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Hallelujah

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited January 2023 in General Chat
This has probably already been done and moderators I won't be offended if you decide to move this to Entertainment.

It just felt right that I should post this here.

As you may or may not know, The X Factor winner has released "Hallelujah" as her "winner's song."

The song Hallelujah was actually written originally, with 60 verses and two versions by poet, novelist and musician Leonard Cohen. It has been covered superbly by amazing artists such as John Cale, Rufus Wainwright, and most popularly - Jeff Buckley.

The X Factor has turned the song into a gospel song, implying it's about Christianity.

The song is inspired by the OLD Testament, but it is actually about the human emotions surrounding lost love, sex and revenge.

Surely this kind of thing can't keep happening - classics being covered by people with no discernible talent, as a way of making a profit for a record company?

Surely that is not what music is about?

I'm asking everyone to do real music a favour and download Jeff Buckley's Hallalujah. It is estimated to be at number 3 in the charts.

I am a member of the Facebook group "Make Jeff Buckley #1 for Xmas". We are all agreed that it is unlikely he will get to number 1 - however fantastic that might be - but even if he gets to number 2, it would be an amazing achievement for REAL music fans, and people listening to the radio would be able to hear what the song is supposed to sound like before hearing the X Factor offering.

Here is the link to the video on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ

It can be downloaded for a very small price from www.play.com. www.itunes.co.uk and 7digital.co.uk .

By the way I have nothing against the X Factor winner or any of the contestants, I just feel it is wrong to cover classics like this.

Thank you.
Post edited by JustV on
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HunnyPot wrote: »
    This has probably already been done and moderators I won't be offended if you decide to move this to Entertainment.

    It just felt right that I should post this here.

    As you may or may not know, The X Factor winner has released "Hallelujah" as her "winner's song."

    The song Hallelujah was actually written originally, with 60 verses and two versions by poet, novelist and musician Leonard Cohen. It has been covered superbly by amazing artists such as John Cale, Rufus Wainwright, and most popularly - Jeff Buckley.

    The X Factor has turned the song into a gospel song, implying it's about Christianity.

    The song is inspired by the OLD Testament, but it is actually about the human emotions surrounding lost love, sex and revenge.

    Surely this kind of thing can't keep happening - classics being covered by people with no discernible talent, as a way of making a profit for a record company?

    Surely that is not what music is about?

    I'm asking everyone to do real music a favour and download Jeff Buckley's Hallalujah. It is estimated to be at number 3 in the charts.

    I am a member of the Facebook group "Make Jeff Buckley #1 for Xmas". We are all agreed that it is unlikely he will get to number 1 - however fantastic that might be - but even if he gets to number 2, it would be an amazing achievement for REAL music fans, and people listening to the radio would be able to hear what the song is supposed to sound like before hearing the X Factor offering.

    Here is the link to the video on Youtube:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AratTMGrHaQ

    It can be downloaded for a very small price from www.play.com. www.itunes.co.uk and 7digital.co.uk .

    By the way I have nothing against the X Factor winner or any of the contestants, I just feel it is wrong to cover classics like this.

    Thank you.

    I don't think it's wrong to cover classics. You don't seem to mind the Jeff Buckley did a cover, or Rufus Wainwright. Also, what about Johnny Cash's version of Hurt? That's a cover, and yet it's something that many people love. They become classics, some people might argue, by being covers, reinvented by different people.

    I hate X Factor because I largely hate manufactured music. However, what the winner here has done is taken the cover and made it different, given it her own spin.

    There's a million facebook groups trying to get Jeff Buckley to number 1, which is grand. Some people are doing it to defend the 'original' but many people don't realise that, as you pointed out, Jeff's version isn't even the original.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HunnyPot wrote: »
    By the way I have nothing against the X Factor winner or any of the contestants, I just feel it is wrong to cover classics like this.

    Then why isn't the campaign to download the Leonard Cohen version?

    The Jeff Buckley version is pretty horrible as well.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't mind Alexandra's version.

    Also people will always cover other tracks, and by their nature the tracks that get covered are likely to be good ones, otherwise there's not much point in covering them.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    *agrees with Mist and Infinite Part Deux*
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Surely if you love the Jeff Buckley version that much, you'd already own it? And surely if you're such a serious music fan, then you wouldn't give a shit about something as famously tacky as Christmas number 1?

    Oh, and Infinite. Jeff Buckley version > Leonard Cohen version. ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    fuck Jeff Buckley. Leonard Cohen is a genius. His version is THE version.How could anyone hear his voice and not just melt. Its such a beautiful song

    The pop idol alexandra version makes me want to stab her in the eye. How can they get it so fucking wrong. If theyre going to being back capital punishment for anything, it should be for seriously off the mark shitty cover versions of classics
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I agree that Leonard Cohen did the original, therefore that should have been the one being made Christmas number 1.

    However the majority of people who appreciate this song appear to feel that Buckley's is the definitive version, and that is the one climbing the charts, so I chose to get behind them with it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    out of all the covers, I think Buckleys is the better one, but I just dont see how its a patch on the original. it actually pisses me off how people seem to think of it as Buckleys song
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I bet it pisses you off when people say that All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix is better than the original too, doesn't it? Well it is. ;)
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    HunnyPot wrote: »
    I agree that Leonard Cohen did the original, therefore that should have been the one being made Christmas number 1.


    That's rubbish though.
    If Alexandra hadn't sung it, none of them would be in the charts. It's making Cohen a lot of money - I'm sure he's not too worried about it. And millions have been introduced to the song.

    It's been covered 170 times - it's not as as though Alexandra is the first one to do a different take on it. It's not a big deal.
    HunnyPot wrote: »
    However the majority of people who appreciate this song appear to feel that Buckley's is the definitive version,

    You mean the music elite, they're idiots. It's just a song. Why campaign for a song you already own and already listened to a thousand times before, to get to number 1?
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I bet it pisses you off when people say that All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix is better than the original too, doesn't it? Well it is. ;)

    it doesnt, because i dont know who did the original :o

    I am happy for people to do covers, but they should have the decency to not completely rape the original song.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    That's rubbish though.
    If Alexandra hadn't sung it, none of them would be in the charts. It's making Cohen a lot of money - I'm sure he's not too worried about it. And millions have been introduced to the song.

    It's been covered 170 times - it's not as as though Alexandra is the first one to do a different take on it. It's not a big deal.



    You mean the music elite, they're idiots. It's just a song. Why campaign for a song you already own and already listened to a thousand times before, to get to number 1?

    +1
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Skive wrote: »
    That's rubbish though.
    If Alexandra hadn't sung it, none of them would be in the charts. It's making Cohen a lot of money - I'm sure he's not too worried about it. And millions have been introduced to the song.

    It's been covered 170 times - it's not as as though Alexandra is the first one to do a different take on it. It's not a big deal.



    You mean the music elite, they're idiots. It's just a song. Why campaign for a song you already own and already listened to a thousand times before, to get to number 1?
    Too right!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why campaign for a song you already own and already listened to a thousand times before, to get to number 1?

    :yes:

    Also, Simon Cowell's company owns the rights to the 3 main versions, so who is the real winner out of all the campaigning and outrage?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    go_away wrote: »
    :yes:

    Also, Simon Cowell's company owns the rights to the 3 main versions, so who is the real winner out of all the campaigning and outrage?

    Well not exactly. Both Syco and Columbia (which own the Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley versions) are both subsidiaries of Sony.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The campaign is not about the money, or who has the rights to what; it's about raising awareness of good music.

    And Simon Cowell won't get a penny from Jeff's version.

    ;)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think the primary motivation is about getting good music out there, I think a lot of people don't want the x-factor version being at number 1 (who cares about the singles chart anymore anyway?). Judging by pictures of Cowell earlier in the week, he could probably afford to wipe his arse on the original manuscript where the lyrics were penned. For extra he could probably have Buckley exhumed and have his hand pickled and used as the loo roll holder.

    I'm not going to buy Buckley's version twice ;) earlier in the week my mum said how much she liked the song (by Alexandra) and I sent her a link to the Buckley version, and now she's listening to songs from Grace, so it might not be the way most people want 'good music' made known, but if it gets people interested, then I don't see the harm. When the time comes, I'd imagine the first hour of Alex's debut album will be of her crying anyway, so let the baby have her bottle :D
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    HunnyPot wrote: »
    The campaign is not about the money, or who has the rights to what; it's about raising awareness of good music.


    That's a crock. This is just because some folk don't want the x-factor at number 1. It's got very little to do with "raising awareness of good music". There's loads of "good music" out there that doesn't have a campagin. Stuff that.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I can see both your points Mist and go_away and fair play to you.

    However, as I said in my original post, it would be just as good for Buckley's version to get to number 2, so people can hear that version before Burke's, and that is how a lot of people on this campaign feel.

    It's about showing people this song didn't come out of a magic hat, it has a history, and it has heart.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    fuck Jeff Buckley. Leonard Cohen is a genius. His version is THE version.How could anyone hear his voice and not just melt. Its such a beautiful song.

    Agree 100%. His voice is like velvet, I just love 'im. Heard him sing this at a recent concert and there's no shadow of a doubt that it's his song and his is the definitive version.

    I try to be ambivalent about reality show contestants, but I do sort of hate that it's a Christmas number one. Makes me cringe to hear people saying how "apt" and "appropriate" it is for the festive season because really... it isn't. But then who over the age of 13 really cares about the charts? The amusing thing is that one of the subjects of the song is meta-lyrics about the manipulative nature of music, though the manipulative nature of Simon "you don't really care for music, do ya?" Cowell. Credit to him though, he's damn good at it.

    Anyway, yeah, Mariah-sings-Leonard. It's depressing but I suppose it doesn't really impinge on my world of Cohen-listening-ignorance-of-X-Factor-contestants-and-their-exploits.

    Oh, and speaking of Buckleys... Tim's the only one for me :heart:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    briggi wrote: »
    Oh, and speaking of Buckleys... Tim's the only one for me :heart:
    Tim's insane. Great though. :thumb:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I have to say my favourite is the Jeff Buckley one :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If in the end any of this makes more people hear Cohen's The Future then I'll be happy - one of my favourite albums of all time. Hmm... wonder if he's performance from Jools Holland is on youtube...

    it is :)
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_drEFOaPaK8
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jim V wrote: »
    If in the end any of this makes more people hear Cohen's The Future then I'll be happy - one of my favourite albums of all time. Hmm... wonder if he's performance from Jools Holland is on youtube...

    it is :)
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_drEFOaPaK8

    I LOVE THAT ALBUM :heart:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm a Jeff Buckley fan..and I like the Rufus Wainwright cover too :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jim V wrote: »
    If in the end any of this makes more people hear Cohen's The Future then I'll be happy - one of my favourite albums of all time. Hmm... wonder if he's performance from Jools Holland is on youtube...

    it is :)
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_drEFOaPaK8


    Wow!

    That was magic, thank you for sharing that Jim! I think I prefer that to Suzanne now!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Jim V wrote: »

    ooooooooh, thats loads longer than the one on the album, thankyou for posting that
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The way I see it, to cover a song is neither a good nor a bad thing. It's like remaking a film. If the original had good ideas but failed to deliver them in a decent way it's a good idea to redo it (e.g. Ocean's Eleven), but if the original was good, what's the point? (e.g. The Day The Earth Stood Still). The point would be to do it in a different way, but keep the concept and maybe the story (e.g. Peter Jackson's King Kong). The thing I don't agree with is remaking something just to appeal to a new audience.
    Some covers can be better or worse than the original, some can be just the same but in a different way. It's all down to money when it comes out like this and that's what X-Factor's all about. In a couple of years, nobody is going to even remember this winner. From these type of reality shows only three acts stand out: Will Young, Leona Lewis and Girls Aloud. These are still going strong, but where are the rest?
    Personally, I think listen to the song and appreciate it for it's own merit or forget it sooner than everyone else will.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I want my tacky singles dammit, tacky is Christmas. :thumb:
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