Comments on: Jason Castro Drags Leonard Cohen Into The “American Idol” Spotlight

By: blobby

blobby — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:47:07 +0000

@Poubelle: See, slagging off Common and Kanye as white-kid hip hop is the kind of unexcusably ignorant bullshit that, fortunately, serves as a universal signifier of "douchebag."

By: Jack Fear

Jack Fear — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:47:00 +0000

I don't think Poubelle was slagging off Kanye and Common; it doesn't necessarily reflect on an artist if you (correctly) identify some of their fans as poseurs.

Everybody owns a copy of Kind Of Blue; it's everybody's first jazz record, and often their last. Does that mean that Kind Of Blue is a crappy record, or that Miles Davis was a hack?

By: joshservo

joshservo — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 09:20:02 +0000

@riospace: Nope. I'm not going to do that. Sorry.

By: Adairdevil

Adairdevil — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:13:41 +0000

I know I stand alone and all, but I still think John Cale’s version (on which Buckley based his) smokes all others.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:37:49 +0000

OK, whoever wrote this article needs to be fired, quite obviously. How can you say the song has been "hidden in plain sight" when the one and only thing that made it popular was the cover being on the Shreck soundtrack. For whatever reason, everyone came over it, but how many do you think even know it's a cover or who it's by or would know or even like the original? It's been popular because of and since that movie; where on earth have you been?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 05:02:52 +0000

@sicksteanein: Yeah, that lyric is both sexual and religious. The old comparison between earthly and heavenly ecstasy.

Anyhoo, I think it would be even worse if one of these Idol fools attempted a song that's still more associated with Cohen, like "Suzanne" or "So Long, Maryanne."

By: Mike Barthel

Mike Barthel — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:42:02 +0000

You know, I focused on the song's status as a sadness signifier because that was what I was interested in, but it's also true that when not paired with a montage, it tends to denote some combination of sensitivity and technical prowess, like a male Mariah Carey. One thread of "Hallelujah" runs through TV and movies, but the other runs through dorm rooms, and that's probably the thread that Castro's picking up. (Judging by the judges' reaction, successfully.)

I know this Buckley's a freshman year evergreen, but I'm curious what else college kids listen to these days (besides DMB).

By: Lucas Jensen

Lucas Jensen — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:03:50 +0000

@scarletvirtue: @rina: I agree with all of you.

By: rina

rina — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:55:53 +0000

@Adairdevil: You are totes not alone. I actually prefer that version to Cohen's AND Buckley's.

By: Clevertrousers

Clevertrousers — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:49:55 +0000

kd lang did a pretty nifty version, too…