mincetapes

reports have recently surfaced that johnny cash has been living and working, secretly, in remote central russia. mr. cash, who was widely believed to be deceased, is in fact living in a trailer and working with remarkable industriousness on a new set of recordings in a style he has not previously explored. although broadly in the vein of the rock, country, and folk-style recordings for which he is best known, his new output bears the pronounced influence of commercial chart music and teen-pop, in its production and general aesthetic sense. this new work, which mr. cash is said to be producing at a prodigious rate, is of markedly higher quality than his already acclaimed past work, or indeed just about any known music, past or present.

rumors are also circulating that teenpop veteran ashlee simpson has had a hand in the proceedings, with the exact nature of her involvement remaining the subject of much speculation and little knowable fact. ms. simpson declined comment on any aspect of their relationship beyond the professional, but she did remark that "on the one hand, i've been something of a guide to him in this first exposure to the world on modern commercial pop, but for the most part [mr. cash] has absolutely taken the lead at every stage of this project, with a very clear vision of how he wants to work in this hitherto unknown bridging of genres."

a number of other highly respected and legendary musicians have been making similar and sudden shifts into the chart-pop vein, apparently with almost uniformly brilliant results. it remains unclear exactly who is doing this - possibly bob dylan, and also - with greater certainty - a jar of coriander seeds and a small pile of pinenuts.

the reported quality of this work is so great that many critics have rapidly rearranged their year-end "best of" lists to feature most or all of this newly emerging music, despite the fact that it hasn't been officially released, and with few exceptions hasn't even been heard. indeed, the music is so tremendous that, based merely on hearsay, it's forcing a major critical and popular reassessment of commercial chart-pop music, in both aesthetic terms and conceptions about the artistic "legitimacy" of the process.

dating these recordings to a specific year is proving somewhat difficult, as it's conceivable that this music is only now becoming known after having existed undiscovered for some indeterminate length of time. it's also possible that none of this has actually happened yet, but it will soon, perhaps next year.

it's therefore still unclear whether or not mr. cash is now, in fact, dead - having completed this last burst of recordings as the final, and now clearly most important, chapter in his legacy - or whether he is still secretly alive, and perhaps has not even begun yet to create this masterful work.