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[Frelga]

Did I tell you guys about the time we were driving through Indiana? The only thing on the radio was country. After about twenty minutes, hubby asked, "Wait, was that all just one song?"

[Sunsilver]

Did I tell you guys about the time we were driving through Indiana? The only thing on the radio was country. After about twenty minutes, hubby asked, "Wait, was that all just one song?"

Okay, have to confess I'm not a HUGE country fan, and am pretty selective about what I listen to. And if you look at my music collection, you'll find an extremely broad range of genres, everything from Abba to Zamfir, with Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and Tchaikovsky representing the classics.

There's even some German beer-drinking songs, and some Flanders and Swann (Mud, mud, glorious mud...)

But, um, yeah. There's more country than anything else. Especially from The Man In Black...

[Dave_LF]

Great song but very sad!

Yeah, I'm just not a fan* of country music, so I've never gotten into Johnny Cash. I suppose he sort of transcends that genre, though.



*I don't discuss those brief years in my 20s. I blame Freddy.

He does. I don't like country at all, and didn't even during my misguided youth, but Cash is great.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'm also not at all a fan of country music, but I love Johnny Cash.

[Inanna]

Same here - especially R. We saw that Johnny cash movie which was primarily about his first marriage, and his rise & ended with his second long lasting marriage. R loved the songs, and was really upset with johnny cash being not faithful to his then-wife. For R, liking an artist songs/paintings/etc goes hand in hand with liking the artist. So he googled cash, and satisfactorily announced that he was totally above reproach in his second marriage.


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[Maria]

I like country music unless it makes me cry. And if you listen to it on the radio, just about every third song or so is so sad I end up sobbing.
We gave up on listening to country music a long time ago because of that. I know my husband likes to listen to it, so I would try to stick with him while listening to the radio in the car, but pretty soon tears would be running down my face and he'd look over when it advanced to audible sobs. And then he'd ask why I was crying and I'd choke out, "Didn't you hear what they were saying????"

Apparently he can just let the sounds wash over him without paying much attention. I can't do that with music. It kind of hijacks my brain and I'm locked into the story the song tells. The music is a lever that shoves the story right past my defenses. I can't even hold a conversation if music with words is in the background. I just can't understand what the human person in front of me is saying without great effort.

So, in self defense, I'm pretty picky about what music I listen to and when. And that's why we listen to audiobooks on our commute. That sort of story, while absorbing, doesn't take my brain hostage.

[Sunsilver]

I have great difficulty hearing song lyrics, due to my hearing loss. That's one of the reasons I like country - the arrangements are generally pretty simple, with only a few instruments, and if the singer has a half-decent voice, I can generally make out some of the lyrics. Also, I hear mens' voices better than womens', especially deep voices. And Johnny had that great, big, deep voice. When I heard him live at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, I noticed he had to sing more softly when singing with his backup singers, or he'd just drown them right out!

Okay, they may have had more volume on his microphone than the others, but I noticed that with his TV show, too, when he was singing with other people.

Frelga, as for what your husband said, country music is sometimes described as "four chords and the truth..."

[Sunsilver]

I just came across a version of "Hallelujah" by the Pentatonix, and didn't much care for it, because they put too much instrumentation into the background, and gave it a rock beat.

So, I decided to check out the original, and would like to share it. It's a powerful testament to the song and the man who composed and sings it - this video has over FORTY MILLION views on YouTube!!

There's also a video available where Cohen talks about the song at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGpumEYjDAc The album he first recorded it on was seen as a disaster by the president of CBS records, yet the song went on to become the most recorded song of the last 50 years!




There's more info on the song and its history here: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/ ... n-20121203 in an excerpt from Cohen's biography. Quite an interesting article!

[Alatar]

I thought Pentatonix had no instrumentation?

[yovargas]

***walks into room***


Leonard Cohen is a way better lyricists than Bob Dylan.


***runs away***

[Jude]

** walks into room **

Lyricist. Singular.

** runs away **

[yovargas]

Great artists aren't afraid to take artistic liberties with such things as grammar and syntax.

[Frelga]

I am reliably informed that Dylan got the Nobel for "impact" rather than literary merit.

[Sunsilver]

[sigh] Alatar, yeah, that's what a capella is supposed to mean. And this is one time they DEFINITELY should have ditched the instruments!

Edit: Okay, I listened to it again, and am rather embarrassed to find the 'instrumentation' is done by them clapping their hands and stomping their feet (at least on the video - who knows what went on in the recording studio? They could have had drums.)

Still don't like it. It's okay up until the 2 minute mark, then they kick in with the rock rhythm. This morning, I could have SWORN there were actual instruments (guitars and maybe brass?) rather than just percussion. Somehow it destroys the flow of the lyrics.

[Sunsilver]

Yov, I just saw a woman's comment on Cohen's 1985 version of Hallelujah: "Leonard should have gotten the Nobel!"

Hmm...as a Canadian, (and therefore maybe just a tad biased) I'm inclined to agree with that! I certainly think he SINGS better than Dylan!

[Impenitent]

Have you heard his recent release, "You Want It Darker"? As an anthem for our times, it gives me shudders. Hineni, indeed.

[Sunsilver]

Impy, no, I haven't. I'll have to check it out!

What's Hineni? (Or who?)

Never mind, a quick Google search (with the CORRECT spelling this time!) turned up this link and video:

http://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com ... ys-hineni/

[Sunsilver]

I think it's awesome that Leonard can make such direct references to his faith in his music, and still be a popular singer! Maybe it's because he mixes the sacred with the secular, and isn't afraid to throw in the odd reference to sex as well. Also, let's just say Cohen's behaviour over the years has been more secular than sacred!

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/this ... opped_acid



Okay, finally listen to it last night. Wow. WOW!!

The song opens with the lovely, exquisite harmonies of the choir from Cohen's home town synagogue in Montreal, where generations of his family have worshipped. Then Cohen starts to speak, in his gravelly baritone, a very abrupt and jarring contrast:

If you are the dealer, I'm out of the game
If you are the healer, it means I'm broken and lame
If thine is the glory then mine must be the shame
You want it darker
We kill the flame

Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
A million candles burning for the help that never came
You want it darker

Hineni, hineni
I'm ready, my lord....

If you want to hear the whole song, just click on the link I gave above. Complete lyrics are here and include some discussion about their meaning.

[Jude]

Skip directly to six minutes in, or watch the whole thing. Prepare to be horrified!

[Sunsilver]

Very sad news:

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/manager-songw ... 33291.html



Sorry, didn't see there was already a thread for this: http://thehalloffire.net/forum/viewtopi ... =12&t=3898