Nine Inch Nails Celebrate April Fools’ Day with “Strobe Light” LP

Once it was a joke, now it’s the real thing. Trent Reznor had time today. 
Nine Inch Nails Celebrate April Fools’ Day with “Strobe Light” LP

Once it was a joke, now it’s the real thing. Trent Reznor had time today. 

Words: Scott T. Sterling

photo by Joyce Jude

April 01, 2019

Nine Inch Nails / photo by Joyce Jude

Nine Inch Nails have got jokes. And this one was ten years in the making.

Longtime NIN fans might remember back on April Fool’s Day 2009, when Reznor “revealed” that he was working on a new album, Strobe Light. The joke arrived with an album cover (featuring Reznor wearing shutter style sunglasses) and a comedic track-list populated with all sorts of superstar guests.

Today, Reznor has turned that joke up to eleven by actually releasing Strobe Light. The album is now available on Bandcamp, and it’s pretty great. Songs like “Coffin on the Dancefloor,” “On the List (she’s not),” and “Still Hurts (featuring Alicia Keys)” are spot-on takes on various eras of the NIN sound. “Pussygrinder” is a mashup that staples “Head Like a Hole” together with Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do.” There’s even a Twitter account.

Get into the holiday spirit with Nine Inch Nails’ Strobe Light here.