I know, how lame is that. Can’t help myself. I’m working on stuff I’ve put off a lot–stuff that doesn’t require me to engage my whole brain. And so I’m playing the three new-to-me songs that I got from listening to NPR on my hour-long one-way commute. One is Jeff Buckley, who sings that haunting Hallelujah you will have heard if you have watched Shrek and/or the West Wing. It’s beautiful–the kind of song that, when heard directly in your ears, makes you think that there is a God and this is exactly the kind of music s/he wants made. I heard a story about the 10th anniversary of Buckley’s death (two, in fact) on NPR and I knew that I had to download his songs as soon as I could. I just did the one for now, but I see an entire library going on my new best friend any second now. Wish I had known about him while he lived. Wish he lived long enough to keep singing. What a voice!
The other artists I learned about through NPR is the group Pink Martini and their new CD Hey Eugene. Go to their website and you will see this quote: “Pink Martini are on a mission to bring back romance and beauty.” – The London Telegraph. This sums it up–mostly. They are also a lot of fun. So, all you hipsters out there are probably all aware of all this “new” stuff, but I got to say: Thanks NPR. You’ve brought romance, beauty, and a really danceable song straight into my ears. Woo-hoo!
Tina L B Porter 
Thanks for pointing me to Jeff Buckley and Hallelujah – and then i found too that Leonard Cohen was the culprit/mastermind/deity who composed it. Lots of covers, all the better to haunt my inner soul.
The old congregation is gonna hear a few different versions before the coming year us out.
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Greetings from an old family friend! I thoroughly enjoy your blog and look forward to your postings. Pink Martini are from Oregon (where I now live) and they rock; it is a must see show.
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Thanks, Jess. I’m going to go look up those other versions on iTunes! Thinking about creating a “Hallelujah” playlist with these versions and other praise music suitable for UUs.
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Leonard Cohen actually wrote “Hallelujah,” and Rufus Wainwright also has a heartbreakingly beautiful cover of it. Also, my friend Peter Mulvey from Milwaukee sings it, but has never recorded it. I want to say I’ve heard a Tom Waits version, too. One of my favorites.
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I LOVE that Jeff Buckley song! It makes me teary.
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Wow, what a strange coincidence to me that you mention the song Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. My 15yo son recently made himself a couple of CD’s with a real hodgepodge of songs on them. It is all over the place. Anyway, this song is on one of them. I’ve been playing it in my van’s CD player and I’d never really listened to the words before until recently. (My younger kids have the Shrek movie on DVD.) I love it and love singing along with it (and I patted myself on the back for recognizing the biblical references that my son doesn’t get).
Again, a random coincidence. It is a good song, isn’t it?
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You got me to blog about Jeff Buckley tonight… he haunts me some days like no other singer has in years, and I have been hitting YouTube for all the renditions I can find tonight. I have stood on that pier, never realizing that is where he died. What a crying shame to have lost him and his music.
Thanks for touching me deeply and unexpectedly tonight. :::hugs:::
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