You probably wouldn’t peg a guy like Trent Reznor, the king of intensity behind industrial-rock forefathers Nine Inch Nails, as a guy who loves a good brand collaboration for the sake of e-commerce. But after Reznor collaborated with Marvel on apparel for the movie “Captain Marvel,” it’s not that surprising. His latest is still a little interesting, though.
Those of you who saw the last batch of “Black Mirror” episodes on Netflix might have noticed that Miley Cyrus’ character, a generic pop star named Ashley O., had a hit song that sounded eerily close to “Head Like a Hole” by Nine Inch Nails, just with some peppier lyrics.
UPDATE: Nine Inch Nails have released a t-shirt in collaboration with Black Mirror. https://t.co/dpDsBj94eR #BlackMirror pic.twitter.com/Nz0HjQowgU
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) June 5, 2019
The show’s creators approached Reznor for some Nine Inch Nails/Black Mirror merchandise, and he was down with it. It’s currently for sale on the official Nine Inch Nails web store, along with the “Captain Marvel” gear. It’s not that surprising when you think about it, actually—a show that highlights humanity’s dependence on technology and how it will be the demise of civilization is probably right up Reznor’s alley.
“[We reached out to Reznor] via email and he was really happy, like, pretty quickly,” Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker told The Independent. “He wanted to see the script and I got to re-write his lyrics in a chirpy way.”
Some of those lyric changes include switching “You’re gonna get what you deserve” to “I’m stoked on ambition and verve,” and “I’m on a roll / Riding so high! / Achievin’ my goals!” which is on the T-shirt.
So, yeah, optimism and e-commerce isn’t exactly Reznor’s typical M.O., but dystopian near-futures that expose societal shortcomings and the existential tumult that comes with an overuse of technology 100 percent is. Also, the dude needs a paycheck just like everyone else. And he said as much in “Head Like a Hole”:
God money I’ll do anything for you.
God money just tell me what you want me to
All jokes aside, this is a pretty neat idea for Reznor and Netflix. It’s fun that Reznor can use his own art to further a goof and recognize the show’s real theme. And it’s awesome that Netflix has some validation for their ideas from Reznor.
It’s not like he was collaborating with, like, “My Little Pony.” But, at this point, who knows what will happen?
