Black Mirror Season 7’s “USS Callister: Into Infinity” is full of sci-fi space battles and clone-centric plot twists. But perhaps most importantly, it reminds us of a quintessential Black Mirror bop.
No, I’m not talking about Irma Thomas’ “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand),” which first popped up in Season 1’s “Fifteen Million Merits” and has since shown up in several other episodes (including Season 7’s “Common People”). Instead, I’m talking about fictional pop star Ashley O’s (Miley Cyrus) smash hit “On a Roll,” from Season 5’s “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too.”
The Black Mirror earworm is a danceable riff on Nine Inch Nails’ “Head Like A Hole,” transforming Trent Reznor’s dark lyrics into a manufactured, tongue-in-cheek pop tune. The lyric “head like a hole,” for instance, simply becomes the rallying cry “hey, yeah whoa-ho.”
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On top of being a banger, “On A Roll” has a brief cameo in “USS Callister” sequel “USS Callister: Into Infinity.” It comes during one of Nanette (Cristin Milioti) and Nate’s (Osy Ikhile) missions to rob an Infinity player.
This time, their target is Pixie Bunkin (Iolanthe), who’s rocking out to “On A Roll” while setting up supplies in Infinity. You can only catch the slightest strains of it through her headphones, but it’s enough to get you dancing. It’s also enough to get the song stuck in your head, but who am I to complain? Anything to be on a roll again.
Black Mirror Season 7 is now streaming on Netflix.
