
Hands down, the most re-recorded song of the last decade from the vast catalog of Canadian poet, novelist, and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is Hallelujah ; the newly-reposted MOKB Covers Project: Hallelujah counts over forty recent versions, and the list is by no means complete. I have no complaints about this -- it's a great song, which, like so many of Cohen's best work, moves fluidly between grand mythos and intimate confession to give voice to strong yet otherwise unexpressable feeling. Problematically, however, the vast majority of covers of this song are [...]

The original MOKB Covers Project post of Hallelujah has been dead for many moons, but it is still one of the most commented on, linked up and talked about posts we've put together here at MOKB. I've promised many a reader that I would one day re-host all the files for everyone to enjoy. We revisited the song and found a plethora of new versions since last we posted it. There are even more we saw but couldn't find. As always , if you have a [...]

John Lennon died 27 years ago, on December 8th, 1980; I was seven, and the event was meaningless. But since then, like every one of you, I've absorbed the Beatles canon -- which means, among other things, recognizing the loss of musical potential and statesmanship that marks Lennon's passing. Mostly, it's the statesmanship I recognize. Though each Beatle -- both the still-going and the dearly departed -- went on to a fruitful solo career after the band broke up, for me, the Beatles as a cultural phenomenon are as much more a sum [...]

I've been kicking around the eMusic site looking for nice Xmas music. Which was where I found Allison Crowe . She has a nice album called Tidings . A batch of new and traditional holiday songs. There are a few below for you listening pleasure. She plays a sweet piano and sings with an angelic voice . Listen: Allison Crowe ~ In The Bleak Midwinter (my favorite Xmas [...]

The 4th of July ... a day of fireworks, barbecues, Will Smith kicking some alien butt , and parades. A day we celebrate for giving King George the middle finger. In reality, the 4th of July, 1776 was only the day the Declaration of Independence was finished, not the day it was voted on and signed. It's kind of ironic that England is now one of the few countries who support the U.S. regardless of how insane our elected leader's policies are. Pavement - No More Kings : School House Rock! [...]