Watch Miley Cyrus' Trent Reznor-approved "Head Like A Hole" cover from Black Mirror
Aux Features Music
Black Mirror’s newest entries have arrived, and, as one might expect, they came with some tunes from Miley Cyrus, star of new episode “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too.” In it, Cyrus plays Ashley O, a bubblegummy pop star whose path to fame was blazed with a hit called “On A Roll.” Upon hearing it, though, more than a few viewers found themselves wondering where they’d heard it before.
Here’s a hint:
Yep, Cyrus’ pop ditty is a reworked version of Nine Inch Nails’ 1989 hit “Head Like A Hole” with a few new lyrics, a revelation made abundantly clear once Ashley, who rebrands as an alt-rocker, offers up a much more reverent cover during the episode’s closing credits. You can see that performance, which one concertgoer declares “awful,” below.
Writer Charlie Brooker spoke to GQ about the song choice, saying that a casual listen of the track had him considering how easy it would be to refashion Trent Reznor’s tune into dance-pop. Reznor’s gift, after all, was his ability to weave melody into industrial rock soundscapes.
“The idea is that the pop versions of the songs are insanely positive, full of empty affirmations,” Brooker said. “She’s singing ‘I’m on a roll,’’ and it struck me as amusing to then reveal that she was singing ‘Head Like a Hole.’” Listen close during the episode and you’ll also hear a pop version of NIN’s “Right Where It Belongs.” Brooker says he also reworked “Hurt” as “Flirt,” but couldn’t find a place for it in the episode. Which might be for the best. Some songs you just don’t fuck with.
What’s perhaps most surprising is that Reznor was not only open to the idea, but a fan of how it all turned out. “I didn’t question the integrity of how it would be used,” Reznor said. “It was a flattering ask and I thought, yeah, let’s try it, let’s see.”
“I think the most exciting part was when the music tracks came back,” he continued, heaping praise on Cyrus’ performance. “You can’t listen to it without a smile. I put it on in the car with my wife and she was like ‘what the fuck is that?’ It’s just so well done in that style.”
Hear the original below, as well as a longer cut of Cyrus’ cover below that.
Exactly how supportive is NIN, you ask? Enough to collaborate with with Black Mirror on a t-shirt inspired by Cyrus’ performance, apparently. The band announced the availability of the collaborative merchandise, which is available on their site.
https://twitter.com/nineinchnails/status/1136295027963858944
43 Comments
Head like a whole what?
Also, I watched it, and all I saw was a still image of Miley Cyrus.
A whole lot.
Thank you for giving me all the information I need to make the informed decision that I am not going to watch this horseshite
i did watch it and you made the right choice.
Nah, for whatever ‘sins’ you’ve imagined, it’s got decent energy, and Miley has a great voice.
Great chipmunk voice.
Her voice definitely isn’t good in THIS recording. She sounds like garbage.
Like her or hate her all you want, but you can’t deny she can sing.
Her cover of “Jolene” is fantastic.
The Backyard Sessions are really what she should stick to.
I mean, anyone can sing but it doesn’t mean they should
I mean, anyone can comment on the Internet but it doesn’t mean they should.
I agree! Miley Cyrus shouldn’t sing or comment on the internet
Careful you don’t cut yourself on how edgy that comment is.
Her version of Jolene is definitely excellent, but Jolene is also a perfect song and as long as the person covering it can sing at all and the arrangement isn’t totally insane, any cover of that song is going to be pretty damn good.
I might be the only one to disagree on this, but her “Jolene” is horseshit. She can sing, but there’s exactly zero passion in her voice on that one. It’s almost like she can’t imagine someone taking away her man. Nice voice, no feeling.
Shut up.
Thanks Internet Tough Guy.
Fantastic cover. Thanks for sharing.
That is the absolute best cover of that song I’ve ever heard.
Surprisingly not bad cover. Sadly, it still shouldn’t exist.
I keep reading that this is a cover…but is it? If you change the lyrics and change the music, that makes it a sound-alike, not a cover. When you’re a kid in music class, that’s the kind of shit your teacher makes you sing because they can’t afford to license the actual music, so they buy something that sounds a lot like the original material, but is different enough that they can’t be sued.
No, a soundalike is when you don’t change the lyrics and don’t change the music. You used to be able to buy the top 10 hits of any given week the next week for half the price if you didn’t mind “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)“ being by The Of Spring or “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)“ being by Greed Nay. Those were soundalikes.These are literally a straight cover version and a cover version with modified lyrics and a different arrangement. It’s still the same song.
What are you on about?? Of course it’s a cover. The song & lyrics are almost identical..
But it has the exact same lyrics, and it’s also not bubblegummy, so I’m still confused by this article. But not enough to go watch it and see if it explains itself.
EDIT: OK, I reread the article and realize there are two versions, the sound alike and the cover. Not sure why they posted two different videos of the cover.
Here is the pop version that really should have been linked in the article:
There are two versions of the song in the show and one of those versions is the actual song but with Miley singing it, therefore a cover.
Ah, OK…that makes more sense.Apparently Reznor was so tickled with the concept that there’s official NIN-branded merch now:https://www.stereogum.com/2046610/nine-inch-nails-black-mirror-merch-miley-cyrus/news/
I’m sure this had nothing to do with the decision…
God money I’d do anything for you.
Full disclosure, I’m a fan of all things “weird Miley” (i.e. Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, her Beatles collab with Flaming Lips, etc.), but I loved this episode. It was not pure bubblegum and it was not 100% horrifying & dour. It had a pretty good balance. The music bits were brilliant though. The songs were like a mashup of those Youtube videos where they transpose songs into a major key & the songs the church choir sang in Dead to Me. It makes me happy that Trent liked the finished product & even happier that Mariqueen had a “WTF is this?!” reaction to it.
Lol I don’t understand your comment. “Full disclosure, I’m a fan, but I loved it! It had good balance, but the music was also good!”
I don’t think “but” means what you think it means.
Nah, it was more meant to be a disclaimer that me liking it might not be worth much since I like weird Miley.
Vocal is solid, instrumental not so much
Please don’t frighten me by referring to Trent Reznor in the past tense.
Brooker says he also reworked “Hurt” as “Flirt,” but couldn’t find a place for it in the episode. Which might be for the best. Some songs you just don’t fuck with.Hey, while we’re here, I’m gonna need the entire world to stop pretending like Cash’s cover of “Hurt” is superior. It’s one of his thinnest readings. It was released not long before he died. It’s a fine cover, and Cash imbues anything with emotion, but it’s not revolutionary. When you praise a cover that spare, you’re praising the songwriter more than anything.
“how easy it would be to refashion Trent Reznor’s tune into dance-pop. Reznor’s gift, after all, was his ability to weave melody into industrial rock soundscapes.”In college (mid 90s) my buddy used to play an upbeat, bouncing, bluegrass-ey version of Head Like A Hole on an acoustic guitar. It was pretty fun, even if you love NIN and hate bluegrass like me.
Check out the Carly Rae mashup “Call Me A Hole” if you haven’t already. Both tracks we’re produced by Dave Rave Ogilivie.
I’m confused.. How exactly is this a song about her shitty aunt?
And I LOVE cover/remake songs. I really do. But everyone please.. stop covering NIN/Trent Reznor songs. The only person who gets a pass in my book is Johnny Cash.
Someone please come free/force Miley away from pop music. When she does country, I like it. This, I like. She just has this lower register and huskiness to her voice that is being wasted on stupid craaaaaaap. Plus she looks kind of hot in that t-shirt in the video. (What is happening, where am I?)
I’ve never been met with an artist I find more confusing. She’s like this completely inauthentic, confused, muddled little puzzle that can’t seem to figure itself out. It’s maddening. Being famous seems to do her actual talent no favors.
Not sure. If I want to click on it. The cringe worthyness is high
For most people the music they listen to is deeply personal to them therefore they won’t allow themselves to enjoy this episode. While NIN holds a special place in my life, I’m always happy to know that even the biggest stars still cover the music that my closest friends refer to as the “depressing” music.
what if hannah montana but phones