"Wish" was remixed twice for the companion disc to the EP, Fixed, as "Wish (Remix)" and "Fist Fuck". Both remixes were produced by J. G. Thirlwell.[5]
"Wish" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1993. Referencing a lyric from the song, Trent Reznor later joked that his epitaph should read: "REZNOR: Died. Said 'fist fuck' and won a Grammy."[6][7] In 2020, Kerrang and Billboard ranked the song number one and number four, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Nine Inch Nails songs.[8][9]
Music video
Nine Inch Nails playing inside of a cage in the "Wish" music video
The music video for "Wish" was directed by Peter Christopherson, who also directed the music video for "March of the Pigs" and Broken's eponymous film.[10] The video shows Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor on vocals, Chris Vrenna on drums, Richard Patrick on guitar and James Woolley on keyboards) playing inside high, caged walls while hordes of angry men assault the exterior of the cage. The band is eventually accosted: Woolley is lifted off his feet by a suspended man, Vrenna is lifted off by a crane hook and Patrick is grabbed through the sides of the cage. The video ends with a brief scene of men breaking open the gate of the cage and storming into the cage with bats and clubs.[11]MTV felt that the ending scene was too violent and alternate footage was used for network airplay.
A second video is a live performance filmed by Simon Maxwell in 1995 and was released on Closure in 1997.[12] This performance was taken from a concert film originally intended for release in 1996, but was subsequently shelved because Reznor was not satisfied with the final product.
Linkin Park performed the song live on their spring 2004 tour.[24] It was also covered on that year's Projekt Revolution tour where one recording was later released on the Linkin Park Underground 4.0 fanclub CD.
Brand New covered the song live during their spring 2011 tour.[26]
Device covered the song on the deluxe edition of their 2013 debut album Device.[27]
Appearance in other media
The song was featured on an episode of Beavis & Butthead.[28] While most music videos are typically made fun of, the animated duo ultimately approved of "Wish".
The song is featured as a playable track in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, although incorrectly listed with a 2002 release date.[30]
The O'Keefe Music Foundation produced a video with a band composed of children covering the song. The lyric "fist fuck" is replaced by "fist bump."[31]
^"Wish" (US promotional 12" single). Nine Inch Nails. Interscope Records. 1992. DMD 1947.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"Wish" (UK promotional CD-R single). Nine Inch Nails. Island Records. 1992. IS 552 DJ.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^"Wish" (UK promotional 7" single). Nine Inch Nails. Island Records. 1992. IS 552 DJ.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
