The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
    quinn esq's picture

    Halo.

    By quinn esq on Wed, 05/23/2012 - 9:37pm |

    Haven't heard a voice like this since Jeff Buckley died. 

    Born Laura Pergolizzi. Now goes by "L.P." She's originally from NYC. Now L.A. Gay.

    But just listen to that voice. Pure liquid. She does with this song what Buckley did with "Hallelujah."

    Such a gift, when these ones come along.

     

    Also, tough to beat this as a follow-up.

    Comments

    Thanks for the heads up 

    No kidding, I too haven't heard a voice like this.

    Very powerful and amazing how long the note goes.  

    I had never heard of this artist. 


    by Resistance on Wed, 05/23/2012 - 11:22pm

    Wow!  That was awesome!


    by MrSmith1 on Wed, 05/23/2012 - 11:36pm

    Good band and arrangement too.


    by Dan Kervick on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 12:13am

    I get what you're saying; she has a trill or falsetto and then varies her tone throughout?

    You're the expert.

    At first I did not get the connection to Tim's kid.

    A lot of energy.

    God, you get older and view all that energy so differently.

    Great tune.


    by Richard Day on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 12:54am

    Woh, man!   Thanks, Quinn.


    by A Guy Called LULU on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 1:16am

    Ah well, there's not the death-urge I would have hoped for, nor the funny German sounds to make it intellectual - if we're going to talk about "liquid".

     


    by PeraclesPlease on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 1:57am

    I love Cocteau Twins!!!

     


    by LisB on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:32am

    reminds me of another singer covering a song, both of which brings up the fact that it is also important having talent playing the music.


    by Elusive Trope on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 2:40am

    and with all due respect to Jeff, but I think we need to give the Man his due


    by Elusive Trope on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 2:49am

    Neither of those two are American, so I thought we better keep the talent comparisons within the same league.

    Otherwise, we just end up... here.


    by Qnonymous (not verified) on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 9:58am

    Amen.

     


    by LisB on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:33am

    Great voice.  Extraordinary control.

    Thanks.


    by EmmaZahn on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 10:30am

    Listened to both last night Quinn.  So sweet, and just what I needed to get me ready to fall asleep in a strange bed--which as I get older becomes increasingly difficult to do!  Peace and halos and whistlin' down a country road.  

    Bruce

     


    by Bruce Levine on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 11:26am

    I dunno Quinn, she almost lost me in the opening. She was way behind the movement of the song instead of driving it. Everything changed once she picked up the mike, it got a lot better, and yes, that is an amazing voice.

    Don't even get me started on Hallelujah. Buckley's version is beautiful, but just about every other person who tries it other than the master, Leonard Cohen, screws it up. Including, I'm sad to say, KD Lang. 

    I always feel like Hallelujah should come with a warning. "People, this song does not mean what you think it means. Do not sing it in church, or at the opening ceremony for the Olympic games."


    by erica20 on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 1:39pm

     

    The thing that impressed me most is that L.P. took a song that Beyonce won all sorts of awards for, which had been fronted by a video with over 150 million views on YouTube, and she not only did it a different way, she did it (IMO) enormously better - and all without appearing to break a sweat. After hearing L.P.'s version, I can only hear the Beyonce version as completely flaccid, self-satisfied, almost grotesque.* And so for me, L.P.'s lazy, almost inattentive start to it is part of that whole movement - taking the song away from Beyonce and making it into something else.

    Also, it has to be said that L.P. is not a traditionally beautiful girl, and is gay, and her early albums were punk and power rock. So to then take the song away from Beyonce - the Queen - and to do so wearing a suit, etc. - well, let's just say it strikes me as having levels to it.

    As for Hallelujah, I don't mind seeing people tackle it in different ways either. It's partly because when I was in High School, we read Leonard Cohen as a proper, English poet - I didn't even know the guy sang. And after hearing him sing, I certainly didn't mind other people trying different takes. When I heard Buckley, that was "it" for me - the best. But hearing kd lang's, I just thought, "Yeah. Different again. Different, but great too." So.... I guess I don't mind it being done as a hymn either.

    * Though just in case you thought I was joking about finding Beyonce's version grotesque, try reading this and holding it down (from Wiki): 

    In "Halo", Knowles professes her all-encompassing love to her heavenly lover with open-hearted emotion. She said, "['Halo'] is angelic ... like you see [angels'] faces instantly when you hear it. [Its lyrics] are basically saying that I had these walls built up about love; you completely tore them down and when I look at you I see your halo, it's really beautiful."

    ... On June 25, 2009, American entertainer Michael Jackson died while Knowles was touring. His death led her to perform tributes to Jackson at tour venues... During the tribute, an image of Jackson was shown on the main screen. As Knowles sang an emotional rendition of "Halo", she changed the lyrics to "Michael I can see your Halo / I pray your music won't fade away."

    On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake. A charity telethon called Hope for Haiti Now took place on January 22, 2010, in which many artists, including Knowles, participated. She performed an acoustic version of "Halo" with Coldplay's Chris Martin playing the piano. To make the song match the night's purpose, Knowles weaved "Haiti" into its lyrics, singing "Haiti, we can see your halo / You know you're my saving grace / You're everything I need and more, it's written all over your face / Haiti, we can see your halo / I pray you won't fade away." This version was included on the 2010 live album Hope for Haiti Now.


    by quinn esq on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 5:39pm

    Contrast.

    #1.

    #2.

     

     

     


    by quinn esq on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 5:42pm

    It bugs me a bit when people change the lyrics to a song to "suit the purpose." A song is sort of what it is, and some songs just aren't flexible enough to take that kind of tinkering. I probably would have laughed hearing the Michael Jackson lyrics, which would not have been very nice of me. And I'm glad I never heard the Haiti one; it would have been embarrassing.

    Props to Beyonce, though. However shallow the waters of her boundless fulfillment might be, I do think she owns/drives her version of Halo in a way that LP doesn't at the top of the song. (I will listen to it again though. And I did like LP's not-traditional-beauty and also her not giving a crap about it.)

    ***

    There are some songs that are just right as they are, and messing with a particular performance/arrangement is pretty wrong-headed. One that comes to mind is Sinead O' Connor's performance of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U." Even Prince doesn't do it as well, and most people don't even try.

    ***

    I guess what bugs me about most performances of Hallelujah is that people get the whole idea of the song completely wrong. The singer mentions the magic chord, notes that his/her chosen audience doesn't really care for music (with the implication being that the person doesn't get it) and then goes on to describe--in detail--exactly how that chord works. That is the warmup for a smackdown, not for a hymn or some kind of teachable moment. How people get from there, past the little verse about infidelity--um, what sort of "Hallelujah" are we talking about here, eh?--to a generalized moment of "isn't everything great?" and especially to a moment of "isn't God great?" warbled by doe-eyed teens clutching their bibles...is a complete mystery to me. 

    Of course if the singer does the song right, you know that he/she DOES get it, and the later-on moment where every breath, even with that stupid jerk of an ex was Hallelujah, is a great moment in the love/sex/god triumvirate like the one in For Whom the Bell Tolls or occasionally in the Catholic Mass if you skip breakfast and really let your imagination get going. (Doe-eyed teens and even KD Lang totally lost in the weeds by this time.)

    Anyway, I digress. It is true that Cohen is no great singer.  My mother says the reason I don't like most versions of Hallelujah is that I care more about the lyrics than melody. It is possible that she is right.

     


    by erica20 on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 8:21pm

    Also, I have to admit that I spent most of Beyonce's version of Halo alternating between wondering if Jay Z knew that Beyonce was looking at some other guy's halo, not to mention possibly polishing it so it could shine brightly all night long, and thinking that I had not seen a halo like the one on the cute green-eyed guy in far too long. This made it a little difficult to focus on the song itself.


    by erica20 on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 8:35pm

    On the Hallelujah front, the case for the opponents of doe-eyed teens comes from the song:

    There's a blaze of light
    In every word
    It doesn't matter which you heard
    The holy or the broken Hallelujah


    by Elusive Trope on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 9:53am

    Well-played, AT, well-played.


    by erica20 on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 11:59am

    I would say, however, playing this song in Church is right up there with Reagan's people choosing John Cougar singing little pink houses for you and me on the campaign trail.  The fact that he sings it doesn't matter whether what one hears the holy or the broken is not exactly what someone who is a true believer wants others to consider.


    by Elusive Trope on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:13pm

    I like this a lot.  She has a very interesting presence - confident, somewhat arrogant and playful, including Elvis lip curls.  Attitude is like "Sit back, and watch what I do to you with my voice."

    Interesting combination with the soaring falsetto scales with low, tough girl phrasing, as in "ad-dic-ted to your lies."

    After starting in the slow, casual tempo, when her voice climbs accompanied by the climbing dramatic hand gestures, the look on her face is priceless - sort of like "Bet you all didn't see this stuff coming.  Were you expecting Patty Smith?"

    Some playful girlie vibrato trills, like the kind of thing you would hear a bird sing in an old Disney movie.

    She doesn't interact with the band at all which looks like a deliberate theatrical touch.  Lesbian woman fronting a band of five guys,  She rules.  She's the boss.  They don't smile either, although they look like they are enjoying themselves in a very earnest way.

    That strikes me as a very hard song to sing, with difficult breathing in the chorus besides the extended range.  She makes a deliberate of exhibition of showing how easy it is for her, including flipping the microphone and doing a little cough during the bridge.

    The drummer really kicks that song into fifth gear on the final repletion of the chorus.

    Like this one too:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZnlUge5C68&feature=branded


    by Dan Kervick on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 8:26pm

    I liked this song a lot.

    Enjoyed Halo more the second time through as well, although I still think it doesn't breathe until a little ways in.


    by erica20 on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 8:44pm

    It'll be interesting to see what she becomes. Apparently, she was the Next Big Thing about 4 or 5 years ago - as a fairly hard Rock Chick - but when things didn't work out, she took to song-writing. And must be fairly good at it, writing for Rihanna, Backstreet Boys and Christina Aguilera. Now, she cuts loose with this song - a pretty good showcase for her voice - and a different look, different band. Be interesting to see what the new album holds. 

    Anyway, always fun to run into someone who at least has the talent and the attitude to do some potentially great stuff. Fingers crossed. 


    by quinn esq on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 10:27pm

    The girl's good, quinn. Thanks for letting us in on the ground floor. 

    Good discussion about covers, too. I don't agree with Trope about much but, yeah, you gotta give credit to the Man. I've been following Leonard Cohen since he was a McGill ghetto poet, then a novelist, and finally an astonishingly prolific singer-songwriter. I've already got my tickets to his November concert here. Suzanne, Isaac's Song, Joan of Arc, Famous Blue Raincoat, Sisters of Mercy -- what an amazing body of work! He's 77, people. See him live while you can.

     


    by acanuck on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 3:51am

    There is the little twist that most wouldn't be getting the opportunity had Kelley Lynch not embezzled all of his money.  I hadn't been following things too closely so was a little surprised to learn that the trial is just wrapping up.  Here is Leonard's victim statement to the court from April.  I heard an interview with him a little while ago that he is out performing now at his age because frankly he needs the money.


    by Elusive Trope on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 9:40am

    "...from the deadly intoxication of revenge to the lowly practices of self-reform."

    This has to be among the most eloquent victim statements of all time.


    by erica20 on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:09pm

    His Buddhist gratitude (for lack of better term) really comes through.


    by Elusive Trope on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:17pm

    I suspect deep down Cohen appreciates the irony. He's performed at his best, and to his greatest acclaim, since being reduced to penury. Thank you, Miss Lynch. 


    by acanuck on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:14pm

    Here is Leonard in London back in 2009 doing the Tower of Song, but there is a little bit in the beginning where he talks about his getting long in the tooth - not to mention he does a great performance of the song - one my favorites of his: (and apologies to Q for going off on a LC tangent on a blog about LP)


    by Elusive Trope on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:24pm

    Nah, Quinn loves a good tangent. I'm pretty sure he'd co-sign that opinion.


    by acanuck on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 10:15pm

    I just got my ticket for the Chicago concert (the day after Thanksgiving - seems appropriate).


    by Elusive Trope on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:40pm

    I figure you'll then appreciate the guy who does the best. covers. evuh.

    Take it away, Max:


    by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 6:49am

    I'm not sure about "best" (such a hard word to define), but it's definitely a very amusing and enjoyable cover…


    by Verified Atheist on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 12:44pm

    "Best" meaning "instant momentary personal savior". It might last for 3 seconds, possibly a year. But during that period, it's the "best. evuh." And meanwhile, your favorite band still sux. (best. t-shirt. evuh.)


    by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 05/26/2012 - 2:52am

    Thanks for that Q. Blew me away.

    Here's one for you. I don't remember where I found this now, but pretty sure it wasn't on your blog... Hope not.

    Anyway, think this is down your alley...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TYSBoAPXOQ

     


    by Anonymous Obey (not verified) on Fri, 05/25/2012 - 9:29am

    Belated thanks.  I've bristled sometimes over the fights you've picked here.  From now on I'll listen with renewed attention.  You have impeccable taste.

     

    thanks again -- arc.ca


    by arc400 on Tue, 06/05/2012 - 11:14am