Still, there’s plenty to enjoy here for both fans and the unfamiliar. Rick Rubin’s account, in particular, is one of my favorite parts of both The Gift and Cash’s decades-spanning career. The singer had basically been discarded by the music industry, and Rubin stepped in to compile an album from Cash’s library of hundreds of songs he’d yet to record.

“It’s his ability to inhabit these songs,” Rubin recalls. “It’s real.”

The pair captured the tracks in Rubin’s living room with just Cash, two mics and a guitar. The result was American Recordings, arguably the artist’s best album. To hear both Cash and Rubin discuss the process will always be fascinating — no matter how many times I watch it. It’s still baffling that the same guy who produced Beastie Boys and Slayer was able to guide Cash to create some of the best work of his life, especially in his later years.

Despite its shortcomings, The Gift is a unique take on the life of a music icon. By allowing Johnny and June Carter Cash to tell their stories themselves, this documentary hits harder in spots than a third-party retelling ever could. It gives you a real glimpse into the hardship, heartache and jubilation that Cash and his family encountered throughout his life. And these stories, just like his songs, have the emotional weight that only the Man in Black himself could conjure.

The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash debuts for free on YouTube on Monday, November 11th at 12PM ET. YouTube Premium subscribers will get access to bonus footage, which includes discussions of how “Walk The Line” came to be, prison shows and more.

Images: Courtesy of Sony (Folsom)

Inside Uber’s plan to take over city life with CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
Andrew J. Hawkins,
The Verge

This week, ride-sharing giant Uber announced a test that puts both its car and food services in the same app. It’s part of a larger plan CEO Dara Khosrowshahi describes as becoming the “operating system for your everyday life in a city.” The Verge details the challenges to doing so in an interview with the chief executive.

WWE Network 2.0: How WWE rebuilt its streaming service after a split with Disney
Chris Welch,
The Verge

After a flashy reveal at CES a few years ago, the WWE Network is by all accounts a success, amassing well over a million subscribers by early 2019. Disney threw a wrench in the plans when it bought BAMTech, the company that had successfully constructed streaming services for the likes of Major League Baseball and HBO Now. It was also what WWE relied on for its 24/7 buffet of choke slams and live events. WWE saw the writing on the wall, and rebuilt its streaming library from the ground up.