Johnny Cash, may he rest in peace, owned that tune and video. And Trent should be hurt- Johnny did a much better job with both.

Hopefully he can be assuaged by his royalty check and with the knowledge that Cash's cover of his song was just as mercenary a cash grab as being in your 40s and still singing over-the-top angsty songs about things that broke your heart.

I cannot reply to you here in a fashion that I would/should because of the rules that Drew set , but , calling Johnnys' cover just "mercenary" is crap, SMH, and you frakking know that.

alienated: calling Johnnys' cover just "mercenary" is crap

You're on a first-name basis with Mr. Cash, are you?

alienated: Johnny Cash, may he rest in peace, owned that tune and video. And Trent should be hurt- Johnny did a much better job with both.

Agreed 100%. Johnny Cash's cover of it moves me to tears - it just so, I dunno, real.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: Hopefully he can be assuaged by his royalty check and with the knowledge that Cash's cover of his song was just as mercenary a cash grab as being in your 40s and still singing over-the-top angsty songs about things that broke your heart.


SockMonkeyHolocaust made me laugh today.

kronicfeld

Yes.No big deal. Yer just jealous.

alienated: Yes.No big deal. Yer just jealous.

You are aware he is dead?

Personally, I'm not much of a fan of Mr. Cash's music, though I recognize just how good it is. But, if you listen to his version of "Hurt" and aren't moved at all, you must be dead.

AuntofDogface: Johnny Cash's cover of it moves me to tears

Not much moves me to tears, but the first time I saw that video I was beyond "Oh, there's something in my eye".

I'm very familiar w/ the NIN version & liked it a lot when it was released. But Cash's version has an entirely different emotion to it. The NIN version, IMO, is angry & seems to blame the pain on others. Almost as if to say to someone else "Look what YOU turned me in to. This is the monster YOU created."

Cash took the same song, word for word, & managed to turn it into an almost autobiographical account of the wrongs he commited against others & an expression of the regret he felt for causing them pain.

/$.02

I know a few people who didn't even know it was a cover. I'd say Cash did a good job, but I still prefer Trent's version.

alienated: I cannot reply to you here in a fashion that I would/should because of the rules that Drew set , but , calling Johnnys' cover just "mercenary" is crap, SMH, and you frakking know that.

Letsee, an older artist looking to remain relevant covering a Top 40 song from someone who "speaks to the kids demographic".

Yep, nothing mercenary about that.

Hearing Johnny Cash sing "I hurt myself today to see if I can still feel" is so pussy it makes me wince that he lowered himself to sing it.

That's like listening to Hank Williams Sr. or Johnny Paycheck singing about going back and apologizing for being a dick to their wives and how much better life is without whiskey.

Haha, could you imagine Johnny Paycheck doing a cover of that Smashmouth song?

"In the shape of an L on her foreheadddddddddddddddddd"

SockMonkeyHolocaust: alienated: I cannot reply to you here in a fashion that I would/should because of the rules that Drew set , but , calling Johnnys' cover just "mercenary" is crap, SMH, and you frakking know that.

Letsee, an older artist looking to remain relevant covering a Top 40 song from someone who "speaks to the kids demographic".

Yep, nothing mercenary about that.

Hearing Johnny Cash sing "I hurt myself today to see if I can still feel" is so pussy it makes me wince that he lowered himself to sing it.

That's like listening to Hank Williams Sr. or Johnny Paycheck singing about going back and apologizing for being a dick to their wives and how much better life is without whiskey.

Lowered himself to sing it? It's a beautiful song, in my opinion. Johnny Cash never needed to 'make himself relevant'. He was very old when he recorded it and he only did music at that point, and probably for much of his career, for his own edification and to exorcise his own personal demons. Cash was never an artist who strived to be some top 40 person. He was a man with problems, big problems, and he sung. He obviously saw something in Hurt that reflected himself so he wanted to do a recording of it.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: alienated: I cannot reply to you here in a fashion that I would/should because of the rules that Drew set , but , calling Johnnys' cover just "mercenary" is crap, SMH, and you frakking know that.

Letsee, an older artist looking to remain relevant covering a Top 40 song from someone who "speaks to the kids demographic".

Yep, nothing mercenary about that.

Hearing Johnny Cash sing "I hurt myself today to see if I can still feel" is so pussy it makes me wince that he lowered himself to sing it.

That's like listening to Hank Williams Sr. or Johnny Paycheck singing about going back and apologizing for being a dick to their wives and how much better life is without whiskey.


4/10. Really. He covered Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" on that same album, taking the lyrics literally; he didn't care about being relevant at that point. He was seeing the end of his life and wanting to express how he felt, no matter what song did it for him.

Johnny Cash took "Hurt" and made his own personal property.

Shame on all of you. No link to the song?

Johnny Cash - Hurt
(not a rick roll, Johnny would kick my a$$)

Cash did make it his song, and I would say if you know anything about the majority of his career, he was always open to new types of music.

He got lumped into country at a time when music was splintering. He was rock, country, and folk, just depended on his mood.

As for singing others peoples songs.

Shel Silverstein wrote a Boy named Sue, and Kris Kristofferson wrote Sunday Morning Coming Down. He made them both his own.

Cash was dark and angst ridden long before Reznor was born

The stroke of luck with this was to pick one of the best lyrics Trent ever wrote. My first reaction when I heard the cash version was to run back to my copy of "downward spiral" coz I couldnt believe the words were THAT good.

BUt Cash made these lyrics devastating

BobtheFascist: Cash took the same song, word for word, & managed to turn it into an almost autobiographical account of the wrongs he commited against others & an expression of the regret he felt for causing them pain.

To nitpick, he changed "crown of [excrement]" to "crown of thorns". But yes, he took that song and completely owned and reworked it while barely changing it.

When I first heard his cover, I literally stopped in my tracks to pay attention. I was so-so over Trent's version, but Mr. Cash's is a thing of sad beauty.

Cash was probably given a list of "non old-timey" songs to choose from & Hurt was 1 of those. I imagine part of the decision was based on how big an audience it would appeal to. I don't care enough about it to look, but I'm sure the info is out there re: that disc.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: Hearing Johnny Cash sing "I hurt myself today to see if I can still feel" is so pussy it makes me wince that he lowered himself to sing it.

I hope you wear glasses.

So your ears serve some purpose, at least.

This is such a powerful song. And Cash singing gave me a welt in the back of my throat the entire song. No crying though.

Hasn't Reznor said, like Dylan on Jimi Hendrix's version of "All Along the Watchtower," "That's not my song anymore?"

I know people who thought it was an original Cash song, never imagining that Nine Inch Nails wrote it first (I know I know, they must have been in a cave in the 90's). Ironic. Usually faces are slapped and heads shake when someone thinks a cover by a newer band is the original.

/Wearing my crown of shiat thorns.

I thought his cover of "I See a Darkness" was equally moving.

Call me crazy but I started cracking up when I heard this. I figured it was a joke.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: Hopefully he can be assuaged by his royalty check and with the knowledge that Cash's cover of his song was just as mercenary a cash grab as being in your 40s and still singing over-the-top angsty songs about things that broke your heart.

Johnny Cash was still under contract with Rick Rubin's American Recordings to make albums. Rubin found a bunch of songs for Cash to cover and they recorded them. That explains Cash still making music.

As for covering a song about heroin addiction making Cash a "pussy"... I have no answer to that.

You do see like you have a grasp on what makes something "hip". I'm glad to see that smoking pot with a Pepsi can is still cool, especially put on youtube. Link (new window)

alienated: Johnny Cash, may he rest in peace, owned that tune and video. And Trent should be hurt- Johnny did a much better job with both.

It actually applied to Johnny Cash's life. Trent just wants so badly to be seen as tortured and suffering.

There are one or two covers out there where the artist covering them so obviously "gets it" that the cover can even rise above the original. I'm not a huge fan of NIN, and I'm not a huge fan of Johnny Cash (both due to my tastes, and not their skills), but this song kills me.

the lyrics to the Beatles' "In My Life" take on an entirely different meaning in Cash's hands as well

A few years ago Sevendust put out a live acoustic cd. One of the songs they played was "Hurt". They introduced it by saying that Johnny Cash had recently died and they were going to play a song as a tribute to him.

J. Frank Parnell: alienated: Johnny Cash, may he rest in peace, owned that tune and video. And Trent should be hurt- Johnny did a much better job with both.

It actually applied to Johnny Cash's life. Trent just wants so badly to be seen as tortured and suffering.

because it wasn't about his heroin addiction, you're right.

kronicfeld: alienated: calling Johnnys' cover just "mercenary" is crap

You're on a first-name basis with Mr. Cash, are you?

Is it wrong to be peeved by fans' addressing their favorite artists by first names? I don't know why it drives me batshiat crazy, but it does.
Doesn't have to be "Mr. or Ms.," but at least the full or last name. "Cash's version is haunting," etc.

/irked at self for being irked in the first place

ODDwhun: A few years ago Sevendust put out a live acoustic cd. One of the songs they played was "Hurt". They introduced it by saying that Johnny Cash had recently died and they were going to play a song as a tribute to him.

Damn. I own that CD -- I'll have to go back and listen to the dialogue before the song. It would be quite a gaffe to imply that Cash wrote the song, considering Sevendust and NIN were labelmates once.

I just listened to Cash's cover of this yesterday and thought the exact same thing..how much this remake should have meant to Trent. Freaky to see it in print today. Hubby did cry the first time he heard it...

I had a tear in my eye only upon watching the video for the first time. The song is great, but the video, with all the clips of his life up to that point adds so much to the effect. I probably can't watch it now without crying at least a little.

Cash > Reznor

luckybastard: I had a tear in my eye only upon watching the video for the first time. The song is great, but the video, with all the clips of his life up to that point adds so much to the effect. I probably can't watch it now without crying at least a little.

Yeah, it's pretty devastating. There's a really poignant shot of June Carter (herself also very sick at the time) looking down at him from the staircase that always gets me. Especially since it coincides with him singing 'my sweetest friend' at that part.

The original is damn fine, but the way Johnny sang it makes it feel much more personal.

I should also mention that, of my entire CD library of about 300, American IV is the only country album I own.

I liked the Reznor version of Hurt quite a bit, and I've always been a fan of NIN. However, Cash took that song and made it his. Watching the Johnny Cash version of that video, like others have said, damn near brings tears to my eyes. Very powerful stuff.

Too bad Cash didn't do a cover of "Big Man With A Gun".

I happen to prefer the NIN original, but I think it's a little unfair to say one's better than the other, since they create such different moods.

And let's be honest: Cash's version is very emotional and well-done, but it wouldn't have received as much praise as it did if he hadn't died so soon after.

Mr. Chainsaw: And let's be honest: Cash's version is very emotional and well-done, but it wouldn't have received as much praise as it did if he hadn't died so soon after.

I can't speak for others. but it had my attention well before his passing. I'm pretty sure it was getting most of its attention and accolades before he died.

I like Cash's version. I also like the Further Down the Spiral version better than the Downward Spiral version.

Cash's version of hurt with commentary by Reznor (new window)

In all fairness, Trent Reznor has given quite an original contribution to music, and for me personally it doesn't seem right to just lump him into the 'teen angst' category. A lot of his stuff (i.e. The Fragile) is good listening when you're blazed.

Anybody ever heard Johnny Cash's cover of One? Damn good. Another example of him putting a new twist on a song without changing any of the lyrics.

Link (new window)

Lipspinach: Cash was probably given a list of "non old-timey" songs to choose from & Hurt was 1 of those. I imagine part of the decision was based on how big an audience it would appeal to. I don't care enough about it to look, but I'm sure the info is out there re: that disc.

FreeLoveFreeway: Johnny Cash was still under contract with Rick Rubin's American Recordings to make albums. Rubin found a bunch of songs for Cash to cover and they recorded them. That explains Cash still making music.

Is it just possible, maybe in some parallel universe, that Johnny Cash went to Rick Rubin and said, "Hey, I want to make an album of cover songs, and these are the messages I want to convey." and Rubin, being in the position to be familiar with recently recorded material found some songs and presented them to him? I don't think anyone has ever claimed that Johnny Cash listened to NIN in the truck or was in any way familiar with the songs he covered. I'd even go so far as to speculate that he never listened to the original recordings at all, instead he just read the lyrics to make sure that was the statement he wanted to make.

As good as his cover of Hurt is (and I love it), the best one on the album is I Hung My Head.