Johnny Cash "Hurt" and Bellatrix Live at the Lyric Hammersmith

I have chosen to review two performances. One is Johnny Cash's music video for "Hurt" and the other was watching Bellatrix the beatboxer live at the Lyric Theatre because both had an impact on my musical development

Johnny Cash "Hurt" and Bellatrix Live at the Lyric Hammersmith

I have chosen to review two performances. One is Johnny Cash's music video for "Hurt" and the other was watching Bellatrix the beatboxer live at the Lyric Theatre.

Video for Hurt by Johnny Cash

I have chosen to review Johnny Cash's version of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurtbecause it is one of my favourite music video's.

The Plot

At the start of the video we see Johny Cash playing the guitar in his later years. He's shown to be looking at the past and an American flag flashed on screen. He looks contemplative and almost worn out as he sings the first verse. The words are really powerful because he says:

"I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real. I believe that he is reflecting upon his life and looking at his younger self. The video then pans to the Johnny Cash museum being closed to the public as he sings "The needle tears a hole". I think he is referencing his own battle with heroin addiction here as he says, "I tried to kill it all away, but I remember everything". He seems to be trying to forget his past and his battle with alcohol and drugs and remembering how he tried to numb his pain with them.

The video then shows a steam train in the past (a reference to his childhood and his love of them, and being on the road constantly perhaps) and him walking solemnly on the beach. We then see footage of his younger self with his son while he sings "Everyone I know goes away in the end". This is a reference to getting old and facing his own mortality and the fact that nothing is forever and he wishes it was - people around him dying and the fact that all life comes to an end. Then we see him with his wife in his younger days and then when he got arrested. "And you could have it all, my empire of dirt". Here he says ...

Her is the video on Youtube:

This video is really meaningful because of Johnny Cash's life. He was an alcoholic and a heroin addict for years and struggled to maintain relationships. He was born in Arkansas in 1932 and was one of seven children. He struggled a lot in early life because of the Great Depression and this really shows in his songs. He also lost a brother when he was 10 years old due to an accident and said he lived with the guilt about this for his whole life. He struggled with alcohol and drugs and this led to the breakup of his first marriage. He then met June Carter who he credits with saving his life. Here is a quote that sums him up:

"Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight."

Review of Bellatrix at the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith 30th November 2016

I was part of a performance at the Lyric Theatre for Sounding Off and we got to watch performers at the start of the concert. My favourite artist from the day was Bellatrix the UK champion beatboxer. Bellatrix is known for being able to beatbox in a wide range of styles and genres and she showed off almost all of these in her performance.

She started with some EDM and singing with beatboxing then moved onto drum'n'bass and dubstep. She's really individual because she doesn't stick to a regular beat and changes styles throughout her performance. I like her because she is quite soft-spoken but when she beatboxes her voice sounds huge. You can tell that she has had classical music background having studied at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music because she incorporates all of this in her performance. After seeing her I felt really inspired about beatboxing and it made me want to improve myself.

Here is a video of her performance:

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1 Comments

  • Luke Taylor

    On 19 July 2017, 10:14 Luke Taylor Contributor commented:

    Cash's version of "Hurt" is so much more emotional than the original...

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