Dear John

Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
12" x 9", oil on wood, 2005

Johnny Cash did not make the top 100 list this year. It's actually been seven years since he did. I just realized he's not even represented in the archive (to your right). And now this has to change, I have always liked Johnny Cash and he never stopped scoring points for songs I'd listened to. Through repeated play over the years, Hurt, a cover of a Nine Inch Nails song from the album American Recordings IV, entered this year into my "All Times" list. In a week full of things breaking down and dying, one positive thing happened: I was able to get everything I wanted from the hard drive of my old, long dead, computer. That includes a full set of images from three top 100 years, as well as a lot of the music that were in those lists. The Top 100 2005 included five paintings featuring a chicken. I know it's very silly to put one on top of June Carter Cash' head but hey, at the time I thought it was a good idea. (Ouch) I have a Johnny Cash 45 titled The Chicken in Black.