Hallelujah

On American Idol the other night, the kid with the nasty dreads chose Hallelujah as his 1980s' theme night selection. He wasn't entirely painful, though he backed off of some of the more transcendent notes. It was all worth it, though, for this little taste test over at Entertainment Weekly: Which version of the haunting (haunted?) classic most stirs your soul?

The Jeff Buckley version virtually drips with pain and melancholy. Of course, his later suicide in the muddy waters of the Mississippi add a dose of painful reality to this version. He loses points for appearing on the soundtrack to the O.C. and for not being Canadian.

KD's version has a velvety-richness that, I think, suffers next to Buckley's stripped-down version. It's beautifully sung, but less heartfelt.

John Cales' take appeared in the film Shrek, so is actually the most widely heard version for these kids today. Stirring but somehow not heartbreaking.

As for Rufus, which I'm told appears on the Shrek soundtrack in place of Cale - s'okay. A little nasally with some nice piano. Honestly, I'd rather hear him sing some Garland.

I'd never heard the Allison Crowe version. The candles on the piano scream 'Aren't I poignant?" Meh.

And of course, there's Cohen. Creepy, booming, freaky. I love him, I do. This version, not so much.