Go Watch This Video
 

This is a stunning piece of work. If you are at all a fan of The Man in Black, you must see this.

http://www.cmt.com/art/art.page/johnny.cash.jhtml

look in the left-hand column and click on the player of your choice to see this remarkable video, which is up for six MTV Video Awards. Not bad for a 70 year old, huh?

It's a great video...saw it one morning shortly after it came out. He does the song great justice.

Look at who he's up against for video of the year:

--50 Cent
--Missy Elliott
--Eminem
--Justin Timberlake

I don't mind Missy Elliott or Eminem, but I hope to hell he wins...just to spit in the face of the shit being pushed on the masses these days.

I would hesitate to say that the artists Syc cites here have no relevance to today's music consumer...obviously, they do, because people buy the shit out of what they sell. However, "Hurt" is a classic example of work by a *great* artist, someone with talent and insight which people like Eminem or 50 Cent can only hope to somehow, someday, achieve.

Cash has taken a NIN song, had it set against a video backdrop by someone who admires him boundlessly, and achieved an interpretaton of that work that is so poignant, so deeply *right* for The Man, and released it at a point in his life and career that couldn't possibly be more apropos. I will go so far to say that I cannot imagine the likes of 50 Cent *ever* gaining enough personal insight and honesty to equal something like "Hurt".

Every now and then, an artist pops up and "steals" the show. Jamiroquai did that at the 1997 VMA's...they had a fantastic video for "Virtual Insanity" that put everything else at the time to shame.

Even though Cash is indeed The Man, beloved by young and old alike, he's the underdog in this setting. MTV is dominated by hip-hop and R&B right now, and here comes this old man doing a folk-country version of a song by one of the most successful "rock" bands of the 90s. It's brilliant...and I hope he wins all 6 awards. And just by being nominated and in the public spotlight, I hope more people will go back and see what an incredible career and music catalog this man has given us.

I saw that video a while back. Fan-fuckin-tastic, but I've been a fan for almost 50 years. Poor NIN, when JC does a cover it becomes his song, no longer yours.:cool:

Hey, maybe to dirty old men like you. I don't think that you could see it live by Nine Inch Nails and still claim it was JC's. They share it, but at the end of the day it lays in Trent's hands.

The song is haunting alone and with the video, amazing. I love what the whole thing proves about music. Great music is from the heart and it doesnt belong to anyone, but everyone. Its a fitting tribute to the sheer ability of Cash to rip it open and lay it down. He's a master of the soulful and he found it in "Hurt".

The visuals could have spiraled into cliche with the nostalgic shots and Cash museum stuff, but the video was anchored on the force of the contemporary performance, and he performs. That face, that pounded piano key...and when June appears, well, not a dry eye. He can bring it.

My God that is beautiful.

Feh, NIN wouldn't last 3 days in Folsom, the pussies.:D

It's one guy, and I doubt you're qualified to make that kind of statement.

Just kidding, man. I know I'm not qualified.:D

Grrr.. I'd like to see this video, but I see it requires either Real Player or Windows Media 9. I have declared jihad against Real and will not install any of their products. How is WMP 9? I know it has some pumped-up DRM features, but is it any more annoying in general than WMP 8?

I have series 9 at home and work, and I find it more annoying than series 8 in terms of controls and what not. Overall, I like it. But I know you're probably looking for technical info, so I'll shut up now.

Why the jihad against Real?

No, not really technical info.. I mean annoying as in not letting you watch a video without trying to load shitloads of web content of "channels" or whatever.

I loathe Real because they are the epitome of the mindset that any software install program has the right to take over your system to any extent they desire. Maybe they've gotten better, but the last time I installed their shitware, it changed quite a few file associations, installed their "agent" to load on startup, and threw icons all over my system (desktop, top of the start menu, "Programs" in start menu, quick-launch bar, browser link bar, browser bookmarks, system tray), all without asking.

For the record Tob, either version of the video pops up within a CMT media box.

When I installed the latest update of Realplayer in June (which was a new copy, given that my computer was new), the only thing it seemed to add was a desktop icon, which I removed. I believe you have the option as to what you want it to be the default for and stuff like that.

Media Player seems pretty good about that now too. I just updated my player at work Thursday, and it didn't add anything unwanted that I could see.