I consider myself a strong-rooted spudboy and yet somehow I missed DEVO's fantastic 1996 cover of Nine Inch Nails' electronic industrial anthem "Head Like a Hole." Of course, "Head Like a Hole" was the second single off NIN's 1990 debut LP "Pretty Hate Machine" and became quite an alt-rock hit. DEVO's cover slipped under the radar as it was only included on the soundtrack for Supercop starring Jackie Chan. (The band also contributed the movie theme song.)
Turns out Reznor hated DEVO's cover of his song.
"Imagine my thrill when they were covering 'Head Like a Hole,'" Reznor told Rolling Stone in 2005. "That thrill lasted right up to hearing the second bar! But they're still awesome."
Damn right they are. And, really, so is the cover. Listen here:
top image: crop of Devo "Freedom of Choice" cover art