Exactly ten years ago to this day – April Fool’s Day – Trent Reznor “released” the Nine Inch Nails album, Strobe Light. It was a joke. There were music samples and album art that had Reznor wearing glammed-up shades. It was a joke. Music blogs hailed it as a tour-de-force in punk’ery. One article cited the sampling of Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do” for the track “P***ygrinder.” It was a joke.
Now, on the decade anniversary of Strobe Light (apparently you give a diamond on your tenth), Reznor pulled the ultimate prank – releasing the album on Bandcamp. A joke no longer, Mr. Reznor – who many have assumed to have nary a shred of humor to begin with – leaves the interwebs with whipped cream pie on its face. Bravo.
[bandcamp width=100% height=120 album=2070182676 size=large bgcol=ffffff linkcol=0687f5 tracklist=false artwork=small track=2214549219]
The entire, totally real Strobe Light is now available for free on Bandcamp and totally is not Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”