Hallelujah

[LouieB]

We talk about this song from time to time here and clearly it is now a famous song. Most of this I knew, but I never really knew why Cale's version was somewhat different..now I know.

 

(Of course it is ridiculous to think this is the first rock standard, since some of the songs of Little Richard, Chuck Berry and such things as Blue Suede Shoes are certainly rock standards...as is Proud Mary, some of the Beatles, Stones, etc., but what the heck.)

 

LouieB

 

 

'Hallelujah' goes from 'Idol' to hit

By Geoff Edgers | The Boston Globe

March 18, 2008

 

If you watch television, the song has by now become unmistakable: A spare piano chord, a breathy voice and opening lines flecked with biblical references before an uplifting chorus kicks in. This is "Hallelujah," a 23-year-old song that has become the most trafficked tune of the soundtrack era, setting the mood for dozens of TV shows and films.

 

Last week, the no-longer cult classic achieved loftier status. Its most popular cover version, released by the late Jeff Buckley in 1994, zoomed to No. 1 on the iTunes download chart, thanks to that ultimate signifier of 21st Century ubiquity, a performance by an "American Idol" competitor. At the same time, Leonard Cohen, the song's enigmatic 73-year-old composer, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, serenaded with a version of the song by popular Irish balladeer Damien Rice.

 

Process of discovery

 

"This is a watershed moment," said Michael Barthel, a Syracuse University graduate student who last year presented an academic paper on the song's staying power. "Every generation discovers 'Hallelujah,' and right now, a whole new generation of people is discovering it."

 

How does a rock-era song becomes a standard at a moment when radio play is hopelessly fragmented and pop songs are more beat-driven than lyrical? More often than not, it's delivered in the background of a wordless montage featuring life, death, or heartache. Among the TV shows that have given "Hallelujah" prominent play are "House," "The West Wing," "Cold Case," "The L Word," "Nip/Tuck," "Lost" and "Ugly Betty." With its somber tone, "Hallelujah" has been used to dramatize real-life tragedy, including episodes of "Without a Trace" and "Third Watch" centered on Sept. 11.

 

"It's so emotional and has a slow build and definitely can pack a punch," said Alyson Vidoli, music coordinator for GO Music Services, which finds music for "House," "Dexter" and several other shows.

 

"Somehow, it always seems to fit for the moment, and when you hear it, you say, 'We need more songs that are inspirational,'" added Tom Calderone, executive vice president of VH1.

 

Singer Brandi Carlile calls "Hallelujah" the "best song ever written."

 

"We have jazz standards and folk standards that have been passed down to generations," said Carlile. "We don't have that in rock 'n' roll right now. So it's kind of exciting to think of a song like 'Hallelujah' being sung 200 years."

 

It's an unlikely path for a song that was barely noticed upon its release. Cohen, a Canadian cult hero, wrote "Hallelujah," and recorded it in the early '80s for his "Various Positions" album. In the past, he has described it as "a song about the broken." The singer, who rarely talks to the press, declined an interview for this story.

 

Inauspicious beginning

 

The album did not make a dent in the record charts. The song's long path to iTunes began in the early '90s when another cult hero, former Velvet Underground member John Cale, decided to re-record "Hallelujah" for a tribute album to Cohen.

 

"I called and asked him to send the lyrics," Cale said. "I had one of those old fax machines. I went out to dinner and my floor was covered in paper. There were 15 verses of this song. I went through and just picked out the cheeky verses."

 

Cale's recording -- sung with a simple piano accompaniment -- would be embraced by Buckley, who was the son of '60s and '70s singer Tim Buckley. Cale's version has been used on the sitcom "Scrubs" and in "Shrek," but it is Jeff Buckley's recording, released on his 1994 album, "Grace," that has been featured most often in television shows. And it doesn't come cheap. Vidoli said that the rights to use a big song such as "Hallelujah" can cost as much as $40,000, which most cable networks can't afford.

 

Networks enthusiastic

 

Networks, however, haven't shied away from the Buckley rendition. "The O.C." used it twice before featuring another version, by singer Imogen Heap, to mark the death of Marissa, a lead character, in the show's third season. In "Ugly Betty," the Buckley version plays as a character collapses and dies of a heart attack.

 

Many, though, hadn't heard the song until last week's "American Idol" performance by the blue-eyed, dreadlocked finalist Jason Castro. "I thought it was fantastic," said Kaore Bonell, 37, a business consultant in Los Angeles. "I had to research it and see who did it before and what it was about."

 

He also had to own the song, and bought Castro's "Hallelujah" on iTunes. Heeding the advice of "Idol" judges who praised the Buckley version on the air, thousands of fans downloaded that one in addition, or instead.

 

The post-"Idol" surge pleased Mary Guibert, Buckley's mother. But she has grown concerned that the version recorded by her son, who drowned in 1997, may be reaching saturation. Guibert does not have the authority to deny permission for the song's use but is consulted by his record label when requests are made.

 

"It's not special if it's everywhere," said Guibert.

[poppydawn]

The versions by Rufus Wainwright and k.d. lang absolutely slaughter me.

 

A few years ago, I was even left teary-eyed by a mediocre coffeehouse singer performing "Hallelujah". The song's just that powerful.

 

The snob in me cringed upon seeing the song on "American Idol", even though the kid who did it did a decent job with it. It just didn't strike me the way every other version - including that one in the coffeehouse - of that song has. On one hand I would hate to see such a beautiful and power song get watered down. On the other, it's good that people are finally hearing it, and branching beyond the somewhat karaoke-ized "AI" version by seeking out the other versions. I don't buy the "It's not special if it's everywhere" business. It's everywhere because it's special.

[LouieB]

Don't miss the John Cale version...my personal favorite...since it is how i heard it the first time.

 

LouieB

[poppydawn]

Oh yeah. The Cale version's amazing. I just wanted to throw in two of my favorites that didn't get a nod in the article.

[Good Old Neon]

Don't miss the John Cale version...my personal favorite...since it is how i heard it the first time.

 

LouieB

 

Agreed - Cale is the tops in my book.

 

His cover of LCD Soundsystem's - All My Friends - is the rare cover that outdoes the original - imo.

[LouieB]

Oh yeah. The Cale version's amazing. I just wanted to throw in two of my favorites that didn't get a nod in the article.

I have to admit, the kd lang version is one I have not heard....I was actually surprised that the Wainwright one didn't get a mention, it seems to be out there alot also. (Isn't it on the soundtrack album of Shreck instead of the Cale one...not totally sure about this... since I don't have that CD...and why would I, I no longer have small children.)

 

LouieB

[hardwood floor]

big fat meh to this song

 

way too overly dramatic for my tastes

 

i'm more at home with some crunchy smithereens guitars than some overly wrought sobbing, moaning jeff buckley wannabee droning "hallelujah"

 

can't stand the song. can't stand buckley either. makes me wanna puke

 

this is one of those songs that you're supposed to like for the purposes of indie cred but i suspect half the people who claim they love it actually can't stand it

[mjpuczko]

who pooped in your cereal this morning? jesus.

[JUDE]

big fat meh to this song

 

way too overly dramatic for my tastes

 

i'm more at home with some crunchy smithereens guitars than some overly wrought sobbing, moaning jeff buckley wannabee droning "hallelujah"

 

can't stand the song. can't stand buckley either. makes me wanna puke

 

this is one of those songs that you're supposed to like for the purposes of indie cred but i suspect half the people who claim they love it actually can't stand it

 

 

I actually like the Jeff Buckley version, and I have no indie cred.

 

FYI.

[ction]

I only know the GG Allin version, which is surprisingly touching.

[PopTodd]

Great song.

Period.

One of the best in an extremely deep catalog by one of the best songwriters of the rock era.

[CortezTheKiller]

I only know the GG Allin version, which is surprisingly touching.

Did he throw a big steamy pile of poop after he finished it?

[MrRain422]

I think the song has been overdone a bit, but it got that way because it is a great song. I've never heard a bad version of it.

[yermom]

I like

cover too (in an "overly wrought sobbing" kind of way ). I think of it as the version your mom is most likely to fall for. It's purty and girly.

 

Edit: There should be a poll for favorite version on this thread.

[Oil Can Boyd]

I was actually surprised that the Wainwright one didn't get a mention, it seems to be out there alot also. (Isn't it on the soundtrack album of Shreck instead of the Cale one...not totally sure about this... since I don't have that CD...and why would I, I no longer have small children.)

The Cale version is in the movie but the Wainwright version is on the soundtrack.

[mpolak21]

I'd give the slight edge to the Buckley version over Cale's, and I really like Leonard's as well. Wonderful song, and I am not saying that just to get "indie cred," Leonard Cohen was a hell of a songwriter.... and still is

 

--Mike

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Bono does an interesting version of it. It's got a darker, more sultry feel to it than many others I've heard. What I love about this song is how most artists who perform it make it their own. Most of the time cover songs don't live up to the original, but with Hallelujah, most versions build upon what Leonard Cohen originally did and keep going.

[Jesusetc84]

it's a little overdone at this point, but I still adore it.

 

 

I wish more people would cover "Chelsea Hotel #2", though I doubt "Giving me head on an unmade bed" would make the cut on idol.

[LouieB]

Edit: There should be a poll for favorite version on this thread.

Nah..wasn't really interested in which was better, they all have something to recommend them...

 

 

The Cale version is in the movie but the Wainwright version is on the soundtrack.

Thanks..that's what I thought. I wonder what happened with the Cale's version for the soundtrack. Actually if there is a version I like less than the others I have heard it is the Wainwright one, but it still isn't bad. I remember waiting until the end of the movie to check out the song credits to make sure it was the Cale version.

 

 

I wish more people would cover "Chelsea Hotel #2", though I doubt "Giving me head on an unmade bed" would make the cut on idol.

Well if you slur the words enough no one will ever know. I heard that song for years and never realized what Cohen was singing about (it is about Janis Joplin apparently...)

 

LouieB

[bigshoulders]

Leonard Cohen was a hell of a songwriter.

--Mike

Cohen is still above ground, Mike. And TOURING for that matter.

Buckley's version is the one I first heard.... that stark guitar intro is chilling.

 

Kevin

[mpolak21]

Cohen is still above ground, Mike. And TOURING for that matter.

Buckley's version is the one I first heard.... that stark guitar intro is chilling.

 

Kevin

 

Yeah I didn't mean to refer to him in the past tense, I'll fix that.

 

--Mike

[TheMaker]

i'm more at home with some crunchy smithereens guitars than some overly wrought sobbing, moaning jeff buckley wannabee droning "hallelujah"

 

Congratulations, pal. Me? I couldn't give a solitary fuck about "The Smithereens," whoever they are, and I consider Leonard Cohen to be one of the ten best songwriters who has ever lived. My point is that your dislike for this song is perfectly legitimate, but your vendetta against it is totally ridiculous, bordering on laughable. Enjoy that yellow cereal!

 

Best version: Cale, because he fashioned the template that every post-Cohen performer has built their cover using. Cohen's is underappreciated, Buckley's really is overpraised/overplayed and Wainwright's is just kind of there, borrowing left and right from older versions, but adding nothing new.

[mjpuczko]

i love buckley's & will never listen to wainwright's again. i don't like his music in general though.

[jff]

Singer Brandi Carlile calls "Hallelujah" the "best song ever written."

 

"We have jazz standards and folk standards that have been passed down to generations," said Carlile. "We don't have that in rock 'n' roll right now. So it's kind of exciting to think of a song like 'Hallelujah' being sung 200 years."

 

How could anyone believe there are no rock n' roll standards?

[LouieB]

How could anyone believe there are no rock n' roll standards?

Yea, that sort of undermines the entire premise of the article. Most rock musicians can crank out Roll Over Beethoven or some other old chestnut for the fun of it. John Lennon made a couple albums of rock standards himself.

 

LouieB