Leona Lewis - Hurt: The EP.

This weekend former X Factor winner Leona Lewis incited the typical knee-jerk reaction of the alternative scene for covering the tragic anthem ‘Hurt’ on live British television. Whether or not you agree with the choice to cover this song at all it’s worth looking at both how people reacted to it, why and if the cover had any merit.
Yes, I did actually say that! In the interest of balanced journalism the execution of this song deserves attention as much as the furore it has incurred. Getting back to the point, fans of the song were disgusted by the very idea that someone would dare touch ‘Hurt’ let alone release it as a pop song. But a body of all this rabble touched on another bone of contention. Many aggrieved fans said the cover dishonoured Jonny Cash as it’s creator, which is utterly inaccurate. While in recent years Mr Cash’s 2002 version from ‘The Man Comes Around’ has established itself as the dirge of choice it goes without saying that it was not only, itself, a cover version, but in the company of many others, published as the forth volume of the “American” series. It feels redundant for me to mention this on an alternative music blog but Trent Reznor, the mastermind behind industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, who are practically a household name already, is the author of ‘Hurt’, it’s original performer and some might say the best.
Cash’s cover gained notoriety for a number of reasons. His death shortly after the release of the single gave the song a reputation as something of a swan song. The video accompanying it shows Cash and clips of his past almost waving good bye to the world, his aged weakened voice and shaking of his hands emphasising a sense of tragedy in the song and suggesting he knew he was going to die immediately after recording this. All of this pretty much spells out the most potent mixture of factors you could get for a successful cover version. Add to this the many years of Cash’s work in the country scene and you get a fat load of respect to accompany the quality of the release. Fans of the original NIN version can perhaps let this cover slide for both its spirit and skilful execution. Both the original and the Cash version open on a slow and solemn piano intro and with the introduction of guitars leads to a slow and cautious build, which often pauses and backs down. With this halted pay off adding to a sense of tension, ‘Hurt’ has always evoked a sense of anguish and empathy with its music as much as its lyrics and at this point I feel its worth looking at the Leona lewis version. While I applaud it for almost emulating the original Trent piano intro and haunting whistle, in its latter half everything seems to go to ‘Pop’ so to speak. Leona builds to her characteristic high vibrato, a common trait in contemporary pop and her instrumental backing follows suit. In execution the admitted strength of her voice is lost to the unnecessary wall of guitars attempting to evoke something more operatic than pained and heartfelt. I’m not saying these pop people can’t hurt but I do get the feeling that this song has been chosen more on the back of its previous successes than any inherent emotional value. As the Cash case proves, all it takes is one solid hit and perhaps a decent tragedy for any sense of authorship and ownership to be lost. Many would agree that the latest tragedy is that the song was touched by her, but I must admit it wasn’t as horrendous as I was expecting. There is a spirit of dismissiveness to any and all who dare trespass on all we hold dear. Many alternative music fans are helped in their darkest moments by music that speaks to their soul and few songs are as soulful as ‘Hurt’. It’s easy to feel as if a great work of art has simply been shat on. Part of this feeling of insult comes from the arrogance of anyone outside the walled garden of rock and respectable music daring to even touch the song, but this particular performance adds to the injury by taking place on the institutionalised karaoke spectacle that is X Factor. If it was not enough to stand as a betrayal simply in its existence, it was unveiled in the most overt part of the corporate mainstream machinery and artifice that is this so called talent show. I don’t intend to condone or condemn Leona and this cover but this is more than a song to many, many people and appropriately enough they feel ‘Hurt’ by the gesture this performance represents.

For the past few weeks steam has built up behind an online campaign housed in several Facebook groups and an official page at http://www.ratm4xmas.co.uk/.  The campaign was set up to end the reign of terror Simon Cowell and his kareoke monopoly have held on the charts for well over 5 years.

From groups set up compelling people to buy singles in the precious window of time before christmas (which as of last night secured their place at number one) to a sustained number of requests on a variety of radio stations, one thing remained constant, a will to prevent this years X Factor release, A cover version of Miley Cyrus’ song The Climb, by the Joe Mc Eldry from reaching the top spot.

Despite a great number of groups being set up to push Rage there were also campaigns to promote the sales of  The Muppets Cover of Bohemian Rhapsody and Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’, though Killing In The Name Of was always a favourite choice for protest. Everything from the name of the band to the refrain of “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!” screams out revulsion at the current state of things.

In an on air comment when Killing In the Name Of was officially announced as the victor, lead singer Zach De La Rocha praised the movement as an “incredible organic campaign” against “the sterile pop mentality”.  A sentiment shared by band mate Tom Morello prior to the end of the campaign where he explained that it “tapped into the silent majority of the people in the UK who are tired of being spoon-fed one schmaltzy ballad after another”.

The sales of the single, advertised through RATM4XMAS.CO.UK have also encouraged customers to donate to Shelter, the homelessness charity through their Just Giving page, which has currently raised over £70,000. Jon and Tracy Morter, the husband and wife team behind the campaign have recieved a substantial amount of press coverage personally with a telephone appearance on RATM’s amusingly disobedient performance on BBC Radio 5 Live and a commendation on their actions from Simon Cowell himself. However, in other news articles Cowell condemned the campaign as being ‘Stupid’ and ‘Cynical’, targeting him personally.

Some have also condemned the campaign with Cowell again being at the heart of their protests. Simon Cowell signs a majority of his acts to the Sony BMG group, a company with which he has a substantial amount of shares on the basis that Rage Against The Machine is signed to the record label Epic, which is also owned by the group. So Cowell stood to profit regardless of which band hit the top spot, but in essence this is not what the protest was about.

To me, this campaign was about making the charts worth watching again, proving that the consumer could shake off the shackles of the pop masses and bring back some variety and excitement to what is essentially a set of statistics.

If you wish to continue the rage, Clothing Company Planet Neon Bunny are selling a T-shirt with the Slogan Fuck you, I won’t buy what you sell me for £10 with a portion of profits going to Shelter.

To order message Planet Neon Bunny Via this Face book Page

In the mean time, revel in the victory, and rage against the machine!