Wow. This is very very strange. The juxtaposition of Cash's voice and message with these celebrities (many of them notorious...)is intriguing. These folks obviously agreed to be in the video. Cash was/is a cultural icon who as an artist garnered the respect and even veneration of all types of other artists, most of whom probably regarded his faith as a quaint idiosyncrasy. So who is in on the joke? Other than Bono, I don't recognize anybody there with anything remotely resembling a public profession of any kind of faith. Are they all in it for the "art" factor...."gee, Keith Richards and Iggy Pop in a Johnny Cash song about the wrath of God" wink, wink, nudge, nudge? Could the director actually be saying, hey guys, what if old man Cash was right? What if the joke is on you? There may be more layers of irony here than intended. At any rate, good case for the proposition that sometimes the music video format can make for good and interesting art.
I know. If it is incidental, it is still telling. You obviously recognize a whole lot more of the faces than I do!
Rob, as one who knows the rock scene, do you think Rick Rubin is a Christian, or just a pan-religionist? If he is a Christian, he may be trying to send a message by this.
To me, it says, "All these people need Jesus. They just don't know it. Johnny knew it."
Don't know a lot about Rubin. Found this recent article (link below) which doesn't shed much light but probably tilts the "I wonder" scale more in the pan religionist direction. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/02/rick_rubin_remembers_johnny_ca.html
Wow. This is very very strange. The juxtaposition of Cash's voice and message with these celebrities (many of them notorious...)is intriguing. These folks obviously agreed to be in the video. Cash was/is a cultural icon who as an artist garnered the respect and even veneration of all types of other artists, most of whom probably regarded his faith as a quaint idiosyncrasy. So who is in on the joke? Other than Bono, I don't recognize anybody there with anything remotely resembling a public profession of any kind of faith. Are they all in it for the "art" factor...."gee, Keith Richards and Iggy Pop in a Johnny Cash song about the wrath of God" wink, wink, nudge, nudge? Could the director actually be saying, hey guys, what if old man Cash was right? What if the joke is on you? There may be more layers of irony here than intended. At any rate, good case for the proposition that sometimes the music video format can make for good and interesting art.
ReplyDeleteI know. If it is incidental, it is still telling. You obviously recognize a whole lot more of the faces than I do!
ReplyDeleteRob, as one who knows the rock scene, do you think Rick Rubin is a Christian, or just a pan-religionist? If he is a Christian, he may be trying to send a message by this.
To me, it says, "All these people need Jesus. They just don't know it. Johnny knew it."
And it really makes me want to buy American VI!
Don't know a lot about Rubin. Found this recent article (link below) which doesn't shed much light but probably tilts the "I wonder" scale more in the pan religionist direction.
ReplyDeletehttp://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/02/rick_rubin_remembers_johnny_ca.html