The Man in Black

Last night, while working on writing, I kept the TV on--a bad thing--;but CBS was running a tribute to Johnny Cash. This tribute turned out lackluster, a half-assed attempt to bring together generations of musicians and singers, odd pairings such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Kid Rock singing Cash songs with about as much enthusiasm as a stifled orgasm, all the muscle work without the pleasure. It seemed just an hourlong ad for the new film Walk the Line, of which there were a few clips shown that had already been shown as trailers in theaters or on the Web. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, the film's stars, made their appearances, plugging the film. Nothing really new or interesting was said about Cash or his career. And sadly several of the performers, including Lewis and Kris Kristoferson, tried to imitate Cash's signature wavering voice and style. I just hope the film doesn't disappoint as much as this ad for it did. Johnny Cash deserves better.