Current Events > unpopular opinion: johnny cash cover of "hurt" is garbage

(+) Yeah! (+)

tbh i really dont like the cash cover album much at all (personal jesus is terrible too, but thats prolly my least favorite depeche mode single to begin with). and while i love johnny cash, his hurt cover completely misses the mark imo, and lacks all of the ugliness, self-hatred and vulnerability of the original

hurt isnt even that good of a song to begin with and its true value is in considering it in comparison to the rest of the album, which has a pretty stark contrast to the aggression, energy, and self assuredness of the other tracks. its pretty full circle to the opening track (mr self destruct) and lacks the vindictiveness of songs like piggy, closer, reptile, eraser, etc.

album is clearly (outside of a few tracks) a breakup album dealing with some deeply personal and ugly feelings

the cash cover feels like just a (well composed) soulless ballad

unpopular and bad opinion

shameful

That's definitely an unpopular opinion. It sounds pretty vulnerable to me. It's literally an old man at the end of life passions bearing his soul and regrets.

Most of the posts I see from you are you disliking something heavily

I can't say much, I hate on a lot of shit too

Wanna yell at a cloud with me?

Trent disliked this post.

Nah it was a powerful cover, one of the best in my opinion.

Smackems posted...

Most of the posts I see from you are you disliking something heavily

I can't say much, I hate on a lot of shit too

Wanna yell at a cloud with me?

categorically untrue
most of my posts are about how much i love ffxi

I'm not sure how you can call the cover soulless, especially the music video, unless you were completely unaware of the backstory behind the cover.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-story-behind-johnny-cash-s-
hurt-still-the-saddest-music-video-of-all-time-a6683371.html

You really owe yourself giving this cover a second chance, and I highly recommend you do it by watching the music video. The pain on Cash's face is way too real to be acting and it should completely eliminate any part of your thought process that would call it soulless.

https://youtu.be/8AHCfZTRGiI

Edit: the tldr in case somebody doesn't want to read that link is that the music video was filmed in the derelict and abandoned Johnny Cash museum which also happened to be his childhood home, and cash himself was dying when they filmed it, as was his wife who only died a couple months after filming. The man is literally sitting in the abandoned remains of his legacy knowing that none of it will help him and it adds such overwhelming depth to the song and the lyrics in the context of those scenes.

To be honest. I thought Trent's was better but he apparently just gave the song to Cash after he heard it so who am I to judge.

I like Cash just I prefer Trent's.

The only time I like Cash is when he's singing other people's songs.

Can't say I like him much then either, to be honest.

I would not call it Trash, but I like the NIN version better. And that normally isn't by bag.

I agree with your hot take

Extremely bad opinion tbh

topic absolutely living up to TC's tag

it's cool. but i'd rather listen to nin's version and then i'd rather listen to other nin songs anyway so i basically never want to listen to it.

Your opinions are wrong.

s0nicfan posted...

I'm not sure how you can call the cover soulless, especially the music video, unless you were completely unaware of the backstory behind the cover.
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-story-behind-johnny-cash-s-
hurt-still-the-saddest-music-video-of-all-time-a6683371.html

You really owe yourself giving this cover a second chance, and I highly recommend you do it by watching the music video. The pain on Cash's face is way too real to be acting and it should completely eliminate any part of your thought process that would call it soulless.

https://youtu.be/8AHCfZTRGiI

Edit: the tldr in case somebody doesn't want to read that link is that the music video was filmed in the derelict and abandoned Johnny Cash museum which also happened to be his childhood home, and cash himself was dying when they filmed it, as was his wife who only died a couple months after filming. The man is literally sitting in the abandoned remains of his legacy knowing that none of it will help him and it adds such overwhelming depth to the song and the lyrics in the context of those scenes.

tbh this hurts your case more than helps it
trent composed the downward spiral while nursing a drug addiction, listening to david bowie's scary monsters on loop, locked in the basement of the mansion where the charles manson cult murdered sharon tate, and any "pig" reference on the album is likely b/c of the "PIG" scrawled in blood on the door of the home (which IIRC he kept and used as the door to his studio for nothing records)
does any of this really influence how you listen to hurt/the downward spiral? is it necessary to know these things to have understanding sonically/lyrically of the emotion/intent behind the lyrics/composition of the album/each track individually?

i fuckin hope not. if you need external information (or a music video) to understand the feel of a song, the writer failed imo.

and that's the cash cover in a nutshell. it's compositionally boring, and its lyrics (even with cash's changes, and considering his life/music video) are a stretch to unite to what you've written tbh. who is the "you" he's addressing? (which is the same "you" trent addressed the entire album, btw). who did he let down, who did he hurt? and the transposition from crown of "shit" to crown of "thorns"? lol. it's laughably bad.

i'm not trying to say trent is a lyrical genius. tbh i dislike most of his lyrics and think he's a bad writer (lyrically anyways). what trent is good at is making you understand the emotion behind his shitty lyrics through his music. like prime example. the track listing of that album follows 12 - reptile, 13 - the downward spiral, 14- hurt.

reptile is extremely aggressive and mean. it's probably the most explicitly, externally angry track on the album. it is a 100% fuck you (i love you, but) fuck you, you whore

the next track is the downward spiral, which starts off relatively somber w/ a motif that's repeated throughout the album (same as the ending notes to closer, which i was once told is a motif lifted from german opera signifying "death", but idk the veracity of). it then moves to a distorted refrain, which is later featured in the chorus of hurt. and then again to the aforementioned motif, accompanied by muted and discordant, unintelligible screaming. the next track is hurt. like i said earlier, i don't particularly like "hurt" as a song, regardless of artist. but without the context of the prior songs on the album(which tbh a cover artist cannot provide), it lacks of lot of depth. and no i do not feel this is logically inconsistent w/ my earlier argument b/c a music (promotional) video for a song is wholly different from prior songs on an album during a period when albums as a whole were gaining recognition (as opposed to singles).

the NIN version even standalone transitions from a discordant, distorted guitar, to uplifting refrain. the drumming varies in beat/intensity, the singing from whisper to cry. and it all ends on a wall of sound that conveys complete uncertainty.

the cash version is just an alt-pop ballad in comparison.

ce overwhelmingly likes numetal
your disapproval is not unwelcome lol

[Current Events]

I agree with that.

Not a song I go out of my way to listen to by any means, but it's a great cover imo.

Yes but the original song also sucks.

Kamil posted...

I like Cash just I prefer Trent's.

Sums it up succinctly. I like some of Cash's other stuff, but it's like his voice and his meaning for the lyrics just don't "sound" right to me.

Is this topic against the ToS?

I'd like to see you do any better. What have you ever done with your life? Stop judging people and let everyone be who they want to be because, in the end, isn't that what life is all about?

Current Event - A Song that came out 22 years ago isn't that good.

Incorrect, also the music video makes it better as well.

Garabandal posted...

I'd like to see you do any better. What have you ever done with your life? Stop judging people and let everyone be who they want to be because, in the end, isn't that what life is all about?

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/a/a4308229.png
dont make shitty covers or mediocre songs or else

bigblu89 posted...

Current Event - A Song that came out 22 years ago isn't that good.

says post 30 on a message board older than the song
worthless post

ArsGoetia posted...

says post 30 on a message board older than the song
worthless post

It's still not a "Current Event".

There's a Music board. Post this in there.

ArsGoetia posted...

categorically untrue
most of my posts are about how much i love ffxi

Well I dislike ffxi

Now your turn to hate something I like

I'll give you an easy one; I love ffxv

Nah, it's good... but keeping 100% NIN original is better.

bigblu89 posted...

It's still not a "Current Event".

you could like click the live event tag
or conversely, shut the fuck up
both are good
and better than hurt as covered by johnny cash

Only a few notable covers are better than the original:

for example, Jimi Hendrix cover of Bob Dylan's "All along the Watchtower" is so much improved by the OG guitar god.

Torgo posted...

Only a few notable covers are better than the original:

for example, Jimi Hendrix cover of Bob Dylan's "All along the Watchtower" is so much improved by the OG guitar god.

word

ArsGoetia posted...

Post #18

Fwiw, I don't think you should razed for your opinion, TC.

But, you can't discount someone enjoying a songs history and background/context for having an affect on someone's enjoyment of it. All art is up to interpretation, and if the symbolism of Cash sitting an empty museum of his life has an affect on someone's enjoyment of the song, that is valid.

You even did the same thing the post you quoted did by adding context to Trent's plight when he wrote the song. That's why art is amazing.

Stepbrothers might not be cinematic genius by any stretch, but it's one of my favorite movies because my siblings and I can watch and quote it almost in its entirety. It means something more to me because of reasons outside of it's sole quality.

The idea that it lacks vulnerability is truly an unpopular opinion, so you got that part right.

ArsGoetia posted...

you could like click the live event tag
or conversely, shut the fuck up
both are good
and better than hurt as covered by johnny cash

Damn, who shit in your cereal this morning?

Smackems posted...

Well I dislike ffxi

Now your turn to hate something I like

I'll give you an easy one; I love ffxv

i wont be a dick
ffxv is the best ff since ffxiv arr (2.0, the bad one)

Does ArsGoetia = Incredible? They sure both give off the same vibes.

ItsNotA2Mer posted...

Does ArsGoetia = Incredible? They sure both give off the same vibes.

No, Incredible is post-ironic, ars is pop.

Now that's a hot take

I don't think it's garbage but I for sure prefer Trent Reznor's

Tagged, blocked, ignored, and reported

I do not have a strong opinion about the cover or the original.

Trent said dat when he first heard it, he knew dat the song no longer belongs to him.