Tag Archives: Johnny Cash

The Baron and the Kid (1984, directed by Gary Nelson)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Ever wonder what The Color of Money would have been like if it starred Johnny Cash and featured less Eric Clapton but more country and western on the soundtrack?  The Baron and the Kid is here to satisfy your curiosity.

Johnny Cash is Will Addington, better known as The Baron.  Back in the day, The Baron was the meanest and the most ruthless pool hustler around.  He’d cheat people out of their money without even giving it a second thought.  He drank.  He doped.  He womanized.  He abused his wife, Dee Dee (June Carter Cash).  After the Baron became the 9-ball world champion, Dee Dee left him and the Baron changed his ways.  Now, years later, he only plays exhibition games for charity and the strongest thing that he drinks is grapefruit juice.

When a young hustler who calls himself the Cajun Kid (Greg Webb) challenges the Baron to a game, the Baron wins easily but he still recognizes that the Kid has a natural talent.  When the Cajun Kid attempts to put up his mother’s wedding ring as stakes for another game, the Baron recognizes the ring as the one that Dee Dee used to wear on her finger.  After talking to Dee Dee, the Baron discovers that the Kid is actually his son.

The Baron takes the Kid under his wing, hoping to train him to become a champion while, at the same time, getting to know his son.  The Kid proves to be a difficult student.  He’s cocky and, like the Baron did in his youth, he has a temper.  He also has a manager, a good-for-nothing con artist named Jack Steamer (Darren McGavin).  Steamer doesn’t want to lose the money that the Kid brings in and he plots to to keep him away from his father.  The Baron, though, is determined to prevent the Kid from making the same mistakes that he made.  However, when the Baron and the Kid both find themselves competing in the same championship, the Baron finds himself being tempted by his old demons.

The Baron and the Kid is okay for a made-for-tv movie.  It’s predictable but Johnny Cash has such a formidable screen presence that it doesn’t matter that he was sometimes a stiff actor.  The Baron’s past of booze and drugs mirrors Cash’s own past and when Cash, as the Baron, talks about how he’s trying to keep the Kid from making the sames mistakes, there’s little doubt that he knows what he’s talking about.  Some of the pool sequences are creatively shot and Richard Roundtree has a great cameo as a cocaine dealer named Frosty.  There’s nothing surprising about The Baron and the Kid but fans of Cash and the game of pool should enjoy it.

Music Video of the Day: Ridin’ The Rails by Johnny Cash (1974, dir by Nicholas Webster)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

When I saw The Commuter at the Alamo Drafthouse yesterday, this video was shown as a part of the pre-show.  It’s actually taken from a 1974 ABC special, Ridin’ The Rails: The Great American Train Story.  Apparently, the entire special was Johnny Cash riding trains across America, while singing some of his favorite train-related songs.

I imagine that it was ultimately meant to be something of a commercial for Amtrak, which was only 3 years old when Ridin’ The Rails aired.  Myself, I’ve always found trains to be very romantic and one of my most beloved memories of Italy is riding the train into and from Venice.  I’ve never been on Amtrak, though.  I guess that’s because I’m a Southern girl and, down here, we love our cars too much to ever ride a train.

(I do remember, a few years back, watching a bunch of people from up North having a televised conniption over how little we care about Amtrak in the South.  It struck me as being kinda weird and petty but anyway…)

Ridin’ The Rails was directed by Nicholas Webster.  If that name sounds familiar, that might be because Webster also directed my favorite Christmas movie, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians!

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A. (1989, dir. Rupert Wainwright)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

I wasn’t going to do a video for today since I wasn’t feeling well the night before, but I couldn’t hold off an extra day to follow up a Johnny Cash song with Straight Outta Compton.

There are numerous issues with the film Straight Outta Compton (2015). The biggest one being the whitewashing of their music. However, something that really pissed me off was any time someone gave a member of the group some sorta line about how no one is going to want to hear about real people’s lives, especially if it isn’t pretty. It was one thing when one of their friends who you could argue was insulated from other types of music said it. I mean the very beginning of the film does try to make you think that the music they normally heard at clubs was essentially Lionel Richie and/or The Commodores. That’s fine, but their manager should have known better and the film even gives us a wall of band names behind his desk to tell us he knows better. Every time I heard it, I was waiting for somebody to say: “Really? Sure sounds like what Johnny Cash was singing about back in the 1960s. All they’ve done is changed the window dressing and are singing about the reality around them, so sit down and shut up.” This song sure doesn’t sound a lot different from Folsom Prison Blues to me.

Remember that scene in Straight Outta Compton when they are trying to help Eazy-E find his voice? They teach him how to take words that may not exactly be his, but the power of of his voice lies in singing them as if they are. The second that clicks, it’s him. I hear that when I listen to a song like Folsom Prison Blues.

As for the music video itself, I think they did a good job of taking the Rapper’s Delight formula of a bunch of rappers shooting from one person to another for their bits, but replacing said bits with meaningful lyrics rather than ones that are just for fun. All of this while the police are omnipresent and on their tail to make sure that not only do the lyrics transport us to a place we may not be familiar with, but are visually transported there as well.

I don’t recommend seeing Ron Howard’s concert film Made in America (2013), but there is an interesting interview with Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC in it. He talks about how he was a bit of an anomaly as a kid because of where he grew up. He was just enough in one direction or another that he not only picked up the traditionally black stations, but the white ones too. As a result, he said he was exposed to a lot folk music, which resonated with him. Folk music, that just like country, is also tied heavily to rap when you just strip away the surface to reveal the core. Heck, there are even artists that explicitly fuse rap and country into a genre called Hick Hop.

The point is, I thought I couldn’t let this opportunity to try and pass on the power of musical knowledge.

Music Video of the Day: Hurt by Johnny Cash (2003, dir. Mark Romanek)

Posted on by Valerie Troutman

This is another one where the song and video speak for themselves. A beautiful capstone on Johnny Cash’s career that breaks my heart when I hear it. It makes me want to cry when it is combined with the then relics of his life in the music video.

I remember driving to school many years ago and a DJ at our local San Francisco alternative rock station called Live 105 came on the air. He basically said this: “This is going to be kind of weird, but we don’t care. You have to hear what Johnny Cash did to this Nine Inch Nails song.” Then he played it. It was absolutely incredible to me. I don’t know what else to say.

One interesting thing of note outside of the song and the video itself is the director. You better believe we will see Mark Romanek again. He directed music videos like Lenny Kravitz’s Are You Gonna Go My Way and Criminal by Fiona Apple. Just to tie this all in together, he also directed both Closer and Perfect Drug for Nine Inch Nails. More recently, he directed Shake it Off for Taylor Swift. He has also done feature films such as One Hour Photo (2002) and Never Let Me Go (2010).

I figured it was appropriate to follow up Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire with this song.

Song of the Day: Ain’t No Grave (by Johnny Cash)

Posted on by Arleigh

The latest “Song of the Day” comes courtesy of the “Man in Black” himself. It’s the main track from his final posthumous-released album, American VI: Ain’t No Grave.

“Ain’t No Grave” gives us Cash in his final days as he continued to make music despite knowing that Death was coming for him and his time was almost up. We can hear the Cash’s voice gravelly as usual but also shows the failing health he was in. Yet, despite that he still gives the Old Testament-like lyrics of “Ain’t No Grave” the gravity and strength of someone who has seen all that life had to offer (both good and bad) and experienced them all.

The minimalist music backing up Cash’s voice as piano, organ and banjo played on the fly gives the song an almost doomsday tone as he sings about death, angels and the Second Coming. Yet, there’s a sense of hope to the lyrics themselves as Cash points out that not even the grave can keep him from reaching the promised land.

It’s final songs like “Ain’t No Grave” which continues to build the legend that is Johnny Cash. He’s gone beyond music superstar and icon to just legendary figure who seems to transcends art and life itself with every gravelly-voiced lyric sung. If there’s anyone who can look the Devil and God in their eye and tell them to stick it then it would be Johnny Cash.

Ain’t No Grave

There ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down
There ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down

When I hear that trumpet sound
I’m gonna rise right out of the ground
Ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down

Well, look way down the river
And what do you think I see
I see a band of angels
And they’re coming after me

Ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down
There ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down

Well, look down yonder, Gabriel
Put your feet on the land and sea
But Gabriel, don’t you blow your trumpet
Until you hear from me

There ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down
Ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down

Well meet me, Jesus, meet me
Meet me in the middle of the air
And if these wings don’t fail me,
I will meet you anywhere

Ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down
There ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down

Well meet me, Mother and Father,
Meet me down the river road
And Mama, you know that I’ll be there
When I check in my load

Ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down
There ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down
There ain’t no grave
Can hold my body down

Song of the Day: The Man Comes Around (by Johnny Cash)

Posted on by Arleigh

We’ve now reached the final day of what has been a week-long horror-themed “Song of the Day” feature for the site. It’s quite appropriate that this final day also lands on Halloween and I’m sure many will approve of this final choice to cap off the week.

A week which has seen Italian film composers and prog-rock bands chosen for creating and contributing some of the best and most memorable themes to horror films which will stand the march of time. We’ve seen an epic song from a Montreal band whose music has the apocalyptic sound to it. There’s also two entries from films created by a master of the horror genre in John Carpenter.

The week began with Goblin’s main title theme for George A. Romero’s original Dawn of the Dead. With Halloween night the premiere of the long-awaited and heavily-hyped tv adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic book series (by none other than Frank Darabont himself) I thought what better way to bookend Goblin’s theme for the Romero zombie epic than by picking Johnny Cash’s song “The Man Comes Around”. One of the last songs penned and sang by The Man In Black himself and properly used by filmmaker Zack Snyder to  be the intro music for his remake of Dawn of the Dead.

This song with its gospel-like (though not as hopeful as most) sound and it’s apocalyptic and Biblical lyrics just speaks of the apocalypse like no other song from this past week has done. It comes off almost like a prophecy come down and spoken by one of God’s main dudes. This song when paired with the scenes of the zombie apocalypse crashing down on an unsuspecting world in Snyder’s film instantly made it a favorite with all zombie fans everywhere and introduced The Man In Black to a whole new set of fans.

I would like to think that when the zombie apocalypse does arrive it would be to this song as I and those who share my belief in how to survive such an event ready ourselves for whatever may come.

The Man Comes Around

And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying come and see and I saw
And behold a white horse

There’s a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Everybody won’t be treated all the same
There’ll be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and in each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter’s ground
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling, voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It’s Alpha and Omega’s kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks

Till Armageddon no shalam, no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at His feet they’ll cast their golden crowns
When the Man comes around

Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying
Some are born and some are dying
It’s Alpha and Omega’s kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It’s hard for thee to kick against the pricks

In measured hundredweight and penneypound
When the Man comes around.

Close (Spoken part)
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
And I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death
And Hell followed with him.

Song of the Day: God’s Gonna Cut You Down (by Johnny Cash)

Posted on by Arleigh

This song has been a favorite Johnny Cash track of mine. God’s Gonna Cut You Down really brings the Old Testament gospel side of Johnny Cash to light. This song will probably get more mentions and airplay with it’s usage by Ubisoft in the release trailer for their latest Sam Fisher game, Splinter Cell: Conviction. While it’s probably not the way I would want young people to get introduced to Johnny Cash by way of video game at least they will get to hear and learn one of the greatest musical icons in American music history.

The Man in Black takes what really is a very upbeat and hopeful gospel folk song and turns it onto it’s head. Using a rhythmic stomp-clap to accompany his acoustic guitar playing, Cash imbues God’s Gonna Cut You Down with a grimness that shows God in vengeful, Old Testament flame and sword vengeance mode. It is difficult not to get into this song even if one is not religious. The way Cash song-speaks the lyrics just pulls one into the song until it’s completely hooked it’s talons onto one’s mind and won’t let go. I know I get into humming the song almost by instinct whenever I catch a bit of it on the radio and now on tv.

God’s Gonna Cut You Down

You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down

Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down

Well my goodness gracious let me tell you the news
My head’s been wet with the midnight dew
I’ve been down on bended knee talkin’ to the man from Galilee
He spoke to me in the voice so sweet
I thought I heard the shuffle of the angel’s feet
He called my name and my heart stood still
When he said, “John go do My will!”

Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut ’em down

You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down

Well you may throw your rock and hide your hand
Workin’ in the dark against your fellow man
But as sure as God made black and white
What’s done in the dark will be brought to the light

You can run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Run on for a long time
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down
Sooner or later God’ll cut you down

Go tell that long tongue liar
Go and tell that midnight rider
Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down
Tell ’em that God’s gonna cut you down