Even frogs get sad
March 27, 2007 7:14 PM   Subscribe

Kermit the Frog covers Johnny Cash's cover of NIN's "Hurt."(NSFW)
posted by inconsequentialist (63 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
Holy fuck that's depressing.
posted by notsnot at 7:21 PM on March 27, 2007


Fucking awesome. Bonus points for Richard Dawkins and "The Rainbow Disconnection."
posted by ColdChef at 7:21 PM on March 27, 2007


Awesome. I wish Kermit's voice were just a little bit better, but still great.
posted by veggieboy at 7:24 PM on March 27, 2007


I kind of had to quit watching right about where addict Kermit started blowing Bob the dog. I forgot how much I loved that Johnny Cash cover, though. (Although it's pretty depressing too.)
posted by miss lynnster at 7:27 PM on March 27, 2007


Here's Johnny Cash on the Muppet Show. I caught the The God Delusion reference, but what is rainbow disconnection? *tips hat*

We've all given Ralph a BJ at some point...in some way

so true.
posted by phaedon at 7:35 PM on March 27, 2007


Henson takedown notice in 3... 2... 1...
posted by Rhomboid at 7:39 PM on March 27, 2007


and here's Kerm... ah Wynyard shooting up again.
posted by geos at 7:41 PM on March 27, 2007 [1 favorite]


Funny. But I had to stop at the part where he is tossing off to the picture of Miss Piggy. Some things really are sacred.

People on the internet appear to have much more spare time that me...
posted by drmarcj at 7:42 PM on March 27, 2007


Blasphemuppetous.
posted by tula at 7:42 PM on March 27, 2007


Be warned: it's a downer, and a knockout. As technically inventive and daring as the Scottish heroin film "Trainspotting," but it has more resonance and feeling. A phantasmagoria of self-destructive obsession that is so visually astounding it becomes its own saving grace. A fluent, intelligent piece of work whose sex and violence are anything but gratuitous, and exactly the kind of highly personal, no-holds-barred vision of life on the ragged edge that independents always aspire to but rarely have the goods to achieve. An unrelentingly dark vision that's as hard to watch as it is impossible to walk away from. Locks in on its self-destructive subjects so precisely, it's almost unbearable to watch. A powerful fable about love and addiction that manages to be darkly humorous when it isn't graphic or harrowing in the extreme. It’s technically striking filmmaking, to be sure, but what it’s presenting is nothing that many people will want to look at. May be an elaborate stunt, a bungee jump, but even so, it's forceful enough to leave a rare palpitating residue.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 7:43 PM on March 27, 2007 [8 favorites]


SPOILER ALERT:



At the end, Kermie croaks.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:50 PM on March 27, 2007


No link the the Sad Kermit website? The voice on Kermit's cover of Radiohead's Creep is much better...
posted by bcveen at 7:52 PM on March 27, 2007


phaedon: Google "The Rainbow Connection" sung by Kermit D. Frog.
posted by jmhodges at 7:52 PM on March 27, 2007


Or "to the", rather.
posted by bcveen at 7:52 PM on March 27, 2007


OK, seriously WTF. I couldn't watch past the tie-off of the touniquet with the head shake, because I almost peed myself laughing and don't want to blaspheme any more. I am going to hell.
posted by tristeza at 7:53 PM on March 27, 2007


At the end, Kermie croaks.

SPOILER ALERT:

One day, this website will shut down. Matt's successors will fight eachother over the big box of five dollar bills. All data will be lost, and nobody will be alive to recall this ever even happened.

[fade to black, display song credits]
posted by phaedon at 7:57 PM on March 27, 2007


That made me sad.
posted by boo_radley at 7:58 PM on March 27, 2007


.
posted by Jimbob at 8:05 PM on March 27, 2007


Oh. That was horrible and awesome at the same time. Or maybe awesome and horrible. Something, I'm not sure yet.

But in case anyone wants to save it before youtube gets a takedown notice, instructions for playing it on your video ipod might be here. Or - they might not. It's up to you.
posted by djeo at 8:05 PM on March 27, 2007


Interesting.

Johnny really distinguished himself with that song. He took it from NIN and made it his own. Twenty years from now, it will be his, and his alone, and it WILL be remembered. I like Trent, I really do, but not too many folks could compete with Johnny when he was on his game, and with this song, he was really on his game. RIP old man, you made our lives measurably better through your art.
posted by caddis at 8:16 PM on March 27, 2007 [4 favorites]


You can download the .wmv file here.
posted by dhammond at 8:20 PM on March 27, 2007


Oooh... it was Ralph the dog, wasn't it? Why did I think his name was Bob? Hmmm.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:24 PM on March 27, 2007


fuck. ah.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 8:25 PM on March 27, 2007


The puppet is perfect on the outside - color, texture, ping-pong ball hemi-orbs with faithful muppo-amphibian pupils, but the head should be entirely embodied by Jim Henson's hand with no further structure. Sigh. On the plus side this is funnier than anything K-hop has done since since u-know-when.
posted by longsleeves at 8:34 PM on March 27, 2007


Beautiful.
posted by Galvatron at 8:34 PM on March 27, 2007


miss lynnster, there was a Bob Dog in the nieghborhood of make-believe.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:34 PM on March 27, 2007


I've never seen the Johnny Cash version of that song before. What a powerful, powerful video.

The Kermit one... eh, not so much. But Cash... wow.
posted by Malor at 8:37 PM on March 27, 2007


You can download the .wmv file here.

Yeah, I figured that out a few minutes later. BUT, you might be able to adapt the same info to watch Homer evolve. Or watch Natalie Portman smash a bottle over her head. Or watch some idiot ghost-ride-the-whip his car into a baby carriage full of petrified monkies.

With hot grits. Mmm, grits.
posted by djeo at 8:39 PM on March 27, 2007




I dunno, I thought Johnny Cash's version sounded too...cue card-y? I wanted to love it, I did, but there seemed to be no emotion in the way he sang.

And Armatige, that was gorgeous! Thank you for posting that.
posted by Brainy at 9:05 PM on March 27, 2007


How sad is it that at the end, I was like, wait a second...Kermit plays guitar (and banjo) LEFT-HANDED!
posted by 235w103 at 9:11 PM on March 27, 2007


It's not easy being green.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:15 PM on March 27, 2007


I'm too scared to watch it, for fear of destroying yet another of my childhood's sacred cows... But I'm enjoying it vicariously by reading everyone's comments.
posted by amyms at 9:16 PM on March 27, 2007


It's not Ralph, it's Rowlf. And being one who, as a child, watched Rowlf's early TV appearances with Jimmy Dean and owned an officially licensed Rowlf Hand Puppet of my own, (and who agrees with the assessment that Jim Henson was more like Rowlf than Kermit) I found that scene the most disturbing in the video, and the only one that came close to making me laugh.

We've all given RalphRowlf a BJ at some point...in some way
As I said, I owned a Rowlf Hand Puppet. During my early adolescent years, it was the other way around.
posted by wendell at 9:21 PM on March 27, 2007 [2 favorites]


Awesome. If the voice was a little bit closer to kermit's it would be perfect.

People on the internet appear to have much more spare time that me...
posted by drmarcj


No, some people are just talented and creative and the internet is a great venue for their talents.

I've never seen the Johnny Cash version of that song before. What a powerful, powerful video.

I fail to see how that's possible. On some sites it's made the rounds so frequently it's become an injoke.
posted by justgary at 9:25 PM on March 27, 2007 [1 favorite]


This is awesome, although I'm slightly bothered by the way it's off key and doesn't stick to the tune.

Also, the Johnny Cash version of the song is great, but the video is horrible, clicheed dreck. It's like they came up with the absolutely most obvious readings and "symbolism" possible, with superficial connections between Cash's life and the lyrics, etc.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 9:28 PM on March 27, 2007


Since he's singing "crown of shit", rather than "crown of thorns", strictly speaking he's covering NIN's original, not Johnny Cash's cover.

(whatever, nerd)
posted by John Shaft at 9:29 PM on March 27, 2007


I think it's only right that I get to slit my wrists with a Nerf knife now.

why does piggy love kermie?
cuz he's ribbited for her pleasure!

posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:33 PM on March 27, 2007


It's like they came up with the absolutely most obvious readings and "symbolism" possible, with superficial connections between Cash's life and the lyrics, etc.

Welcome to wonderful world of music videos. I know what you're saying, though; the song is much better without the video.

The video for the NIN version, however, is pretty damn good.
posted by Jimbob at 9:33 PM on March 27, 2007


I don't know dawg, I thought it was a little pitchy in parts, yeah, a little pitchy, I don't know man. Not your best performance, Kermit, sorry man.
posted by _sirmissalot_ at 9:53 PM on March 27, 2007 [3 favorites]


I was alternately fascinated and repulsed by it. Were it for the lack of pop-culture context, I never would have lasted past the first thirty seconds, considering the out of tune (or perhaps simply poor) guitar playing and feeble melodic interpretation by the singer (Kermit impression or no, he can't carry that tune without dropping it every few steps).

The Rowlf and Miss Piggy cameos were certainly disturbing, but the glance at the black and white photo of Jim was strangely moving. For being an absolute desecration of two things I love (the Muppets and the Cash version of the song), I was more entranced by it than I thought I would be.
posted by kyleg at 10:05 PM on March 27, 2007


Johnny Cash and his fallen homies.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 10:13 PM on March 27, 2007


I fail to see how that's possible. On some sites it's made the rounds so frequently it's become an injoke.

Also, the Johnny Cash version of the song is great, but the video is horrible, clicheed dreck. It's like they came up with the absolutely most obvious readings and "symbolism" possible, with superficial connections between Cash's life and the lyrics, etc.


I recently heard this guy that worked on the Real World tell this story about an armenian editor on set, who gave him this unexpected gem on sound editing: (thick accent) "johnny, never meex buttar vith buttar".

the cash video is the first stupendously good example ive seen of a director or music supervisor not heeding that advice.
posted by phaedon at 10:20 PM on March 27, 2007


235w102: that was the first thing I thought of.
posted by aubilenon at 10:25 PM on March 27, 2007


that was fucking lame
posted by keswick at 10:37 PM on March 27, 2007


Okay, I officially apologize for having bitched about youtube posts. This is one of the funniest things I have seen in quite a while. Thank you.

amyms: See also, Rule #34.
posted by avriette at 12:30 AM on March 28, 2007


This was awesome. Thanks for the link.

And the song is extremely poignant in Johnny Cash's hands.
posted by maxwelton at 1:26 AM on March 28, 2007


I walk the lime.

Seriously, ow.
posted by fourcheesemac at 1:53 AM on March 28, 2007


He took it from NIN and made it his own.

It's pretty clear that Trent Reznor agrees with you completely.
posted by eriko at 5:11 AM on March 28, 2007


Great idea, although it's trying to be shocking in that Opie and Anthony, MadTV gratuitous sort of way that rubs me wrong.
posted by fungible at 5:47 AM on March 28, 2007


>I dunno, I thought Johnny Cash's version sounded too...cue card-y? I wanted to love it, I did, but there seemed to be no emotion in the way he sang.

Johnny Cash had something similar to Parkinson's disease. IANAD but his speech may have been the best his neuro system would allow.

>Great idea, although it's trying to be shocking in that... gratuitous sort of way that rubs me wrong.

That's how I felt about it.
posted by philfromhavelock at 7:38 AM on March 28, 2007


i liked cash's version. to me he seemed beaten rather than unemotional.

some of the kermit one didn't work for me, but i agree with kyleg that the glance towards henson's picture moved me more than i thought it would even though i knew it was coming.
posted by obol at 8:01 AM on March 28, 2007


I can only say Reznor is not fit to lick Cash's boots nor Kermie's perfect webbed feet. I wish you kids would find your own culture and stop fucking up my childhood.
posted by tkchrist at 10:24 AM on March 28, 2007


.
posted by Stynxno at 10:45 AM on March 28, 2007


That song slays me everytime, regardless of how manipulative the video is.
posted by brautigan at 12:56 PM on March 28, 2007


This is precisely why the copyright holders won't allow an actual, authenitc Kermit puppet to be sold to consumers -- just a stuffed poser doll.
posted by evilcolonel at 1:08 PM on March 28, 2007


Actually, since Disney owns the Muppets now, it would be a Disney takedown notice.
posted by MythMaker at 2:35 PM on March 28, 2007


um...not really the cash version. has the diminished chord and the vocal melody hits the hits the major third at the end of the a and c verse lines, which Cash doesn't do. and while the original version focuses more on the piano, there's still a guitar sound in the back, so i'd say this is a straight cover of NIN with no obvious musical reference to cash.
/nitpicking NIN fan.
posted by es_de_bah at 8:18 PM on March 28, 2007


thanks for the link anyway :)
posted by es_de_bah at 8:20 PM on March 28, 2007


Sorry to be a pedant but that is not Kermit, regardless of the puppet's merits. He's an imposter.
posted by Arthur at 4:30 PM on March 29, 2007


I can't believe people are trying to present these poignant criticisms of this video and not see how ridiculous it seems. It's kermit. Singing a Nine Inch Nails song. Giving Rowlf head. Come on people, enough with the film critic-y stuff.
posted by milarepa at 5:49 AM on March 31, 2007


es_de_bah is correct. The similarity between the Kermit and Cash versions is the acoustic guitar. Other than that, Kermit is following Trent to a T.

(I haven't had sound all week and was FINALLY able to check this out! I feel it enriched my life at least a little bit. Thanks.)
posted by iguanapolitico at 12:18 PM on April 1, 2007


Just to clarify my comment above - Johnny may have made the song his own, but Trent wrote one of the most haunting songs ever. The fact that Johnny's life was perhaps more tragic, and that Johnny sings like few others such that his version transcends Trent's takes nothing away from Trent's accomplishment in writing this beautiful piece of music.
posted by caddis at 9:05 PM on April 10, 2007


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