Pop Quiz

Go on, be honest now. Prior to the recent furore on the merits of 'Hallelujah' by Alexandra Burke, had you: heard any other versions of the song; known of the song during its twenty odd year's existence; heard of Jeff Buckley; been interested in his work; ever knowingly listened to any Leonard Cohen?

My score in that little quiz of my own making was two but I'm not particularly celebrating my ignorance here. I usually have a decent knowledge of music and imagine that most people would score pretty low as well. Why then has an obscure song by a half forgotten songwriter (beloved mainly by the very snootiest echelons of the condescenti), once covered by a relatively unknown, now deceased, singer and liked by several, been taken up as a torch in the battle against manufactured pop?

Not that there's anything wrong with that; Burke's rendering of 'Hallelujah' is a typically accurate warble by numbers, often mistaken for singing in some quarters, and should be forcibly suppressed! Even so, I actually feel a little sorry for her; all she's done is win a competition and sung what she was told to sing. Then again, she's been number one for three weeks and is now famous throughout the land, so I'm sure she can live without anyone's pity.

Rick Astley was the target a few years ago in a similar, much more populist uprising against the corporate machine, when he released 'When I Fall in Love' around Christmastime. I can't remember whether Nat King Cole's version beat his to the top but that's by the by. This year's army seems to have been drummed up through web forums.

As always in these cases, mainly to conform to another internet archetype, I suspect foul play. There are only winners here; Burke, Cohen, Buckley's estate, the producers of The X Factor, various record companies (are they still called that!) and the press all come to mind. However, a conspiracy between the music industry, the media and some shadowy battalion of on-line real music lovers is difficult to attach too much credence to. I makes you think though.

As you can see from this and other recent posts, The X Factor has been playing on my mind far too much and I should try to get out more.