Originally Posted by mperry:


You and a few others seem to get so hung up on a need to hear technically proficient vocals. If that's the game, you'll love the goofballs on American Idol, teen pop, Whitney, Celine and Mariah etc.

You like "dirty" guitar don't you? Rock and roll, reminded by punk, is supposed to be about you, me or anyone making music - saying what we MUST say. It is all about the words and HOW they are conveyed. calculating or with abandon. So much is conveyed with emotion, with heart and with character.

Give me the craggy coda of Cash, any bawl of Bob D., a wailing Waits or the yowl of Young - its such a fine whine ;) - any day over instead of the perfection of plastic. Hell, Jagger is more of a rapper than a singer, but he knows how to deliver.

Those voices, "warts" and all, convey so much; simultaneously reaching into and reflecting our souls.


This song and video is as candid as Cash has always been in his songs. Reznor, in the studio with Zach De La Rocha when he viewed the video for the first time, said "well the day took a different turn after that. We were really choked up."

Rubin said it "made me cry. It resonates so strongly with people because it's a reality we all face. This is about all our lives." Bowie e-mailed that he was blown away. When he showed the video to Bono, he recalled "it made him cry too. Bono said, when Elvis made records, it was so shocking and radical and important because the culture was adult, and Elvis came along with young people's music. Now we live in a youth culture and here's Johnny Cash doing very grown-up, adult material, even about growing old, which is equally shocking as the beginning of Elvis' career. It's the other side of the coin".

The director, Mark Romanek, says it the banquet scene, pouring wine over the food, hands shaking, "was John's idea. John has lost so many friends to drugs and alcohol and this act is dumping out this poison. ...I don't want this to be viewed as an obituary. The video is meant to be about where he is now in his life. The John I spent a small amount of time with still has plenty of swagger left. He's still JohnnymutherfuckingCash!"

"When Johnny saw it", says Rubin, "he was shocked, and concerned, at such a heavy piece. Then he saw it again with all his family, and they all said it was the most beautiful video they had ever seen. They were all in tears, but in a good way. The support of his family made him feel good."

I hope Johnny's swagger and the love of his family and friends helps him cope and transcend the loss of his love, June.

Originally Posted by sully3:
How did Johnny Cash ever become a big deal. That voice is bad news.

Originally Posted by FeatFanMike:
See my comment under Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus.

This johnny cash stuff is the only stuff that really turns my stomach and makes me turn of RP.

I can't take it. He is awful.

Originally Posted by nellymoser:
Wow. Had to write. My father died in the wee hours this a.m. at 62 yrs. He was an abusive alcoholic who we lived in fear of and jumped and tiptoed around until we left in '79 when I was 11. Rarely saw him after that. I came to work today, knowing that I could take up to 3 days off at the loss of a parent but I didn't feel anything?! Just a little strange and thinking about being half an orphan. I tuned into RadioParadise as soon as I got settled here and on comes Johnnny Cash with "Hurt". I just sat here and stared out the window listening with the goosebumps - Johnny's life reminded me of my fathers so much. Also, he loved Johnny Cash. Thank you, Bill & RP, for some introspect this morning and at least making me finally feel something.

Originally Posted by leathepea:

Buttnugget

Originally Posted by mr.selfdestruct:


Uh... I think you took that the totally wrong way, man. Johnny Cash has an enormous amount of respect coming his way from my generation. And people are visibly moved by this version of "Hurt", especially when it is accompanied by the video. It's his swan song, it seems, and people I know respect him now more than ever.

Just because I wanted him to say the dumbass line that Trent Reznor wrote doesn't mean I disrespect him... it's just that "Crown of Shit" is such a rediculous mental picture on anyone... Johnny Cash or not.

Originally Posted by ScottFromWyoming:

And that pretty much sums up my problem with the last decade's worth of Cash: It's disrespectful. "Hey old man! Say "shit" again!"

Originally Posted by mr.selfdestruct:
I love this version a lot. I was kind of hoping to hear Johnny say "Crown of shit" though. Always thought that was one of the er... crappiest lines of the song, and it would have been funny to hear it from him.

Originally Posted by jyoull:
I think to understand why this song is powerful, you have to see the video that goes with it. Talk about guts... it's filmed at the House of Cash _abandoned where it sits_ Johnny Cash museum.

If you don't watch this AND get a chill from it, God will strike you down. Or something.
http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/video_popup.asp?sid=485372&cf=

Originally Posted by Antigone:


That may be the whole point: he's clearly lived a life filled with bad news, and has survived. He's an inspiration to me and always has been. A true American original, filled with integrity.

Originally Posted by sully3:
How did Johnny Cash ever become a big deal. That voice is bad news.