Bono said 'Hallelujah' was the best song ever. Maybe he's right!

Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen wrote 'Hallelujah' over a period of five years. But the song didn't gain much recognition at first, like Cohen himself - that wouldn't happen for them for a long time. The story of the song and its composer are intertwined, and co-directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine use that strong connection to create a documentary.

Late Starter

Leonard Cohen was an unusual rock star. This Canadian poet and novelist was 40 years old when Judy Collins (who made Cohen's song 'Suzanne' popular) advised him, saying: "You can't stay hidden any more; you have to sing in public.” Cohen could not sing or play music at the time. But after a while, he became very successful as a musician.

Rejection

Cohen was around fifty years old in 1984, when he finished his song 'Hallelujah'. He collaborated with producer John Lissauer and backing singer Jennifer Warnes to prepare a new album, entitled 'Various Positions'. He sent it to Columbia Records, and Columbia president Walter Yetnikoff asked Cohen to meet with him. Yetnikoff said to him: "Look, Leonard, we know you're great, but we don't know if you are any good!" Yetnikoff refused to release the album. It is noteworthy that there were three great songs on that album - 'Hallelujah', 'Dance Me to the End of Love' and 'Be Your Will'!

John Cale, Glen Hansart agus Jeff Buckley

'Hallelujah' was originally a long song. But when he was working on a Cohen tribute album called 'I'm your Fan', the famous musician John Cale made comprehensive edits to the song before singing it on the album. But there was still an ingredient missing – in the name of Jeff Buckley!

Jeff Buckley was an Irish-American (son of the great musician Tim Buckley, a friend of Cohen), and he started working as a roadie for Glen Hansart and 'The Commitments', when they were on tour in the United States in 1991. Hansart encouraged him to play and sing his own music in the Sin-é cafe in Manhattan. By the way, an Irishman named Shane Doyle opened Sin-É cafe in 1989.

Although the great musician Jeff Buckley released a version of 'Hallelujah' (based on John Cale's arrangement) in 1994 on his album 'Grace', 'Hallelujah' did not reach the top of the charts until 1998. Undoubtedly, Buckley’s accidental death in 1997 brought the song to public attention. When they heard it, they then realized how beautiful 'Hallelujah' was, and especially Buckley's arrangement.

Comeback

Cohen spent 5 years, from 1994 to 1999, in a Zen monastery in Los Angeles. Cohen was regularly plagued by depression, and sought refuge. Eventually, he realized that his cure was not to be had in the monastery and left it. He then released a couple of less successful albums - one in 2001 (Ten New Songs) and another in 2004 (Dear Heather).

But when his manager, Kelley Lynch, stole most of his money, he decided to make a comeback at the age of 73. He put a band together, and they went on tour in 2007. Tickets for their concert were sold out quickly, and they had to add other dates to their schedule. Cohen continued to work like that until 2013, and he was more successful than ever.

From Strength to Strength

The hit film 'Shrek' (2001) had two very popular versions of 'Hallelujah': John Cale's version in the film, and Rufus Wainwright's version on the film's soundtrack.

In 2004, KD Lang released a version of Hallelujah on her album 'Hymns of the 49th Parallel' and sang it at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Alexandra Burke's arrangement, winner of the fifth series of 'The X Factor', went to the top of the charts at Christmas 2008. Then, almost every singer in every talent show around the world started singing 'Hallelujah'.

"We spoke to the busker you see in our film outside the underground train station in Manhattan," said director Goldfine. “And she told us that if she's having a hard time getting an audience and there's no money coming in, she starts playing 'Hallelujah'. She says it works every time.”

What would you say now, Walter Yetnikoff?

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A detective program recently came out on the Peacock streaming service in the United States. I read a review that piqued my interest and watched the first episode of the series. It instantly reminded me of other detective programs that used to run on TV in the old days – (days) when we only had live TV. We used to know the program schedule by heart, and we knew with certainty what day and time 'Columbo' or 'The Rockford Files' would be on the TV. We all looked forward to the new episodes every week, followed by conversations at home and in the office. What was so special about those programs? I think the main characters had magnetic personalities in different ways. Also, both programs had a layout that was not like other detective programs that used to run (in those days).

Rockford and Columbo!

In 'The Rockford Files', you witness the private life of the detective. You see Rockford in his untidy mobile home on the beach in Malibu in California, and you get to know Rockford himself, his family (his father) and his friends (policeman Denis Becker and ex-prisoner Angel). The person himself comes first in this episode, and after that comes his detective work, which is also quite interesting.

In Columbo's case, on the other hand, you don't see him at home at all. But he has exceptional qualities as a detective. You see a murder happen at the beginning of each episode, and then Columbo targets the murderer. Columbo seems forgetful, and the criminal underestimates his abilities. But when Columbo is about to leave after asking the criminal his questions, and that same criminal is finally breathing a sigh of relief, Columbo turns back to him/her and asks him/her the critical question, which starts like this: “Oh and one more thing…”

Ach cad faoin gclár nua ‘Poker Face’?

The show's creators, Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne, combined elements of 'Columbo' and 'The Rockford Files' to create this modern detective program. Natasha Lyonne is also the detective Charlie Cane in this new series. Natasha is a first-rate actress, who has starred in the famous series 'Orange is the New Black' and 'Russian Doll'. In this series, Charlie used to work as a card sharp in poker tournaments, but she has now retired from that job. She is now a wanderer traveling from place to place doing temporary work. You see Charlie struggling in her private life, and in that way the program is similar to 'The Rockford Files'. She is not an official detective, but murders happen wherever she goes, and she finds out who committed them. Charlie has a special ability that used to be useful to her when she was playing poker, and is also useful to her as an amateur detective. Charlie is a 'lie detector', because she knows whenever someone is telling her a lie. That ability comes into play in the program, and it helps her in her pursuit of the murderer.

The program has a great layout, in my opinion. First, unlike most other detective programs and like 'Columbo', you see the actual murder. Then, you go back earlier than that in the same place, to the time Charlie arrived on the scene. Charlie observes every detail, especially anything that happens in conjunction with the murder. Then she puts all the clues together to piece together an accurate picture of the murder.

Charlie catches the murderer out, when she asks him/her a lot of hard questions. Eventually, the murderer can no longer deny the truth, and admits his/her guilt.

It's a great approach, and I love that last part, when Charlie – the cat, faces the murderer – the mouse! Charlie wins every time without question!

I recommend you watch this series as soon as possible. I don't think it's available in Ireland yet, but no doubt it will be before long.

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