Like Dangling Crack In Front of an Idiot

Hallelujah

mood: nerdy

Some of you may remember my love for covers of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Well, I ganked this download site from a comment in

dimethirwen's journal (there are other links in that entry that I haven't explored yet, so this could be a goldmine).

Anyway, I fully encourage everyone to go.

I tend to prefer the song with a bit of passion. Often I like restraint, but this is one, to me, that there is a danger of under performing (I couldn't even get through the Dresden Doll's live version before giving up on it), and no matter how hard you belt it out, it's hard to overdo it.

Right now I'm enjoying Allison Crowe's version. I also like Imogen Heap's somewhat acapella (save for a few editing tricks where she appears to sing with herself) version. It sounds, appropriately, raw. Kathryn Williams version is also beautiful, simple, and breathtaking.

Posted on Mar. 8th, 2008 at 12:38 am | Link | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Comments

etre

they just released the rights to that song american idol, and a contestant sang it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d4U2KLNwGE

it wasn't that bad, actually. he didn't completely butcher it.

Posted on Mar. 8th, 2008 09:32 am (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

alchemi

He didn't do badly at all. I don't know enough about music to know about the degree of difficulty - I've mentioned before that I think this is one of the harder songs to butcher just because it is such a good song that even done poorly it still sounds pretty good (I have now encountered some shitty versions, though, so maybe I will have to revisit).

It would be nice if they let them sing the entire song.

Posted on Mar. 8th, 2008 09:44 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

kyra_ojosverdes

Oooh. Thank you!!!

Posted on Mar. 8th, 2008 02:22 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

reveritas

this is completely awesome!

i like bono's.

Posted on Mar. 8th, 2008 07:22 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

drewholio

Check out Jeff Buckley's version. The man's voice can't be beat.

Posted on Mar. 9th, 2008 01:57 am (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

serafaery

It sounds pretty awesome on the ukelele.

Posted on Mar. 10th, 2008 10:07 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

fitfool

which version has the ukelele?

Posted on Mar. 13th, 2008 12:10 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

serafaery

Oh, just this guy E at the open mic at the cafe I was visiting played it on the ukelele. It was awesome.

Posted on Mar. 13th, 2008 06:58 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

fitfool

gold mine! Thanks for posting that link. I'm having fun listening to the covers too. So far I'm still most drawn to the original but I really like listening to the covers too. I like Allison Crowe's and John Cale's versions so far. Oh and here's a link to the Jeff
Buckley version someone else mentioned. I've never really listened to the lyrics before. What's it supposed to be about?

Posted on Mar. 13th, 2008 12:11 pm (UTC) | Link | Thread | Reply

alchemi

Well, Cohen is a genuinely accomplished poet, so it's actually a little harder to tell then most songs. My suspicion, though, is that it's about a woman/relationships (I am reminded of John Donne, who's poems with blatantly religious themes tended to be about sex, while his poems with blatantly sexual themes tended to be about religion).

Posted on Mar. 13th, 2008 02:08 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply

fitfool

yeah...I got a woman/sex vibe off of the words but still thought the lyrics looked almost nonsensical when I just read them. Still love the song.

Posted on Mar. 23rd, 2008 06:49 pm (UTC) | Link | Parent | Thread | Reply