Paris 1919

Dear Daniel,

You've mentioned Hallelujah on a couple of occasions now and I've been firming up my knowledge on it for work since it will be Christmas #1 and people are asking about it. So, there's the Leonard Cohen version you posted and the Jeff Buckley one which many people think exists in the very small category of songs which were done better as a cover than they were by the artist who wrote them (which we could take on as a irregular theme here). But there is the version which some think influenced the Jeff Buckley arrangement and it's the version which was performed by John Cale.

Doing the research, I'm in danger of having heard the song itself too much. Coupled with the fact that simply to be in the UK over the next month and hear various versions on repeat could destroy much of the love for the track that existed in the first place, here's John Cale's Paris 1919. It's better performed on that album than it is here live, but judging by any Lou Reed concert ever, there must be an unwritten rule that all former members of the Velvet Underground change vocal phrasing and mumble while on stage.

Dear James,

It's at times like this that it feels good to be away from England. The concept of a Christmas Number One doesn't exist here, in fact not even the concept of Number One exists, and life is much the simpler for it. There's a Number Ten and he's called Diego, but that's about it. No X Factor, per se, no novelty records and no incessant in-your-face Christmas stuff on the telly. There's Dancing for a Dream, the pornographic version of "Strictly Come Dancing", but I just ignore it exists.

I didn't mean to keep mentioning Hallelujah, it's like haemorrhoids, it irritates me and so I can't stop myself bringing it up in conversation. Do you have any album to recommend from John Cale? Paris 1919, I s'pose. I thought I'd bought one of his a few years ago, but it turned out to be JJ Cale and I never got over the disappointment.