillon]] on drumsHer real name is Andrea Mulrain, with drum machine and samples) can be found on her phone number is [[Still]], with an accompanying video on [[ninnumber deleted for privacy purposes. -Patriot Act Ed.com]] (</p> <p>—Reznor [http://youtubewww.comtheninhotline.net/watcharchives/articles/manager/display_article.php?vid=eaX4Ac2-Fww YouTube upload11]).</p></blockquote>

=== Meaning Song Credits===*Production: [[Flood]] and Trent Reznor*Mixing Engineer: [[Alan Moulder]]*Ring Mod Guitar: [[Adrian Belew]]*ARP2600: Flood ==Appearances=====Halos===*''The Downward Spiral'' (1994)*''[[And All That Could Have Been (halo)|And All That Could Have Been]]'' (Deluxe Edition CD; 2002)*''Still'' ===Seeds===*''[[The lyrics describe Definitive NIN - Deep Cuts]]'' ==Versions=====The Becoming===This is the original album version. It begins in a man fighting against himself13/8 time signature with a manipulated piano line, trying to avoid his then bursts into drum and [[samples|sample]] loops of screams taken from the film ''Robot Jox''. The drum loop pattern is also nearly identical in "[[The Way Out Is Through]]"becoming. 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 " transforming him into I know who I am!" There is a machine without human characteristics final outburst of noise and feelingsscreaming before returning to the acoustic section, which crossfades with the opening of "[[I Do Not Want This]]". ===The Becoming (Instrumental)==='''''Running Time: 6:24'''''

This is a rare example of Released by Reznor via his [[Trentremix.nin.com]] directly referencing a name ("Annie") account, this unmastered instrumental version is extended in his lyrics. Usuallylength, he uses ambiguous pronouns. This expresses as it does not fade out the need for attachmentending, rather looping the need to interact intimately with another human despite the narrator's extreme attempts to detach himself from the worldacoustic guitar riff many times until stopping.

===The song begins with industrial noises such as those from a drum machine and what appears to be distorted screams. At the 3-minute mark it mellows into swooshy sounds with Becoming (''ahhStill''ing from more emotive voices. There is a final outburst of noise and screaming before fading out with the )==='''''Running Time: 4:30'''ahh''s again. This song structure is indicative of the struggle between the narrator and the noise/machine.

===Appearances===*This version appears on the ''Still'' CD, which was disc two of the Deluxe Edition CD of ''And All That Could Have Been''. 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 Downward Spiral*StillFragile]]" and ends suddenly after the final "noisy" section. Though he is absent from the credits, [[Danny Lohner]] is clearly seen performing in the video.

===Versions=Song Credits====*Performance: Trent Reznor, Jerome Dillon*Mix engineering: Alan Moulder*Engineering: Alan Moulder*The BecomingSecond Engineering: [[Leo Herrera]]*The Becoming (Still)Programming: [[Keith Hillebrandt]]

===Song Credits=Live==*Production: This song, played live frequently on the [[FloodDissonance]] Tour and Trent Reznor*Mixing Engineer: relegated to rarity status until its brief return on the [[Performance 2007]] Tour, was resurrected for the [[Alan MoulderWave Goodbye Tour]]*Ring Mod Guitar:, during which it was characterized by [[ Adrian BelewRobin Finck]]*ARP2600: Flood's use of an acoustic guitar throughout. However, the structure of the song stayed close to the album version, with distortion used on the acoustic guitar for the loud parts. These performances also dropped the ''Robot Jox'' sample loop.

I beat my machine it’s it's a part of me it’s it's inside of me I’m I'm stuck in this dream it’s it's changing me I am becoming The me that you know he had some second thoughts He’s He's covered with scabs he is broken and sore The me that you know doesn’t doesn't come around much

All pain disappears it’s it's the nature of my circuitry

But the blood has stopped pumping and he’s he's left to decay

And even when I’m I'm right with you I’m I'm so far away

I can try to get away but I’ve I've strapped myself in

I don’t don't want to listen but it’s it's all too clear

It won’t won't give up it wants me dead