Try as it might, society just can’t escape some things, especially with how the Internet doubles as a time capsule, bringing back some memories many would love to forget.
This is nothing like that – this performance from a VERY young Nine Inch Nails, on something called Dance Party U.S.A (presumably filmed sometime within 1989-1991) is amazing.
Based on the clip, which was unearthed by someone to whom we all owe a great debt, the considerably teenage-looking version of one of the most important industrial rock bands ever delivers a lip-synced performance of Pretty Hate Machine‘s Down In It to a rec center filled with extras from Saved By the Bell cafeteria scenes. The kids ham it up, dancing around like they’re on Top of the Pops, combining with the band’s exuberance to form a relentlessly awkward (and now timeless) display.
But in the end, this is just gold – a forgotten relic from an era that couldn’t possibly have looked as silly then as it does now, twenty-something years later.
Just watch for yourself – there’s a watermark that sits in the middle of the screen for the entire clip, but that just adds to the splendor…
