Friday Feature: Hurt as covered by Emily Seal

This Friday Feature goes out to a cover of a cover.


Emily Seal covering Hurt, as covered by Johnny Cash!

I didn't really have any expectations when looking for a cover of this one; I knew that there would be a lot to choose from, though. Being associated with both Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash encompasses a wide group of people. I listened to a bunch and I wasn't blown away at any point, until I clicked on this link.


Meet Emily Seal!


I had already decided on a different cover, but clicked on this last one just as a whim, and I am SO glad I did. I am absolutely in love with this girl's voice. Holy cow. If you haven't heard of Ron Pope, listen to something by him; he's a favorite of mine and she sounds like the female version of him in the best way. In this cover, Emily didn't miss a single note, and she has the most impressive amount of vocal control. She might have the coolest voice I've ever heard from a Youtube video. I can't stress to you enough how talented she is. If you only listen to one thing today, make it this cover.


More about Emily Seal: I'm not sure why this video doesn't have ten thousand views. It's better than any other cover I looked at. But I dug a little deeper and discovered that Ms. Seal is doing very, very well. She's a Canadian recording artist with a slew of nominations and awards already received, along with a lengthy list of accolades and accomplishments. She has a CD out, titled If You Keep This Up (which I will be buying once I finish writing this post), a killer website, and a Facebook page you can check out if you like what you've heard above, and how could you not?!


Not that Emily Seal needs my accolades here, as she has already earned herself plenty, but I can't help but give them anyways. She's living my dream at the moment, and she's absolutely earned the right to be there!

Johnny Cash: Hurt

Number 16!

Johnny Cash - Hurt.

Current Knowledge: I know a few Johnny Cash songs; my grandpa is quite the fan (and, in fact, the only person in my extended family who plays guitar). Ring of Fire is probably his favorite, and I know that one like the back of my hand. However, I was at a party over the weekend, and on the TV/radio station that was playing, the Nine Inch Nails song Hurt came on. I genuinely didn't believe the person who told me that Johnny Cash had covered this, or how it possibly could have sounded. So, here I am, about to find out.


First Thoughts: Maybe it's my headphone upgrade, but the guitar in this sounds really awesome. It's really clear and bright and right on the top of the mix....yeah, this is probably thanks to the headphones, actually. In regards to the song itself: it's actually a really weird version of this, honestly. This song seems to be written with a really strong vocal melody, and Johnny Cash was by no means young when he recorded this; his voice is distinct but not particularly striking in this. I think it's actually the lack of emotion in his voice that is the issue for me. The lyrics say that the speaker is more or less dying, and Cash's vocal seems a bit apathetic. Though I think I can see why he chose to cover it, there's a good story and a nice acoustic guitar part, which are Johnny Cash staples.


Verdict: I'm not really sure what to make of this. It's a really weird convergence between two distinctly different types of music. I wouldn't say I'd put this on again, but I can certainly commend Johnny Cash for picking a song that is so far outside of his usual genre and making it his own. That's something I try to do a lot of the time, so I can definitely relate, at least.