Comments on: Even frogs get sad

Even frogs get sad

inconsequentialist — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:14:01 -0800

Johnny Cash's cover of NIN's "Hurt."(NSFW)

By: notsnot

notsnot — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:21:09 -0800

Holy fuck that's depressing.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:21:50 -0800

Fucking awesome. Bonus points for Richard Dawkins and "The Rainbow Disconnection."

By: veggieboy

veggieboy — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:24:09 -0800

Awesome. I wish Kermit's voice were just a little bit better, but still great.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:27:06 -0800

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.)

By: phaedon

phaedon — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:35:53 -0800

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.

By: Rhomboid

Rhomboid — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:39:48 -0800

Henson takedown notice in 3... 2... 1...

By: geos

geos — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:41:24 -0800

and here's Kerm... ah Wynyard shooting up again.

By: drmarcj

drmarcj — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:42:23 -0800

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...

By: tula

tula — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:42:23 -0800

Blasphemuppetous.

By: Armitage Shanks

Armitage Shanks — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:43:46 -0800

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.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:50:19 -0800

SPOILER ALERT: At the end, Kermie croaks.

By: bcveen

bcveen — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:52:00 -0800

No link the the Sad Kermit website? The voice on Kermit's cover of Radiohead's Creep is much better...

By: jmhodges

jmhodges — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:52:04 -0800

phaedon: Google "The Rainbow Connection" sung by Kermit D. Frog.

By: bcveen

bcveen — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:52:15 -0800

Or "to the", rather.

By: tristeza

tristeza — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:53:25 -0800

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.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:57:45 -0800

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]

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:58:05 -0800

That made me sad.

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:05:24 -0800

By: djeo

djeo — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:05:54 -0800

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.

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:16:45 -0800

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.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:20:59 -0800

You can download the .wmv file here.

By: miss lynnster

miss lynnster — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:24:24 -0800

Oooh... it was Ralph the dog, wasn't it? Why did I think his name was Bob? Hmmm.

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:25:08 -0800

fuck. ah.

By: longsleeves

longsleeves — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:34:01 -0800

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.

By: Galvatron

Galvatron — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:34:24 -0800

Beautiful.

By: Ambrosia Voyeur

Ambrosia Voyeur — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:34:24 -0800

miss lynnster, there was a Bob Dog in the nieghborhood of make-believe.

By: Malor

Malor — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:37:09 -0800

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.

By: djeo

djeo — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:39:29 -0800

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.

By: Armitage Shanks

Armitage Shanks — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:40:03 -0800

Still the finest Muppet movie ever made.

By: Brainy

Brainy — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:05:58 -0800

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.

By: 235w103

235w103 — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:11:25 -0800

How sad is it that at the end, I was like, wait a second...Kermit plays guitar (and banjo) LEFT-HANDED!

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:15:21 -0800

It's not easy being green.

By: amyms

amyms — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:16:06 -0800

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.

By: wendell

wendell — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:21:06 -0800

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 ~~Ralph~~Rowlf 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.

By: justgary

justgary — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:25:17 -0800

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.

By: Joakim Ziegler

Joakim Ziegler — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:28:58 -0800

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.

By: John Shaft

John Shaft — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:29:33 -0800

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)

By: Cat Pie Hurts

Cat Pie Hurts — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:33:43 -0800

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!

By: Jimbob

Jimbob — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:33:58 -0800

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.

By: _sirmissalot_

_sirmissalot_ — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:53:03 -0800

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.

By: kyleg

kyleg — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:05:27 -0800

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.

By: Uther Bentrazor

Uther Bentrazor — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:13:32 -0800

Johnny Cash and his fallen homies.

By: phaedon

phaedon — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:20:19 -0800

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.

By: aubilenon

aubilenon — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:25:46 -0800

235w102: that was the first thing I thought of.

By: keswick

keswick — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:37:52 -0800

that was fucking lame

By: avriette

avriette — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:30:31 -0800

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.

By: maxwelton

maxwelton — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:26:19 -0800

This was awesome. Thanks for the link. And the song is extremely poignant in Johnny Cash's hands.

By: fourcheesemac

fourcheesemac — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:53:28 -0800

I walk the lime. Seriously, ow.

By: eriko

eriko — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:11:17 -0800

He took it from NIN and made it his own. It's pretty clear that Trent Reznor agrees with you completely.

By: fungible

fungible — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:47:15 -0800

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

By: philfromhavelock

philfromhavelock — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:38:55 -0800

>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.

By: obol

obol — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:01:02 -0800

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.

By: tkchrist

tkchrist — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:24:01 -0800

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.

By: Stynxno

Stynxno — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 10:45:10 -0800

By: brautigan

brautigan — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 12:56:16 -0800

That song slays me everytime, regardless of how manipulative the video is.

By: evilcolonel

evilcolonel — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 13:08:43 -0800

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.

By: MythMaker

MythMaker — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:35:20 -0800

Actually, since Disney owns the Muppets now, it would be a Disney takedown notice.

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:18:15 -0800

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.

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:20:12 -0800

thanks for the link anyway :)

By: Arthur

Arthur — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 16:30:37 -0800

Sorry to be a pedant but that is not Kermit, regardless of the puppet's merits. He's an imposter.

By: milarepa

milarepa — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 05:49:18 -0800

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.

By: iguanapolitico

iguanapolitico — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 12:18:44 -0800

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.)

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 21:05:15 -0800

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.