Skip to main content

Hum Hallelujah

In my time on the air, I have developed a small arsenal of catchphrases that I use. Sometimes, there are lines that I use on special occasions, even if they might seem rather obscure and strange. I once described an overnight construction project going "all night long, just like the Lionel Richie song." Now, that's an easy one to spot, given how popular Lionel Richie was in the 1980s, and that was one of his biggest hits. But, in the last year or so, I came up with a line that is rather obscure, even though I argue that it is not.

From time to time, when a really bad wreck finally clears up, I'll say, "Break out the Leonard Cohen songbooks and sing 'Hallelujah.'" Some may say, "huh?" but, as more years pass, Cohen's classic keeps becoming more familiar.

I was introduced to "Hallelujah" the way that many people my age did: through Jeff Buckley's version on Grace. I've heard a few different versions, including Cohen's own rendition, as well as John Cale's and Rufus Wainwright's, but Buckley's is still my favorite. The thing is, this song is not obscure at all, at least to me. John Cale's rendition is featured in a key scene in the original Shrek, the song was performed on American Idol and The X Factor, and most recently, Cohen's version is used in Watchmen. Just read the Wikipedia page for even more info.

So, it's not an obscure reference, but it's not like I'm talking about the National Anthem. Plenty of on-air folks have their stable of phrases. For me, it's about songs with lyrics that apply to the situation at hand. The deal is, not everybody knows these songs by heart. It could be worse: I once said, "Break out the John Rutter and sing 'Rejoice.'"

Comments

Todd Carruth said…
Bring out the Men Without Hats, it's safe to dance...er, drive?

Popular posts from this blog

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Catherine Wheel

Originally posted: Tuesday, August 29th, 2006 Despite managing to release five proper albums, Catherine Wheel was one of those bands that always seemed to slip past the mainstream rock crowd. Yes, they got some nice airplay in their day, but people seem to have forgotten about them. You may hear “Black Metallic” or “Waydown” on a “classic alternative” show on Sirius or XM or maybe even on terrestrial radio, but that’s about it. For me, they were one of most consistent rock bands of the ’90s, meandering through shoegazer, hard rock, space rock and pop rock, all while eluding mainstream pigeonholing. Led by the smooth, warm pipes of vocalist/guitarist Rob Dickinson (cousin of Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson), Catherine Wheel featured Brian Futter on lead guitar, Dave Hawes on bass and Neil Sims on drums. They weren’t a pretty-boy guitar band, but they weren’t a scuzzy bunch of ragamuffins either. Though the band hailed from England, Catherine Wheel found itself more welcome on American air

Best of 2021

  Last year, my attention span was not wide enough to listen to a lot of LPs from start to finish. Too much went on in 2020 to focus on 10-15 albums, so I went with only a couple to spotlight. Well, 2021 was a little better, as I have a list of top four records, and a lot of individual tracks.  (I made a lengthy Spotify playlist ) So, without further ado, here’s my list of favorites of the year: Albums Deafheaven, Infinite Granite (listen) Hands down, my favorite album of the year. I was not sure where Deafheaven would go after another record that brought My Bloody Valentine and death metal fans together, but they beautifully rebooted their sound on Infinite Granite. The divisive goblin vocals are vastly pared-down here, as are the blast beats. Sounding more inspired by Slowdive, the band has discovered a new sonic palette that I hope they explore more of in the future. It’s a welcome revelation. I still love their older material, but this has renewed my love of what these guys do.  J