Hurt - NIN or JC (poll)

Since I saw a few posts about it on What Are You Listening To? Figure'd we would get everyone's opinion. I've never heard the NIN one and will listen to it now and vote later.

I'm not a fan of Johnny Cash's singing in his version of 'Hurt'. It's an emotional cover and all but Trent Reznor's original is superior in my opinion. I don't like how the NIN version is often forgotten about or overlooked when Trent wrote it and sings it with such power and passion. An amazing song, in my opinion, and it's out of my usual tastes.

When Cash would sing that song, it felt like the truth. Everything that Cash sang felt like he beleived with all of his sould. Cash did some great covers, Eagles, Tom Petty, Soundgarden, and many more. The Highway Man albums were a combination of covers and orginal...At the risk of sounding like Paula Abdul, Cash made the song his own. He made those words real. I also prefer Cash's instermentation. I don't like that wobley, out of tune guitar that is in the NIN version. I give all of the credit in the world to Reznor for writting a great song, but Cash made that song live forever. You young kids that have not given Cash the chance, find some of his stuff. I especially love the Highway Man albums. He did a great song with Dave Mathews, Fiona Apple. He did a wonderful cover of U2's One..Cash was a true great in music, not just country, but music.

Just listened to Nine Inch Nails on Grooveshark, all VI (6) minutes and XVI (16) seconds of it and I really didn't like it as much as Johnny Cash's. Cash's renedation is beatiful and even lead me to name part of my E-fed character after him (Michael Cash) whereas Nine Inch Nails version was kind of...weird compared to it. It was definitly different, so I give credit to Cash for actually doing his own take on the song. It wasn't that Nine Inch Nails was bad, but it didn't do anything for me unlike Johnny Cash's cover.

I've always said it, and I don't think my mind would change any time soon. The Nine Inch Nails' version of the song is of course great, because it is an original of theirs and as MF has stated, Trent Reznor wrote the song so of course he would feel it. The emotion in Reznor's voice can not be denied, but I think that Johnny Cash did a better version of it, albeit the fact that he only covered it from NIN. In Cash's version, you could actually feel all the emotion he tries to convey when he sings it. Even though NIN made the song, Cash made it his own and sung it to a whole new level.

Y2J X wrote:

Just listened to Nine Inch Nails on Grooveshark, all VI (6) minutes and XVI (16) seconds of it and I really didn't like it as much as Johnny Cash's. Cash's renedation is beatiful and even lead me to name part of my E-fed character after him (Michael Cash) whereas Nine Inch Nails version was kind of...weird compared to it. It was definitly different, so I give credit to Cash for actually doing his own take on the song. It wasn't that Nine Inch Nails was bad, but it didn't do anything for me unlike Johnny Cash's cover.

And he did his version not long after June Carter Cash died, so you can really feel that he feels those lyrics.

Cash without a doubt. When Trent reznor and ex NIN drummer Chris Vrenna wrote it, there was no doubt it had emotion. They wouldn't of written it if there was no emotion but Cash adds a great way to it and even makes it sound like he made the song from scratch. NINs version is nothing like cash's and thankful for that. NIN's hurt in my opinion is NINs worst track.

Listened to the NIN one. The original I guess. I have to go with Cash as well. I do find it absolutely hilarious that ignorance on the internet is reason enough for people to curse you out and use the worst words they know. Someone posted that on the NIN youtube video of hurt that they didn't like the cover by NIN and thought the original by Johnny Cash was better. He was cursed out and called a retard. Whatever happened to simply correcting people? Sorry for my random tangent.

I've been a fan of Johnny Cash for a while. My dad played one of his CD's in the car all the time. It was a CD of joke songs and funny songs (Boy Named Sue, One Piece at a Time). That and I liked the song Ring of Fire. He's great in my opinion and I like his cover of Hurt better.

I really don't like Johnny Cash's vocals and the track seems kinda cliched and overhyped for me. It's not his song, he didn't feel the same emotions Trent Reznor felt when writing it and performing it. 'Hurt' by NIN is weird, it's a creepy song but it's so real. Like, you feel the pain, isolation and self-loathing in Trent's singing for that song. It's brilliant, so moving. I can't see the big deal about Johnny Cash's. His singing voice isn't very good: croaky, often out of tune and he didn't even write the amazing lyrics. NIN, no contest.

Cash did not feel the same emotions that Reznor did when he wrote the song. He felt his own isolation and loneliness because his wife died and his wife meant the world to him. June was his everything and he sings that song like he just lost his everything. He is a little out of tune at points, but that is because he was very sick at the end of his life. He struggled to keep making music,s so not only did he lose the love of his life, he was losing the only thing he ever knew, making music.

Concrete Jesus wrote:

Cash did not feel the same emotions that Reznor did when he wrote the song. He felt his own isolation and loneliness because his wife died and his wife meant the world to him. June was his everything and he sings that song like he just lost his everything. He is a little out of tune at points, but that is because he was very sick at the end of his life. He struggled to keep making music,s so not only did he lose the love of his life, he was losing the only thing he ever knew, making music.

I can appreciate that. Although 'Hurt' is Reznor's. The lyrics and structure of the song relate to his experiences and his emotions. I don't like it when people say Cash 'owned' it or whatever when he simply took someone elses lyrics and sang them kinda badly. Like, I understand the backstory to his version which makes the song more powerful now and I'm not saying you can't prefer the Cash version. But I went on Youtube and there are people saying 'Cash made it his song'. That's stupid, in my opinion. He simply took Reznor's lyrics and interpreted it in a way to match his struggles. But the song 'Hurt' belongs to Trent, he wrote it and the lyrics are relevant to him personally.

talk about out of tune. On the NIN version, during the verse, when the guitar resolves back to the A minor, it is out of tune. I assume that was on purpose, but it is out of tune.

While all props has to go Trent Reznor for being a lyrical genius with this song. I have to go with Johnny Cash's version. I've listened to both, and am a fan of both, but Cash's version takes it for me. I think the fact many people think it's orginally his song shows how well he did it, while yes, Trent Reznor wrote it, for the most part, if Reznor's version was the superior one to most people, it would be remember more, IMO.

Some people say that JC's had that success because of the fame he already had, which personally I think is crap, because honestly, I don't think half the people that listen to Cash now, can say they were a fan before Walk The Line came out. And WTL was released a few years after he recorded Hurt and ultimately passed away not long after.

Bek wrote:

While all props has to go Trent Reznor for being a lyrical genius with this song. I have to go with Johnny Cash's version. I've listened to both, and am a fan of both, but Cash's version takes it for me. I think the fact many people think it's orginally his song shows how well he did it, while yes, Trent Reznor wrote it, for the most part, if Reznor's version was the superior one to most people, it would be remember more, IMO.

Some people say that JC's had that success because of the fame he already had, which personally I think is crap, because honestly, I don't think half the people that listen to Cash now, can say they were a fan before Walk The Line came out. And WTL was released a few years after he recorded Hurt and ultimately passed away not long after.

I never gave Cash a chance before Walk the Line came out. Past success doesn't mean when it comes to new singles. Sure, country station might have still been playing his old stuff, but if his new stuff suckedm they wouldn't have played it.

Mattitude Follower wrote:

But I went on Youtube and there are people saying 'Cash made it his song'. That's stupid, in my opinion. He simply took Reznor's lyrics and interpreted it in a way to match his struggles.

That statement, "Cash made it his song" is pretty damn similar to "Cash making it his own" which simply means taking the lyrics to the song and interpreting it in a way that fits your own personal struggles or something else, depending on what the song is about.

With that said, I'm simply going to ask why the hell does it matter that Trent wrote it. Thats a reason I don't really like, because thats basically saying, "It's better because it's the original", which to me, is one of the dumbest reason to like it better. Now, I understand thats not the reason you prefer nine inch nails version (the original) but, I don't now why it would be a considering factor or really need to be mentioned again and again. Hell, even Trent likes Cash's rendition (albeit pissed at first that he covered it) and called it (along with the music video) a powerful peice of art (according to songfacts which got it from some interveiw article he did), if he was pissed, I could understand it but, in the end this is about the quality of the song, not who wrote it. For example, Vince McMahon Sr. started WWWF in MCMLII (1952) but it wasn't until Vince McMahon took over untill WWF was on it's way toward where it was today. Vince McMahon Sr. started it and made it possible, but it was Vince who took it to heights I'm sure nobody really thought were possible.

It's the same thing with covers, it doesn't matter who started it (when your listening to it), it matters which version sounds better to you. If Johnny Cash originally wrote it and it was Nine Inch Nails who did the cover, I doubt you'd mentioned that all Trent did was take Cashs lyrics and interupt it in a way that fits his struggles or point out that it's not NIN song and they didn't feel what Cash felt when he wrote this because you prefer NIN version. I give him (Trent) all the credit for writing the song but, once again this is about which version of the song with think is better, just because Trent wrote it doesn't mean it sounds any better or is any better.

Concrete Jesus wrote:

Bek wrote:

While all props has to go Trent Reznor for being a lyrical genius with this song. I have to go with Johnny Cash's version. I've listened to both, and am a fan of both, but Cash's version takes it for me. I think the fact many people think it's orginally his song shows how well he did it, while yes, Trent Reznor wrote it, for the most part, if Reznor's version was the superior one to most people, it would be remember more, IMO.

Some people say that JC's had that success because of the fame he already had, which personally I think is crap, because honestly, I don't think half the people that listen to Cash now, can say they were a fan before Walk The Line came out. And WTL was released a few years after he recorded Hurt and ultimately passed away not long after.

I never gave Cash a chance before Walk the Line came out. Past success doesn't mean when it comes to new singles. Sure, country station might have still been playing his old stuff, but if his new stuff suckedm they wouldn't have played it.

That was my point, it was played because of how good it was, not because it was something by Johnny Cash, because before Walk The Line came out, he was nowhere near as popular as he is now.

[quote="Bek"]

Concrete Jesus wrote:

Bek wrote:

While all props has to go Trent Reznor for being a lyrical genius with this song. I have to go with Johnny Cash's version. I've listened to both, and am a fan of both, but Cash's version takes it for me. I think the fact many people think it's orginally his song shows how well he did it, while yes, Trent Reznor wrote it, for the most part, if Reznor's version was the superior one to most people, it would be remember more, IMO.

Some people say that JC's had that success because of the fame he already had, which personally I think is crap, because honestly, I don't think half the people that listen to Cash now, can say they were a fan before Walk The Line came out. And WTL was released a few years after he recorded Hurt and ultimately passed away not long after.

I never gave Cash a chance before Walk the Line came out. Past success doesn't mean when it comes to new singles. Sure, country station might have still been playing his old stuff, but if his new stuff suckedm they wouldn't have played it.

That was my point, it was played because of how good it was, not because it was something by Johnny Cash, because before Walk The Line came out, he was nowhere near as popular as he is now.[/quot

The movie exposed his music to a brand new group of people, so yeah, it made him more popular, but why is that a bad thing?

I never said it was a bad thing.

You didn't, Its just the way you stated gave it that interpretation. Thats all Bek.

I was trying to give the song it's credit, because I've had people say to me that it only ever did as well as it did because it was Johnny Cash that performed it. I was trying to say that because Cash wasn't quite as popular as he is now, when the song was realeased, that the song has been considered great on its own merits.

Sorry if that was misunderstood.