194
What's a song where you like a remix or cover better than the original? (lemmy.world)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
295 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

And don't get cute and do songs people don't know are covers like I Will Always Love You or Torn

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 137 points 4 months ago (19 children)

Johnny Cash did a good job with "Hurt"

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 19 child comments
    •
  • [–] 15 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (4 children)

    Good for anyone who likes that version, but I could never get into it. It is okay, but will always pale in comparison to the raw emotions of the original, in my opinion.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 26 points 4 months ago

    I dunno, I think Cash is just as rawly emotional, it's just a different expression of a slightly different emotion. Reznor is expressing bleak despair in the midst of a Downward Spiral of self abuse, Cash is expressing bleak regret bearing the weight of decades of decisions.

    Maybe it's just because I have a soft spot for old, tough men expressing vulnerability, but

    Beneath the stains of time

    The feelings disappear

    You are someone else

    I am still right here

    .

    What have I become?

    My sweetest friend

    Everyone I know

    Goes away in the end

    hits way more raw coming from an old guy.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 7 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    I'm not saying you're wrong but I do think the love of this cover is one of the most insane popular opinions in all of music. I will die on the hill that if it was anyone other than the man in black, everyone would agree.

    It sounds so, so bad to me. People say you can really hear the hurt in his voice but he sounds no different than any old man who used to sing but hasn't kept up the practice. It's warbly and honestly sounds like shit. The instrumentation is equally boring

    People (not you) say there's more emotion than the original but Trent Reznor sounds like he's actively going through withdrawals, expressing several different emotions as the song evolves.

    Sorry for the rant. I'll cap it off by saying it's equally dumb to me that the song is about pain and regret but Cash's music video just....aggrandizes his life with a montage of classic Johnny Cash moments.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    You've just said what I've been thinking all these years. Except the video. I think that might be why people praised it. They knew he didn't have long to live and the video is pretty heartbreaking when you think he might have chose the song because he was bitter about losing everything he ever worked for.

    IMHO, the cover sucked but I do think it was from the heart.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 3 points 4 months ago

    I went back and watched the video and ehhh I dunno, it's footage of old shows and concerts mixed with some really on-the-nose imagery. Though I don't disagree with your final point.

    I haven't listened to it in awhile and I forgot the mix is pretty bad, too lol

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    Pretty much any song he covered ended up being the definitive version.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah....but only because he's Johnny Cash. No way the cover was getting radio play if it was just some random old guy who recorded it

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 4 months ago

    Mercy seat and In my life are masterpieces in the original but his renditions are immaculate. It's something about his low emotion, speaking from a position of looking back at the events rather than being emotional and in them like the originals.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent