I choose the song Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, though I’d like to write specifically about Jeff Buckley’s version of the song.

Jeff Buckley released his cover of Hallelujah in 1994 on his album Grace. Buckley first heard the song on a Leonard Cohen tribute album he discovered at his friends house in Brooklyn in 1992. He began performing the song regularly in New York’s East Village clubs. Buckley’s rendition made it onto his only full length album, and went largely unnoticed until Buckley’s tragic death at thirty.

A couple of the song is obviously written about King David, and his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, shortly before her husband, Uriah, was killed in war. The lyrics express the ways sin can take over our mindset and turn us against each other for our own well being. The heartbreaking way Buckley sings the lyrics really emphasizes how tragic this story really is.

Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley has such an emotional meaning to him, and you can tell by the way he sings it. You can tell he’s not doing to impress anyone or to prove anything, he’s singing it because this song has a deeper meaning to him and can relate to him in a way. The song is very drawn out, showing there wasn’t much a plan while Buckley was recording, he just wanted to see where the music would take his vocals and guitar, which is why I chose this song.

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (Official Video) (2016)

Theatlantic.com (2012)

The Atlantic released information on Leonard Cohen and how he wrote this master piece of a song. They included information on many different versions of the song, including Jeff Buckley’s rendition.

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/12/how-leonard-cohens-hallelujah-became-everybodys-hallelujah/265900/

Biography.com (2014)

Biography.com released a detailed summary of Jeff Buckley’s short lived life, including information on the song Hallelujah.

https://www.biography.com/musician/jeff-buckley

I loved the excerpt from the play of virtue. I loved how it was acapella and that the woman were singing in unison, it really added a heavenly feeling to their voices. It was relaxing, yet you could hear that there was some tense story line being played out though the song. Hildegard sounded like a very brave, humble, inspirational woman.

I think melody is incredibly important in the film’s music. The music makes you feel a certain way, and enhances the way the scene is portrayed. By adding music, John Williams made Luke looking at the two suns on Tatooine an intense, and emotional scene, though t was just him looking at the suns.

The Imperial March gave me a tense feeling, like something big was going to happen. I feel more relaxed listening to the Star Wars songs because I have listened to those songs many times, and know what going to happen next. With Hildegard’s music I was experiencing a less relaxing feeling because I had never heard it before and didn’t know what was going to happen next.

I have to say I think I preferred the Louis Moreau Gottschalk of the Star Spangled Banner over the South City Voice version. Though the harmonies sounded great, and I’m sure took a lot of hard work, their voices sounded rather bland, and lacked color, and after a while I was tired of hearing it. I think maybe adding more dynamics would have helped it sound more colorful, and made I more enjoyable to listen to. I loved Gottschalk’s version of the song because of its texture and color. It had dramatic dynamics, and a lot more than just melody to it.

I can hear that little bit of harmony in Stravinsky’s version, though melody is clearly more dominant. This greatly varies rom the South City Voice’s version which included  lot of dramatic harmony.

I personally didn’t find Jimi Hendrix’s version of the Star Spangled Banner offensive because I enjoy hearing people change up songs, and perform them in a way that they love, and in ways that resonate with them. I think it’s a risky move to change something as important to a country as the national anthem, and someone people might like it, but there will always be people who don’t. It almost reminded me of Fergie’s version of the national anthem, which I did not enjoy, and how drastically she changed it.

I first heard the Star Spangled Banner when I was very young (around seven or eight). I heard it on my grandparents television, being sung at a Royals baseball game by a country singer, I couldn’t tell you his name though. I couldn’t say I was a fan of his version considering country was, and still is, one of my least favorite genres of music. Though afterward my grandma showed me Whitney Huston’s version of the song, and I have to say I liked that one significantly better.

I think our national anthem is a pretty incredible one, considering our national anthem was almost yankee doodle. It’s a bit of a long complicated song for a national anthem, but a very dramatic, and patriotic song, in which I am a fan of.

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.

— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.