music

Hallelujah

March 10, 2013 By mario piperni

This is pretty damn good.

When Leonard Cohen wrote “Hallelujah” back in 1984, the world didn’t take immediate notice. And the song only began its journey toward becoming a classic when it was later recorded by John Cale and Jeff Buckley. Now, it’s one of the more widely covered songs out there. Rufus Wainwright, k.d. lang, Bono, Willie Nelson, Alexandra Burke – they’ve all paid homage to the song. So have lesser-known musicians too, like this street musician, Petr Spatina, who recorded a version with crystal glass. Be sure to watch it all the way through.

<story>Many, many years back I dated a young woman who worked as a special needs teacher. Catriona was also a gifted poet and writer. A few months into our relationship, she penned a beautiful poem which she lovingly said was inspired by me. I was touched. Wanting to say something special in response, I noted how her composition reminded me of one of Leonard Cohen’s finer poems. In fact, I had just finished reading Cohen’s book of poetry, Death of a Lady’s Man, so his work was fresh on my mind.

Well, that didn’t go too well with Catriona. “Leonard Cohen?” she asked, “The same Leonard Cohen who writes music and poetry to slit your wrists by? That Leonard Cohen?”

I was taken aback by her reaction to my well-intended remark and while rejoinders are one of the things I usually do quite well, not this time. The best I could offer her in response was a weak, “Yes, that Leonard Cohen. We were both born in Montreal, you know.” Not one of my finer moments.

In any case, we both laughed but, strangely enough, Catriona never did dedicate another one of her beautiful poems to me. Not sure why.</story>

The truth is, I’ve never really cared what people think of my taste in music or books or film or people or food or whatever. I love what I love and have never felt a need to have to justify any of my eclectic likes to others. Whatever anyone thinks of Cohen and his brand of music and poetry, I happen to love it.

By the way, no one covers Cohen’s Hallelujah better than Jeff Buckley…and k.d. lang.

Happy Sunday.

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Filed Under: music Tagged With: Leonard Cohen

Listening to the Falling Rain

July 14, 2012 By mario piperni

Creating that last illustration reminded me of how much I love rain. It calms me and fills me with a sense of peace. I haven’t done it in a while but I used to take great joy in taking walks in summer rainstorms – barefoot, no umbrella and always making sure to step in every puddle I’d come across.

When the kids were little, one of our fun things to do would be to go out on the back deck in the middle of a downpour and get soaked to the skin. Often it was against their mother’s wishes who’d concern herself with trivial stuff like wet clothes and pneumonia. I was less concerned about such matters. It was our way of being naughty without being bad and these many years later, the kids still speak of the fond memories those times evoke. I miss those times.

Below is one of my favorite pics.

The other thought that comes to mind is that I haven’t heard Jose Feliciano’s Rain in the longest of times. Love that song.

Hope you all have yourselves a great weekend…and if it happens to rain wherever you are, consider taking a long wet walk outdoors. And don’t forget to listen to the falling rain as you step into those puddles.

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Filed Under: music Tagged With: Feliciano

Battling The Two Imaginary Obamas

March 17, 2012 By mario piperni

Here’s the package Mitt Romney and his cohorts on the right are trying to sell to swing voters. Jonathan Bernstein views it as a strategy likely doomed for failure.

Want to see a great example of the closed GOP information feedback loop, and why it may prove dangerous for the Republican candidates?

Think about the two Barack Obamas that Republicans are running against. One of them is basically a fraud; he’s never held a job before he somehow wound up the Democratic nominee in 2008. Or, as Mitt Romney asserted today: “It’s hard to create a job if you never had one.” Oh, and he’s entirely dependent on a teleprompter.

The other Obama is the scheming, nefarious, stealth left-winger who any day now is going to unleash his radical socialist agenda. This Obama requires Republicans and conservative to chase down every radical “association” and every allegedly radical thing he’s ever said, no matter how mild.

As many have noted, these two Obamas are somewhat at odds with each other. But the more important point is that neither version builds a convincing case against supporting Obama in 2012. No one is going to buy that Obama is too inexperienced to be president; no one is going to buy that he has some secret agenda that remained secret during four years in the White House.

No one is going to buy it aside from hardcore conservatives who “live in the world where reality is defined by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.” Facts and truth are never going to get through the impenetrable bubble in which these people exist.

All that said, it bears repeating that once Republicans choose ~~their nominee~~ Romney, they will unfailingly coalesce around him and proclaim Mitt Romney to be the One who will save a country and its people from the evil clutches of Obama. With Obama Derangement Syndrome solidly entrenched, confronting the avalanche of lies and misinformation coming in from the right is going to be a battle all the way to November.

The left’s response to all this? No surrender, I hope.

Love that song. Live acoustical version here.

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Filed Under: Barack Obama, music Tagged With: 2012 election, Sprinsteen

What Do North Korea and Indiana Have In Common?

January 13, 2012 By mario piperni

Story 1:

North Korea punishing those who ‘didn’t display enough sadness over Kim Jong Il’s death’

North Korean authorities are reportedly punishing citizens who did not display enough sadness over the death of long-term ruler Kim Jong Il.

The Daily NK, an online newspaper based in South Korea quoted a source, as saying that the “authorities are handing down at least six months in a labor-training camp to anybody who didn’t participate in the organized gatherings during the mourning period, or who did participate but didn’t cry and didn’t seem genuine.

Story 2:

Indiana proposal would ban anthem embellishments

The proposal from Republican Sen. Vaneta Becker of Evansville would require any performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in any public place be in its entirety and without embellishment. She had earlier proposed a bill for the state education department to set standards for singing and playing of the national anthem at public schools.

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It sets a possible $25 fine.

The punishments may differ in severity but the idea behind the laws are identical – indoctrinate the masses into forced rituals of respect for the state. Someone, please collect $25 from the Hendrix estate.