I love when this happens...You're wandering along mindlessly listening to your iPod on random play, and you realize, "I haven't heard this song in the longest time." Then it all comes pouring back. The posters that were hanging on the wall in your old bedroom. The 'best friend' that you haven't spoken with in years. The girl that broke your heart. Everything. These memories come streaming from this song. This music. This chaos of analog waves bouncing around in your head. The feeling really is amazing.
So if you haven't guessed it, I was fortunate enough to have this experience the other day. The song was Hurt by Nine Inch Nails, which was released on The Downward Spiral album back in 1994. It's probably been about 6 years since I last heard this song, so I was content with the fact that my iPod chose to play it out of the thousands of choices it had. But when it rains it pours, right? A couple days later, I learned while reading Spin Magazine that Johnny Cash did a cover of the song in 2002 on his American IV: The Man Comes Around album.
I'm here to say that the Johnny Cash version is amazing. I love how a song can lead multiple lives between artists. The emotional differences between Trent Reznor in his 20's and Johnny Cash in his 70's is a lot of fun to compare and pick apart. Download both versions - you won't be dissapointed.