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11:23:00 AM EDT
Hearing Hurt -- Johnny Cash
He Walked the Line
This is not been a good week for people who like their music to come from grown-ups. First we say goodbye to Warren Zevon, and now Johnny Cash has taken his leave. But as proof that sometimes the world does things right, both men saw a second wave of recognition in the last year. Some of that new recognition was no doubt informed by the fact that people know the men were ill, but it also happened because both men continued to make music that mattered.
Cash in particular was not shy about delving in and reinterpreting music from a new generation of songwriters. "Hurt" -- his most popular song in years -- was written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who included it on his Downward Spiral album. Cash also covered rather cheekily covered a song from Depeche Mode ("Personal Jesus") which qualifies as a prime contender for the title of Most Unlikely Musical Pairing Ever. But the fact Cash would do it at all says volumes about him and his willingness to keep finding the songs that spoke to him (and would speak to his listeners) no matter where they came from.
(It also says volumes about Rick Rubin, the music producer who brought Johnny Cash to his album label in 1994 and told him to sing whatever he wanted to sing, which he did for a decade. Rick, your karma is gold.)
Like a lot people my age and younger, I came around to Cash from his later albums, and learned to appreciate how Cash stripped the songs down and wrapped his craggy throat around them. Cash had the ability to give any song more gravity, through the sheer authority of his voice, but it's more to the point to say that Cash give them the gravity they merited. I don't doubt that there's a many a songwriter who didn't know what their song was meant to sound like until Cash sang it. Listening to Cash sing was an education on how songs are supposed to work.
I'll miss those lessons -- And so will a lot of people who are only now getting their first taste of the Man in Black. Justin Timberlake gave a tribute to Cash at this year's Video Music Awards, which you could see as a hummingbird giving tribute to an eagle, but which I choose to see as a sign of hope, for Timberlake (he's smart enough to know to whom he owes respect), and for the longevity of Cash's music and his teachings in song.
Written by johnmscalzi Blog about this entry |
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I loved Cash also. But don't forget the funny John Ritter. His time was cut way to short.
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Hi John,
Thank you for your Johnny Cash posting. I to have a smaller article about him on my Journal.
But I also included John Ritter who I think shuld be remember for all the laughs he gave us over the years.
John G.
9/13/03 5:40 PM
I've already posted two comments about his passing at my Journal, beginning with:
http://journals.aol.com/bmill
Bruce Miller