Friday, February 12, 2010

Olympic ceremony

And my favorite Leonard Cohen song! Hallelujah-- that most beautiful song. I will never not love most Cohen's own version, and the amazing Jeff Buckley cover... but KD Laing did it pretty well.

And such details in the lyrics. :)And the rhymes. Who would rhyme "knew ya" with "hallelujah"?

It's interestingly downbeat. I wonder if they just decided on this song after the tragedy today. She does sing it well.

And Donald Sutherland! He looks wonderful. And Bobby Orr! He was always such a charmer. (You can probably tell what mattered more than athletic ability for me. :)

10 comments:

Edittorrent said...

I got to watch the Olympics with my family tonight. My dad's summation of the Hallelujah song: "Great voice. Horseshit song." But what he had to say about that opera thing, that isn't fit to write. And considering our broad tolerance for bad language on this blog, that ought to tell you how much he loves opera.

Other than that, we were all universally dazzled. What a great night. I want some of those fire shoes.

Theresa

Stephen Kozeniewski said...

What, you didn't like Riverdance on a tower of maple leaves? Or the construction paper maple leaf mortars?

Edittorrent said...

I missed the Riverdance thing!

That hymn. Well. It's like a college's alma mater. You know it's only tradition that keeps this song being sung.

But Hallelujah is a fabulous song. What's great is to compare the many covers. (Musicians love covering it.)

I'll have to youtube for the Riverdance.

Okay. I admit it. I like Riverdance.

And Donald Sutherland!!! I heart him. I want him to adopt me.

Hmm. But that means I'd have Jack Bauer as a brother, and ... no.
Alicia

Rachael Herron said...

I wish *I* could see that. I suppose I will, but we on the West Coast aren't allowed to watch it live. It's killing me. I'm recording it and will watch it tomorrow -- we're not even up to the KD performance yet.

But have you seen this performance by her? My favorite part is at the end where she and Leonard have a moment, a REAL moment. It's just so lovely. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYiMJ2bC65A

suzanneelizabeths.com said...

I LOVE KD Laing, but this opening ceremony felt more like a patriotic concert than the celebration of a sporting event.

Edittorrent said...

Alicia, it's not just Riverdance. It's Riverdance with sparkler fire shoes. And mohawks on top. If ever there was a tap dancing spectacle custom tailored to my tastes, that was it right there. I couldn't stop giggling.

Theresa, off to check out Rachael's link

Yvonne Osborne said...

I thought it was all wonderful. How about that circus performer they dug up in Montreal? The flying boy? I must have missed the Hallelujah, a most beautiful song. I have never heard Leonard Cohen's version. The tap danacing, the totem poles and especially the whales. And all of it tinged with sadness. And now the rain won't stop.

Edittorrent said...

Tomas the Flying Wheatfield Boy? He was awesome! My mom kept catching her breath during his performance. She loved it!

And the whales really stunned me. I'm still trying to figure out how they did the whale spouts and tails. Were they really coming out of the floor, or was that an optical illusion?

Theresa

Anonymous said...

I love those hats Team USA was wearing! I went looking for them online this morning and found them at the us olympic team website---75 bucks!! Don't love them quite that much :)

I thought the whales were amazing, too. The whole thing was pretty cool.

Dave Shaw said...

My wife liked the whales. I conked out just after Bryan Adams and what's-her-name. 'Twas getting late on the right coast for us old folks, especially after working the day job and drafting a couple thousand words.