#all this time i thought trent reznor was covering a johnny cash song

[adiosalasrosas]

NINE INCH NAILS [TRENT REZNOR] INTERVIEW:

Explains the process of writing "HURT"

What I was concerned about when I wrote the Downward Spiral record was being a self-centred destructive force. The point was tearing down everything in a search for something else. I had a little experiment in my life in my early 20s where I knew what I wanted to do but I was afraid to do it. I was afraid it wouldn’t be any good. I’d always been smart and knew I could get by. But I’d never pushed myself to see what I was capable of because I didn’t have to. Then I thought ‘what would happen if I get rid of all the shit I don’t need?’ I don’t need friends or girls or a band. It was like ‘fuck you’ and I became autonomous and turned inward and found all this hatred and ‘me against the world’ attitude.

And that hatred and isolation found expression in your music?

I found I could turn that into something. Instead of punching the wall and having my hand hurt, I could write it down. Strangely things came out of that seemed to have this catharsis. There was a beautiful element to it and it made me feel good. So I decided to keep doing that. When I wrote The Downward Spiral in 1993 I was five or six years into that experiment and it still worked.

The record was exploring a narrative about someone who systematically examines every aspect of their life and then destroys it on a path to trying to find some other solution. I’d started with that theme and fitted songs into the storyline, dealing with religion and sex and drugs and the record ended with some sort of conclusion that could have been suicide, but certainly wasn’t a positive place.

The one song on that record that doesn’t fit that description was Hurt, How did you write Hurt, which Johnny Cash famously covered…

The video he made of that song was overwhelming. When I saw it the power and beauty of music struck me in a really profound way. I was at a point in my life when I was really unsure if I was any good or if I had anything to say. The song came out of a really ugly corner of my mind and turned into something with a frail beauty. And then several years later an icon from a completely different world takes the song and juxtaposes himself into it in a way that seems more powerful to me than my own version. I was flattered as an artist and as a human being they could do that with my song. And it came at a very insecure time in my life and it felt like a nudge and boost and a hug from God. It said ‘everything’s OK and the world is bigger than what’s just in my head.’

So how did you write Hurt?

I wrote that after I thought the record was finished. It happened in a day or so and I hadn’t planned on it being on the record or on making a song as gentle or delicate or that. I was uneasy about putting it on the album because that song felt like I was saying I needed help. I wouldn’t admit that to myself but when I wrote it I felt like I was sitting in a pile of rubble and there was a hint of regret and remorse. Hurt was the first inclination for me that I could use a hand here. The Downward Spiral

album was a record all about beating everybody up – and then Hurt was like a coda saying may be I shouldn’t have done that. But to make the song sound impenetrable because I thought it was a little too vulnerable, I tried to layer it in noise.

That seems to be a bit of a theme with your work with Nine Inch Nails…

Well a lot of what I’ve done as Nine Inch Nails has been governed by fear. I was trying to keep the songs in a framework that was tough and I learnt a lot from Jesus and Mary Chain about how to bury nice pop songs in unlistenable noise – the idea being if you can get behind that wall you find there’s a pearl inside. That’s where my head was at.

What was behind the lyric when you wrote it? The ’empire of dirt’ was presumably the whole junkie lifestyle…

Interestingly enough, when I wrote the song I had no idea what was in store for me. I wrote the album about somebody who follows this path who was an extension of me. But it was in my head. I hadn’t actually lived it. Then later I lived it. I didn’t realise the record was a premonition. I was using the metaphor of drugs at the forefront of what was going on. But I wasn’t a junkie. Later I became one, but I didn’t know there was an addict in me that just hadn’t bloomed out of the dirt yet.

So that whole album became a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Yes. Oddly enough, that album began my own personal plummet into the depths of addiction and finding out my way doesn’t work and that I needed people and help every once in a while and I am human after all. That’s why the records since then have taken such a long time. On 1999’s The Fragile I was still lying to myself about what was really happening.

You developed a reputation for excess that was excessive even by rock’n’roll standards…

Even when you come to the end of a destructive phase of writing all those songs like that , it sticks with you. It’s not like I could say ‘I’m done writing, I’m now going to go out there and be normal.’ In my life I was always floating around the edge of the dark side and saying what if take it a little bit too far and who says you have to stop there and what’s behind the next door. Maybe you gain a wisdom from examining those things. But after a while you get too far down in the quicksand.

So how did you clean-up?

Very simple. In 2001 when we finished touring, I realised ‘you’re going to die unless you stop’. Your friend just died and there’s no more way forward You get your shit together or your die. It’s tough when you think you’re smart. I’d seen people and said ‘I’ll never be that fucking bad. I’m too smart to be an addict.’ Yet I became something I never thought I could be. It was a gradual realisation but there was a definite point where if I had any molecule of sanity left, I couldn’t deny what was right in front of my face.

Do you have to reach a point of self-loathing to take that decision to change?

You do loathe yourself because you’ve lost all self-respect. I remember thinking ‘What’s the point? I’ve had everything I ever wanted in my life and I’m vomiting in the sink again. How did that happen?’ So yes, I hated myself.

Is the new record, ‘Halo 19: With Teeth’, a chronicle of your recovery?

I hope it’s not that boring. I didn’t want to be preachy. But I can’t deny it was a huge thing behind the record. Every aspect of my life changed. I decided I would do anything not to be in this shape. I thought ‘let me not try to bend the rules and just take it easy and not think about making a record.’ I spent time sitting on a couch, feeling OK, reading a book, pursuing friendships and not wanting to jump out the window. I spent a couple of years just trying to feel OK with myself and not always to be in a white-knuckle state of despair. And I succeeded. I felt my whole life up until that point had been swimming against the current. I came to realise what I was fighting for didn’t make sense any more.

But how does that impact on your creativity? If you’re felling OK and pretty contended with your life, does that make for good music?

I don’t remember particularly needing to be fucked up to write music. But I don’t remember not being fucked up when I was writing music. But by the end I couldn’t write a song because I was high and I felt like my head was stuffed full of cardboard. I had nothing interesting to say. And when I started this record, which was Jan 2004, it felt like there were a million ideas stuck in my head that were finally able to come out. I found I could pursue an idea down its course, whereas before I’d get two bends down the road and I’d forget what I was doing. It was so empowering to feel I could think again. It feels pretty good to be able to look at fresh experiences with a new clarity. Because I’d lost that. I’m not just trying to be the positive ex-junkie guy and I hate to be preachy. But what I’ve gained is so much more than what I’ve had to give up.

[toscanoirriverente]

Trent Reznor both loves and hates this.

"I'd known where I was when I wrote it. I know what I was thinking about. I know how I felt. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive."

It was the moving video, though, that made it all fall into place for the Nine Inch Nails star: "It really, really made sense and I thought what a powerful piece of art.

"I never got to meet Johnny but I'm happy I contributed the way I did. It felt like a warm hug. I have goosebumps right now thinking about it.

"Having Johnny Cash, one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, want to cover your song, that's something that matters to me. It's not so much what other people think but the fact that this guy felt that it was worthy of interpreting.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #562

Top Ten Cover Versions

Music! Music’s great, isn’t it? who doesn’t like music. Music, music, music.

One of the things I love about music is how nobody complains if a song is remade. Paul Fiege’s Ghostbusters (2016) isn’t as good as Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters (1984) but it is a different beast; a longer, sillier, female-focused film, with a tone and a sense of humour all its own. But still the general vibe – even outside of the mouth-breathing weirdos who posted death threats – is that you can’t remake Ghostbusters. Yet songs (and plays!) get rebooted and reproduced all the time, and it’s seen as a cool reinterpretation of art by a different artist.

Weird.

Anyway, cover versions. Interesting because sometimes they can just feel like a groovy new twist on a classic tune, like Travis singing Hit Me Baby One More Time. Sometimes they can completely take over the track – whether it was famous or not – to the extent that this version becomes definitive. It’s also a bit weird with older songs – like from the fifties or something – because the culture of the industry was different, so often a writer would write a song and it would be performed by several different artists in a very short space of time. So is that a “cover” or just a different way of writing and performing music?

I dunno. I’m just a bloke on the internet.

So what we have here is a list of my favourite cover versions of songs. Fun interpretations, iconic recreations, songs that you might not even realise were covers. And if you’re already sick of Christmas music (heaven forbid!) then it’ll give you a little break.

Hurt (Johnny Cash): the original Nine Inch Nails version, written by Trent Reznor, was a personal meditation of his own pain, but Cash absolutely owns it, his slow, sombre baritone adding weight to every word. A metafictional eulogy by a musical titan, it’s about past mistakes but also the inevitability of loss and death, and of the changing nature of fame and power. The video rocks, too.

I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston): Houston’s performance in The Bodyguard and the stratospheric success of this song indelibly linked the artist and the music; especially so given the ridiculous nature of that sustained note (you know the one). So many people are shocked to learn it was originally a Dolly Parton song, which is a bit weird considering Dolly’s version is actually in The Bodyguard too.

Always on My Mind (Pet Shop Boys): although he wasn’t the first person to record it, I think we can all agree that the Elvis Presley version is probably the one that’s paramount in people’s minds. But the Pet Shop Boys took it and rendered it in their own inimitable style, exchanging slow baritone for synth pop but somehow keeping the melancholy vibe alive.

Mad World (Gary Jules & Michael Andrew): going the other way a little bit, Tears for Fears’ fast-paced eighties bop, with its plinky-plonky synth, is turned into a mournful, wailing ballad, a pean to sadness and thoughts of mortality. It’s a miserable delight.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Eva Cassidy): taking such a classic song and producing a version different but also powerful and iconic in its own way takes real talent. Rainbow has been covered a lot, of course, but Cassidy’s tragic acoustic rendition is just beautiful in the extreme, and all the more sad given her early death.

Respect (Aretha Franklin): I’ll be honest, I didn’t realise it wasn’t Aretha at first; but no, it was Otis Redding. Maybe you knew that. I didn’t. Not for years. But now it just is Aretha’s; a barnstorming, belting feminist anthem. Bloody marvellous.

Red Right Hand (Arctic Monkeys): maybe this is a more personal one, but one of my favourite bands covering another one of my favourite bands is a giddy thrill; and hearing the Arctics’ distorted guitars playing those Bad Seed chords, and hearing Alex Turner’s northern drawl enunciate those Nick Cave lyrics is pure joy.

Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinead O’Connor): covering Prince is a bold undertaking in and of itself, but as far as I’m concerned Sinead owns this song. A heartbreaking song of lost love and sadness, her voice is incredible, and the music video – mostly just a big close up of her singing – is extraordinary in its intimacy. Bonus points for inventing text-speak.

Walk This Way (Run DMC): I never really know if this should count as a cover as it was made with original artists Aerosmith. But, well, this version’s better, even if it also features Steve Tyler wailing the title. But Run DMC do the fast-paced lyrics better and it just sounds cooler, really.

Tainted Love (Soft Cell): I nearly didn’t include this as it’s really swimming in similar waters to Always on my Mind – taking an older song and giving it a synth-y eighties twist. But I just think it rocks, a really great interpretation of the song that’s become, I’d argue, the iconic version.

[angrybell]

This is from an article here with Trent Reznor talking about Johnny Cash’s cover:

"I'd been friends with Rick Rubin for several years. He called me to ask how I'd feel if Johnny Cash covered Hurt. I said I'd be very flattered but was given no indication it would actually be recorded.

Two weeks went by. Then I got a CD in the post. I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song.

"I'd known where I was when I wrote it. I know what I was thinking about. I know how I felt. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive".

It was the moving video, though, that made it all fall into place for the Nine Inch Nails star: "It really, really made sense and I thought what a powerful piece of art.

"I never got to meet Johnny but I'm happy I contributed the way I did. It felt like a warm hug. For anyone who hasn't seen it, I highly recommend checking it out. I have goose bumps right now thinking about it.

"Having Johnny Cash, one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, want to cover your song, that's something that matters to me. It's not so much what other people think but the fact that this guy felt that it was worthy of interpreting.

"He said afterwards it was a song that sounds like one he would have written in the '60s and that's wonderful".

Its interesting how people say they didn’t really feel the impact until they saw the video. I didn’t see the video until well after I’d heard the song. The first time I heard it was one of the few times I was just blown away. Knowing Cash’s history, his age, and all, the song just grabbed me and didn’t let go.

Okay okay we all know Johnny cash did his cover of Hurt and we were all like “ok he owns that now” but I watched the music video he made and I’m like “oh he OWNS it owns it”

[firelord-frowny]

im drafting a cover of Trent Reznor/Eric Whitacre’s “Hurt” and im in LOVE omfg. 

the first half is kinda rough lmfao but 1:18 to the end is ethereal.

[howaminotinthestrokesyet]

Behind The Album: The Downward Spiral

The band’s second studio album was released in March 1994 from Nothing Records and Interscope Records respectively. The release represented a concept album from Trent Reznor detailing a person’s descent into depression and ending in suicide. He would combine the record with qualities of industrial rock, techno, and metal. Much like Broken, this stood in stark contrast to Nine Inch Nails debut Pretty Hate Machine. He first thought of the idea for the record while staying in a European hotel just after the touring Lollapalooza Festival in 1992. Along with the rest of the touring band, the singer had felt this very negative vibe towards their live performances. His original vision for the project was to explore a fictional character with major psychological issues. This fictional character in the end turned out to be Reznor himself as he used this concept to speak on his particular issues at the time in the lyrics. At this time, the Nine Inch Nails front man was at war within the group with Richard Patrick, while at the same time gradually becoming a much harder drinker. Reznor made a conscious decision to distance the sound on this album from the harshness and loudness of Broken. For that reason, he tried to minimize completely any use of guitars and synthesizers, but instead sought an atmosphere on the album of “ texture and space.”

Nine Inch Nails recorded The Downward Spiral at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles, which stood as the house in which Sharon Tate had been murdered by members of the Manson family. Reznor had first bought the house in 1992 during the recording of Broken. He named the studio that was built there Le Pig After what was scrawled on the wall in blood after the murder. He would later produce Marilyn Manson’s debut album there, Portrait of an American Family. Both the Nine Inch Nails front man and manager John Malm stayed at the house for 18 months while recording Broken and The Downward Spiral. Later in 1993, the sister of Sharon Tate, Patty Tate confronted Reznor about exploiting her sister’s death by recording at her sister’s former home. The encounter did affect him profoundly causing the singer to change his perspective. “For the first time, the whole thing kind of slapped me in the face. I said, 'No, it's just sort of my own interest in American folklore. I'm in this place where a weird part of history occurred.' I guess it never really struck me before, but it did then. She lost her sister from a senseless, ignorant situation that I don't want to support. When she was talking to me, I realized for the first time, 'What if it was my sister?' I thought, 'Fuck Charlie Manson.' I went home and cried that night. It made me see there's another side to things, you know?” Once again, Reznor would collaborate with producer Flood for this record, but it would be their last. They would both have major creative differences moving forward that could not be resolved. One example of these differences came in the song entitled “Just Do It” that did not appear on the finished album. The producer believed Trent had gone too far with that particular track based on the entire concept of the album.

Over the years, the album has been interpreted in a wide variety of ways that make it difficult to pin down. Some of these themes include nihilism, self control, self abuse, depression, and madness. The one interpretation that people did agree on unanimously represented the idea that the entire record is semi autobiographical meaning the fictional protagonist is Trent Reznor. That same person has gradually been going insane through the effects of drugs, alcohol, religion, society, and finally decides to end it all. Some accused Reznor of copying a well traveled theme of angst within grunge music only a few years earlier. The music on The Downward Spiral represented something new, unique, and very unconventional. As noted before, Trent incorporated several seemingly different genres into the record including technical, metal, rock, and electronic. He would regularly utilize distortion and other noises In unstructured ways that listeners were not used to at the time. This meant that the formula of following verse and chorus went out the window with Nine Inch Nails. Another unique trend on the album came with Reznor’s use of new time signatures that were off the standard beat. Another quality found within the music emerged with his singing as it alternated between whispers and screams. He did not rely on too many samples either for The Downward Spiral with the primary ones being one from the George Lucas film THX1138 and an Iggy Pop drumming sample. The singer has noted that the two primary inspirations for the album emerged in David Bowie‘s experimental Low and Pink Floyd’s The Wall. Nine Inch Nails released the tracks “March of the Pigs” and “Closer” as singles, while “Hurt” and “Piggy” did make it on the radio, but not as singles. He was frustrated by the fact that “Closer’s” lyrics were widely misinterpreted as a song about lust, but Reznor intended the lyrics as a theme of self-hatred. The song “Hurt” subsequently released in 1995 made reference to hurting yourself and an addiction to heroin. The track would get worldwide fame a few years later when Johnny Cash covered the song. Reznor would say this about it in interviews. “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw, and it really then, wasn’t my song anymore. Then I got a CD in the post. I listened to it and it was very strange. It was this other person inhabiting my most personal song. Hearing it was like someone kissing your girlfriend. It felt invasive.” As time passed, the singer would make the statement that Johnny Cash covering one of his songs probably meant more to him than winning a Grammy.

The Downward Spiral did suffer from numerous delays from Reznor. He had hoped to finish the album in 1993, but setting up the studio to his liking took longer than expected. At the same time, he was trying to educate himself on how to write songs vastly different from anything he had ever recorded. Another reason for a further delay came in the fact that halfway through the album he suffered a massive attack of writer's block. The record became a massive hit for the band as it debuted at number two on the Billboard charts eventually being certified quadruple platinum by 1998. In the first week alone, The Downward Spiral sold 119,000 copies. Some very early listeners of the record predicted that Reznor had affectively killed the profitability of the band with the release. The singer did not disagree with this assessment as he saw the commercial value of it as quite limited, so the huge sales surprised him quite a bit. Critics almost universally praised the album commenting on its brutal honesty, darkness, and offbeat sound. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice gave it an honorable mention, while the New York Times review found the music to be quite abrasive, but meant as a compliment. Jonathan Gold of Rolling Stone likened the album to cyberpunk fiction popular at the time. Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly had this to say about it. “Reznor's pet topics (sex, power, S&M, hatred, transcendence) are all here, wrapped in hooks that hit your psyche with the force of a blowtorch." In the end, the record would make many best of lists ranked very highly. Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Ever saw the release as number 122 in 2020. Spin Magazine’s Top 20 albums of the past 25 years gave it the 10 spot. The legacy of The Downward Spiral was felt by both Reznor, his touring band mates, and the rest of the music world. Its success would lead to fame and notoriety that the singer had not envisioned, nor was he prepared for it in a mental health way either. The group had to deal with rumors left and right referencing Reznor‘s depression, possible death, and even a crazy story that he had been friends with Jeffrey Dahmer. The record also led to countless imitators including Motley Crue. Reznor would later say that The Downward Spiral was an album, where the actual truth self-fulfilled itself, meaning all the darkness, depression, and other negative themes came true in his own life.

[botheyessareshut]

Johnathan|Christian releases new single 'Hurt' feat. Thomas Gabriel

The songwriter and producer of modern goth and darkwave known as Johnathan|Christian has released their latest official single, “Hurt.”

Johnathan|Christian's “Hurt” also features the talents of Thomas Gabriel, Clause Larsen (Leæther Strip) and multi-media artist Victor Devilbliss AKA Michael Bann (Advent Sleep).

The single has been released concurrently with the “Leæther Strip” and “Michael Bann” remixes for an approximate total listening time of 13 minutes. It has been proudly published as an independent release without the involvement of the corporate music industry. Sonorous, melancholy, and entirely heartfelt, “Hurt” showcases Johnathan|Christian as one of the most intriguing modern goth and darkwave artists of the year so far and promises that they has plenty more where that came from.

Darkwave and death rock's Johnathan|Christian cites as main artistic influences Depeche Mode, Joy Division Siouxsie & The Banshees, The Mission, Muse, Radiohead, Christian Death, Killing Joke, Skinny Puppy, and Leæther Strip. Johnathan|Christian's own sound takes elements from each of these and adds something fresh and unique for a result unlike anything today's music fans have heard before. With an emphasis on passion, vocal delivery and instrumentation, “Hurt” by Johnathan|Christian has a little something for everybody.

Asked to describe the overall meaning of “Hurt,” Johnathan|Christian writes: “While Johnathan|Christian were working on their latest album, Henry Vaccaro Jr. reached out to propose a collaboration with a family member of a very special musical clan.

“My father was a close friend of Johnny Cash, whom he had met through his role with the Kramer Guitar Company which grew to become the largest American Manufacturer of electric guitars in the 1980s. My dad was a huge Johnny Cash fan and brought the entire band guitars in 1976 and our families have been friends ever since. I first met his oldest grandson, Thomas [Gabriel] when we were children, and now watching him break out on his own, I was blown away by his uncanny vocal resemblance to his grandfather. His phrasing, tone, spirit, drive and humility are all these remarkable traits passed down from the Man in Black. I was already a fan of Johnathan|Christian and when I first heard Thomas covering 'Hurt' I thought between both parties, they would not only pay homage to Thomas' grandfather but also to the original Trent Reznor version.”

Their current official bio relates: “For Johnathan|Christian members Johnathan Mooney and Tiger Koehn, coming up with something that would remotely do any kind of justice to both originals was a daunting task.

“'Trent Reznor’s “Hurt” was such an emotional song that told a very dark tale,' says Mooney, 'and then you have Johnny Cash’s version and that was like a huge kick in the stomach that just left you speechless in it's rawness.'

“For this to work, it was important for Johnathan|Christian to tell the story in a different musical light.

'While Johnny Cash sings about all that’s left, I felt that grandson Thomas, whom while also had his own share of demons, is now on the beginning of a journey.' Says Mooney. 'An “Empire of dirt” is not only what we end with, but it’s also all we start with.'”

Johnathan|Christian's previous releases such as 2013's “Beautiful Hideous” have garnered more than 2.5 million streams.

“Hurt” by Johnathan|Christian on the LABEL label is available from over 600 quality digital music stores online worldwide now. Get in early, modern goth and darkwave fans.

-S. McCauley

Lead Press Release Writer

www.MondoTunes.com

“Hurt” by Johnathan|Christian –

https://www.amazon.com/Johnathan-Christian-feat-Thomas-Gabriel/dp/B07H3JD9K1/

Johnathan|Christian Official Website –

http://jCHRISTIANMUSIC.COM

johnathan@jchristianmusic.com

[thunderoad]

okay, let's hope this makes sense bc i have lots of feelings, but like, in spanish. (and i never thought about how difficult it is to describe music in english??? when i barely know anything???). hannah's voice is so so good. i love how every song compliments it perfectly and makes you /feel/ everything even more. and like as much as i love the music in bp, to me what makes the song is how distinctive hannah's voice is and the way (1/4) (i'm sorry if you get it twice, my internet is the worst)

her phrasing drives the melody, even when the drums kick in the most important thing is still her voice. i think niall could do so much with a full band, bc one of my favorite things about him is the way he changes things enough when he does covers so it seems like that's his song but at the same time it still feels respectful? to the original. but honestly, the lyrics are why i think that song would be perfect for him, it doesn't matter if acoustic or with his band or even with, idk, (2/4) 

an orchestra. he's just so interesting to me musically, and always manages to suprise me so!!!!1 whatever he does, i'd love it, i'm sure. at this point i just reeeeally want a super sad song from him, i have a list of songs that make me cry that i think would be perfect for him, tbh. (3/4) 

also yes!!!!!! he can do so much with his voice!!! and his harmonies are always so nice and so right. he's already so used tosinging with other guys, i would love to hear him duet with a girl more than anything. (4/4) i think the first one didn't send? so i'll send it again

omg i struggle to articulate what i’m thinking in english and that’s the only language i’ve got going for me, i think yours is brilliant!! YES, she’s definitely got such a rich voice; it reminds me of christine mcvie’s a lot in that sense!! and the way the music and the vocals go hand in hand. ‘on the loose’ is a good example of that, as well, in a different way; he stops playing guitar to sing the verses, so it’s like the music itself sort of holds its breath to hear better. it’s such a cool thing when artists nail that dynamic. 

i can’t even say how excited i was when niall got the full band going for him, not to mention how great the fellas in the band seem to be so far. the rhythm section in 1d drove me crazy, so it’s soo nice now to have such a good mix, a bass you can hear and a nice big full drum sound. i was listening to one of niall’s interviews today, and he was asked was he nervous to go out and play ‘on the loose’ for the first time at wango tango? and his answer was no, he’s only nervous when they’ve not rehearsed enough. 

it’s still early days, of course - four songs - but i think those rehearsals must’ve been really good for learning how to play together and how to play the songs well. we talk about niall improving all the time but i think it’s something everybody’s benefitted by! cuz i agree that the ‘scared to be lonely’ cover sounds like more than some fellas who are figuring out how the song is made, which a great cover really does, you know? like, johnny cash’s ‘hurt’ is so not the same thing as trent reznor’s, even if it’s the same song. 

i think the billboard article said ‘flicker’ is going to be a sad number?? either way, i can’t wait for a good sad song as well. strangely you know i think the best joyful songs have a little sadness in them, and that the best sad songs have a little tragic joy, and there’s that particular quality in niall’s voice that i think works well, do u know what i mean? 

probably my favorite duet ever is the one between jeff buckley and elizabeth fraser, ‘all flowers in time bend towards the sun,’ and if niall ever did anything in that vein...you’ll have to scrape me off the surface of the moon

[jswdmb1]

Who Are You?

“I really wanna know

Oh I really wanna know

Oh tell me who are you, you, you, ah you?”

- The Who

Tumblr sent me a note the other day congratulating me on my fiftieth post.  I had no idea I was being so productive, nor did I know that they knew my e-mail address.  In any event, I wish I would have known because that last post was a bit of a downer.  I went back and looked at some older posts and realized that this blog used to be fun.  I won’t go as far as to say entertaining, but the subject matter wasn’t quite so heavy.  With the eve of Halloween upon us, I decided to change that.  I am going to get into the spirit of the holiday and share with you some of what I consider my favorite costumes of all - when artists sonically dress up with the cover song.

Musicians love pretending to be someone they are not.  Plus, sometimes it is just easier to let someone else write the song, try it out for a bit, and then steal it.  That is probably 99% of cover songs.  The best ones are different, though.  They elevate the original work and often transcend it.  The best example of this is what is considered the greatest cover song of all time - All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix (of which I agree).  Bob Dylan said that after he heard Jimi’s version, that is how he has played it live ever since.  Dylan’s version really doesn’t wow me at all.  The melody is lost under his nasally tone and the lyrics were a bit non-sensical.  Hendrix took the song and flipped it on its head.  It almost sounds as if he started from scratch.  The lyrics go from confusing to a bold allegory on the state of the world in the late 60′s.  And words cannot describe the guitar work.  It would have been an instant classic if Hendrix wrote it, but becomes more amazing in his ability to interpret what turned out to be an excellent song that Dylan wrote.  To me, that is what a great cover version is all about.

The songs I chose for my playlist I like to think follow the same pattern of artists taking an original work and reinterpreting it in a way that makes the song their own.  Often, the original artists acknowledged this.  Some were hits, others not so much, but in all cases resulted in a masterful recording.  By the way, I have only considered recorded works for this list versus the obligatory live cover that shows up at almost every concert.  Some of those can be good, but I’m searching here for a true original work that is dressed up in a way that turns it into a classic.  

I will release the full playlist on Spotify via my Dear Mr. Fantasy blog, but here are a few of what I consider the highlights:

“Hurt” - Johnny Cash - (originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails)

Towards the end of his life, Johnny recorded a series of albums with the legendary producer Rick Rubin filled with only covers.  There are some real gems on these albums, but nothing tops a stripped down and haunting version of Hurt.  The accompanying video was shot shortly before he died.  I won’t do the images justice by describing them, so please just You Tube it.  The song itself is stripped bare and Cash’s voice crackles over the acoustic guitar.  It was a courageous and honest look at a hard life nearing the end and Trent Reznor’s song was the perfect vehicle for that message.  Outside of Hendrix’s Watchtower, I consider this the second greatest cover of all time.

“Hallelujah” - Jeff Buckley (originally recorded by Leonard Cohen)

Jeff Buckley recorded only one studio album in 1994 and was working on a second when his life was cut tragically short due to a drowning accident in 1997.  But, that one album left a lasting impact with a cover that is considered by some to be one of the best songs ever recorded. The song itself is a masterfully written piece of music by Leonard Cohen that has been covered hundreds of times, but none stand out like Buckley’s. His version added depth and despair that linger so painfully, especially knowing he would be gone shortly after recording it. It’s probably the best example here of brilliant songwriting matched with the perfect performance to create one for the ages.

“In Bloom” - Sturgill Simpson (originally recorded by Nirvana)

This song goes down as my favorite and most different arrangement. The original Kurt Cobain song was great, but it was a pretty straight on version done by Nirvana. Then comes alt-country Sturgill 25 years later and he offers us a nuanced ode to his newborn son. What is so great about it is that Simpson takes the song and boldly makes it his own despite the legendary status of Nirvana. It is a striking performance and was my introduction into the wonderful world of Sturgill Simpson. If you still don’t know who he is, google his SNL performance of “Call to Arms” and you’ll see what you’ve been missing. Contrasting that with the restraint he shows on this cover makes me believe the depth and range of Sturgill Simpson will be a huge part of music for a very long time.

“Waiting in Vain” - Annie Lennox (originally recorded by Bob Marley & The Wailers)

I’ll qualify this by saying I could listen to Annie Lennox sing anything. She could sing a string of Trump tweets to the melody of “Old McDonald Had a Farm” and make it sound elegant and beautiful. That being said, Annie released an album of covers in the mid-nineties with an interesting twist. All of the original performances were by male artists. It created an interesting dynamic to hear these songs flipped to be from the female perspective. My favorite of the bunch is this Bob Marley tune that is my favorite song of his. That Annie could take the song and improve on it amazes me. Her version strips out the reggae beats and creates a lush mix of sentiment, despair, but ultimately hope. Again, I can not do justice with words to describe this performance. Of all the songs on the list, listen to this if you have time for just one. You’ll never forget it.

“Wonderwall” - Ryan Adams (originally recorded by Oasis)

I’ve heard that Noel Gallagher said that he didn’t know what this song was about until he heard Ryan Adams’ version. I don’t fact check here, so I don’t know that for sure, but I would believe it. It’s a great song and this is a case where the cover isn’t necessarily better but almost separately just as good as a whole different song. Maybe that was what Noel was talking about if he said those things. Like some of the other songs on this list, the starkness of Adams’ version strips things bare and turns what I initially thought was a silly and playful tune into something much deeper. Just go with Oasis version if you need a pick me up as Ryan’s has me crying in my non-alcoholic beer every time I hear it.

These are just a few of what I put on the playlist. You can listen to the full set on Spotify via my jswrockon tumblr blog. There are literally of thousand of more choices that I missed and I would love to hear about your favorites that could be added.

In the meantime, hopefully we can get this blog back on track and fun again. Just writing this out has already helped improve my mood. Plus, now I know what I’m going to be for Halloween - an old guy sitting out on his front porch handing out candy while listening to some of the best cover songs of all time. Now there’s a perfect costume for me.

Cheers and Happy Halloween,

Jim