Miley Cyrus had the gays shook with her role on the new season of Black Mirror. In her episode, "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too," Cyrus plays Ashley O, a pop star helped captive by the music industry machine.
The song and visuals are supposed to symbolize a kind of cookie-cutter pop that is often attacked for its authenticity. You can almost see the puppet strings over Cyrus as she goes through the motions in the video. "Oh honey, I'll do anything for you," she sings. "Just tell me what you want me to."
But while Black Mirror creators, and maybe even Cyrus herself, might look down on cheesy pop music that only seeks to make people feel good, "On a Roll" actually...kinda slaps. Hard.
Fans liked it so much that they created a fake music video from the clips of the track scattered throughout the episode.
\u201cliterally nobody: \n\nme: \u201d— UNIQUE ! (@UNIQUE !) 1560311582
Gay Twitter is particularly smitten with the contrived bubblegum pop song. What can I say, we're suckers for a catchy chorus over a trap beat, choreography, and slinky purple wigs.
But it also sounds vaguely familiar..."On a Roll" is actually a reimagination of a Nine Inch Nails track, "Head Like a Hole."
The Black Mirror creators heard the Nine Inch Nails track and redid it for Ashley O. Executive producer Annabel Jones said that Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor "thought it was very funny....There are lots of dark concepts in the film and we just enjoy that sort of childish subversion of them." At the end of the episode when Ashley escapes her literal prison, she performs the original rock track in a bar.
But while it feels a bit like the Black Mirror creators and Nine Inch Nails might look down on this kind of pop music, the fans have spoken—and they're obsessed. Reznor's original track might've been slightly more pop-influenced than we might've realized...
Watch "On a Roll" below.
