The Man in Black

[kellinator]

All of a sudden, hipsters love Johnny Cash.

"I was listening to Johnny Cash when Nine Inch Nails were just little tacks." -- estimatdprophet

Me, I grew up listening to Johnny Cash. But it's only in recent years that I've truly realized what a brilliant musician he is.

As a child, the song "Ring of Fire" always scared the shit out of me. It's so vivid, the imagery... I always pictured Johnny falling through those rings while singing, and I remember once asking my mom if you could survive falling into a ring of fire.

Now that I'm older, I really appreciate what that song does: it's the most accurate song I know about the experience of falling in love. All these nice pretty happy songs about falling in love? BULL. SHIT. Falling in love isn't fun. More often than not, it hurts like hell. And that song gets right to the truth of it.

I didn't realize until she died recently that Johnny didn't write the song; June Carter Cash did. And I guess that's the thing that keeps me from giving up on the whole concept of love; she wrote this song full of pain and anguish about him, yet they stuck it out till she died in his arms decades later, which as far as I can tell is as close to a happy ending as any of us will see in this world.

Then scarcrest went and poked a hole in my theory by pointing out that Johnny Cash is the one documented case of a bad boy reformed by the love of a good woman. Please beat him with a stick the next time you see him.

And I know I'm not the only one who thinks Johnny's version of "Hurt" blows the original (good though it is) out of the water. That song has now become the soundtrack to the depressing moments of my life... And if you haven't seen the video, you should. Oh, and IMHO that's not even the best song on his latest CD. That honor should go to his take on the Book of Revelations, "The Man Comes Around."

All of this is just my way of saying that I hope Johnny cleans up tonight at the VMAs, and I hope he's feeling well enough to show all those whippersnappers and one-trick-ponies how it's done.

Comments

[sleepinbeauty.livejournal.com]

Fucking pathetic that it takes a cover of NIN to make Johnny Cash "popular" again. Gag. He's always rocked.
Do you know what time the VMAs start tonight?

Unfortunately...

[ariedana.livejournal.com]

Johnny's in the hospital and won't be able to go.

http://www.tennessean.com/entertainment/news/archives/03/08/38407848.shtml?Element_ID=38407848

:(

[missrachael.livejournal.com]

hipsters have liked johnny cash for years. he's right up there with pbr and bowling shirts. it's the meanstream that's finally getting into him again.

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Point duly noted. I suppose I should differentiate between real hipsters and people who think they're hipsters because they wear a lot of black and listen to the Strokes.

[maida-mac.livejournal.com]

Exactly. ;)

I was raised on old style country, so Cash was de rigeur in my house growing up, so I guess I was spoiled. Mom doesn't like the new album, though. I adore it. And I agree with you about The Man Comes Around. *wanders off to put it on*

[renaissancekat.livejournal.com]

Amen, sistah!!!

[misanthropist.livejournal.com]

I love Johnny Cash. I'm not a hipster.

[sirinek.livejournal.com]

It reminds me of that brief time in the summer of '94 where it was cool to like Tony Bennett. This, too, shall pass.

When I was little

[satia.livejournal.com]

I grew up with no television, for the most part. Occasionally some one of my mother's friends or boyfriends would give us a television which would inevitably die shortly after we owned it. I do, however, remember watching the Johnny Cash show as a child.

Just another bit of Satia trivia for you.

[hooper-x.livejournal.com]

Johnny Cash is my cousin.

No horseshit. About seven-eight times removed, on my mother's father's side. (i.e, the Cashes.) Near as we can tell, sometime before the civil war there were some Cash brothers who split up. One branch went out to Arkansas or thereabouts and eventually became his family, one branch stayed here and eventually became mine.

Pretty cool, huh?

-HX

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Now, that is really fucking cool.

[hooper-x.livejournal.com]

Yeah.

So I have a semi-legitmate excuse to wear all black at work.

[leezechka.livejournal.com]

I saw June Carter Cash sing Ring of Fire spring before last at music midtown. they did an indoor acoustic special with her and bunch of other cool people that was amazing. keep an eye out on turner south, they taped it.

[(Anonymous)]

Falling in love isn't fun. More often than not, it hurts like hell

I disagree. Falling in love is fun, it's wonderful, it's beautiful - it's like hurling oneself off a tall building without a parachute. WheeeeeeeeI'mflying.... It's thinking about the realities of it all, and what might happen in the (near) future, that hurts.... As Butch Cassidy said (something like), "It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end."

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

I guess I'm just too much of a cynic. Either that, or I fall too fast. :/

Who are you, mystery commenter?

[juanfandango.livejournal.com]

Ees Juan Fandango's typeest, who ees pathologeecally eencapable of posteeng seriously under the Juan label.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

FUCK the Hipsters. If they want to love Cash, because he worked a Nails song, then i'll think of them like i think of the Trash that only liked Bowie when he did "I'm Afraid of Americans." Sure, they were opened to a new genre, but Fuck them, if they donm't realise who influence Whom.

Cash is more Dark and Intense than trent could ever Hope to be. And without drugs, at that. Except maybe Booze.

Damn hipsters...

[tenn-crichton.livejournal.com]

You see, I'm not addicted to Johnny Cash's music. I've known people who've been listening to him for ten years and they ain't addicted yet...

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I bet you can quit any time you want to...

[tenn-crichton.livejournal.com]

Bet your sweet petunia I can. Just cause I have his CD on the stereo set for repeat doesn't mean a thing...

[pinkeffigy.livejournal.com]

I felt that love was a burning ring of fire, but not because of pain. Just that immense amount of passion that is so overwhelming. I always thought love was a burning thing because it existed flaming inside the soul.