ellenkushner: (book swords music)
[personal profile] ellenkushner
It was Craig Hamilton who posted a Facebook link to K.D. Lang singing it. Wowza.

ADDED: Hmm. I might like this Lang performance better. More intimate, less glitzy.

Date: 2008-12-15 05:11 pm (UTC)
tpau: (Default)
From: [personal profile] tpau
hmmm i still prefer Jeff Buckley :)

Date: 2008-12-15 05:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] squidflakes.livejournal.com
For my money, if I'm not listening to the original, like the Jeff Buckley version.

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

Date: 2008-12-15 05:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] trillian42.livejournal.com
I have an entire folder of mp3s of that song, and hers is my hands-down favorite.

Date: 2008-12-15 09:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ellen-kushner.livejournal.com
Part of the reason I decided to post this was the comments on the YouTube page saying "KD Lang - never heard of her before this - she's great!"

Well, yeah.

Makes me realize culture has to be reinvented - or at least reintroduced every 3 years or so.

There are kids in my KlezNut cast that have never heard of "Shakespeare in Love."

Date: 2008-12-15 05:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] huladavid.livejournal.com
I'm not sure if I know the song, but have you heard K.D. Lang's verions of "Calling All Angels"? (If I've got the title right it's on the soundtrack to Until The End Of The World".

Date: 2008-12-15 06:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mildmannered.livejournal.com
Her voice is so amazing. Though like everyone else my favorite version remains Jeff Buckley, this is a close second. The piano has some absolutely lovely grace notes as well.

Date: 2008-12-15 06:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mildmannered.livejournal.com
Also, I think it's Buckley's version that turned this in the standard it's become.

Date: 2008-12-15 06:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] birdhousefrog.livejournal.com
I'm really fond of KD Lang, have at least 2 of her albums, love her voice. The quieter version was more appealing than the glitzy one, that's for sure. This has always been a quiet song for me, a slightly sad song, as many of LC's are. Poignant.

My definitive version is John Cale's on "I'm Your Fan" a tribute album that came out in the 80's. His live piano version is good as well, but the one on youtube with strings wasn't. The strings overwhelmed the simplicity of delivering the poetry.

But odd you should post this just now as it's been a major influence in the story I'm just finishing.

Oz

Date: 2008-12-15 09:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ellen-kushner.livejournal.com
I do have that power, yes.

Date: 2008-12-15 06:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mildmannered.livejournal.com
Also, not only do I love that coat/skirt on her, but ... BAREFOOT. Guh.

Date: 2008-12-15 09:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ellen-kushner.livejournal.com
Your faboo icon sez it all.

Date: 2008-12-15 06:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] peregrinejohn.livejournal.com
It might be the most often-covered song of all time (and if not, it's definitely in the short list) - but that's because yeah, it's fan-freakin-tastic!

Date: 2008-12-15 06:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] forodwaith.livejournal.com
This is off her cover album, Hymns of the 49th Parallel (http://www.amazon.ca/Hymns-49th-Parallel-K-D-Lang/dp/B000267J10), which is truly awesome (in all senses of the word). Her version of "Helpless" is heartbreaking.

Date: 2008-12-15 07:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] paulakate.livejournal.com
Thanks for posting those, wonderful.

Date: 2008-12-15 08:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] julianyap.livejournal.com
That's a great version, though my favorite is probably the original Leonard Cohen.

Another KD Lang performance of Hallelujiah

Date: 2008-12-15 08:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] arielstarshadow.livejournal.com
I personally prefer this performance of hers:

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

There's just something about the emotion in her voice and on her face, and her body language that absolutely tears me apart.

Re: Another KD Lang performance of Hallelujiah

Date: 2008-12-16 09:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] klages.livejournal.com
That's my favorite, too. For about a week after I finished the first draft of my latest book, I played it over and over and over. Power and emotion and it moved me to tears.

Date: 2008-12-15 10:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shannachie.livejournal.com
Thanks for posting this. I love her intensity. And her voice, too. But I think it's the intensity that grabs you.
Edited Date: 2008-12-15 10:04 pm (UTC)

Date: 2008-12-15 10:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] scheru.livejournal.com
Don't think I've commented in your journal before, but wow, was that gorgeous! I never think to look for K.D. Lang's stuff, but whenever I hear any of it I get all caught up. Thanks for posting! ♥

Date: 2008-12-16 12:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] j-bluestocking.livejournal.com
You might enjoy this essay:

http://www.clapclap.org/2007/04/hallelujah.html

It actually includes a graph of covers by year! And a list of usages in film and TV montages.

Date: 2008-12-16 03:00 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elswhere1.livejournal.com
That essay might do for "Hallelujah" what 538.com did for the electoral college. Wow. Quite something.

Love the "sad montage" analysis! I first heard it in "When Night is Falling," but only the chorus is featured there; next time I remember seeing/hearing it (mit sad montage) was in The West Wing, but I think I knew it already by then. Then it was everywhere.

It might be that the raw emotional appeal of "Hallelujah" stems from the same place as that of the Kaddish, the Hebrew prayer for the dead (and, knowing even a little about Leonard Cohen, it's not a stretch to think that the Kaddish might have at least partly inspired it): a song of ostensible praise laid over deepest grief.

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