everyone i know goes away in the end...

Today, I was in the audience of a lecture given by Trent Reznor's lawyer. He passingly mentioned Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt." I was just listening to it, and yet again I am spooked out. Maybe it's because Cash is now dead. Maybe it's because "Hurt" represents the suicidal climax of NIN's masterpiece, The Downward Spiral. Who knows. At any rate, this song has shown itself to be one of the most haunting, lasting remnants of the 1990s.

Tori Amos once covered it in concert. Usually, when an artist covers a song, it becomes their own, in a sense. The artist imbues the covered song with her own interpretation, her own musical values, and her own vibrancy. (Think of Marilyn Manson's cover of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams.") However, I have found that "Hurt" is one of the few songs out there that transcends the artist who performs it. It has never shown itself to be amenable to third-party constructions. It is itself--always. Scary...