It's that sigh isn't it? A little gasp before an austere almost nervous guitar line. The first time I heard it, I was shocked.... that tiny suggestion of fear?, anticipation? It seemed so brave- but then I was a humourless young man with an almost devotional view of music, and what might have been a little impromptu moment in the studio seemed to me like a mystery that had to be devoured. Yes, I am aware that I have spent a 100 words describing someone exhaling... but to me that's what the song was/is about- The fact that music, and writing it, performing it, loving it IS a devotional act, and like all devotional acts it requires a certain level of self sacrifice and intense meditation. 16 years on the song still glistens, shines as my mind rolls back to tiny bedrooms in South London flats and how that song was ever present. My undergraduate life was not particularly glamorous or exciting, but I had Jeff and he had voiced what I felt about music... and yes my contemporaries were having plenty of empty, meaningless sex to a soundtrack of Dodgy....but I had Jeff and that was alright wasn't it? And from a point of hindsight I think sex would not actually be improved by listening to Dodgy.
Anyway..... it's fair to say I loved the song and still do. So, it's also fair to assume that when Simon Cowell chose it as the winners single for the 2008 final of his talent show final "X Factor" I was horrified.... Well to be honest.... I was initially. But to recap I can be fairly humourless about music and I'm convinced the song has supernatural powers after seeing Rufus Wainwright sing it at a storm tossed festival....and this is no exaggeration when he hit the chorus the sun appeared out of nowhere. So the idea of some manufactured pop star emoting their way through it like all the other karaoke songs they had performed did leave me cold. I have given this some thought though, and when Alexandra Burke hit number one with it in December 2008, Jeff Buckley's version was at number two and even the venerable Leonard Cohen made the top ten. Now this is a good thing, I'm not against the music I love being successful- I'm evangelical about it but I'm also aware of the fact that Simon Cowell probably has more sway in the music world than me... so his cynical hijacking of the song (I might not think it's a bad thing, but he's not getting away with it lightly) had far more effect on the public than my reverential playing of it to half the female population of South London in the mid 90's. And let's assume someone who watched X-Factor also heard Jeff's version, and intrigued they downloaded "Grace" and listened, and loved what they heard. And because of Cowell's eye for the opportunity they now sing along with the line "Kiss me, kiss me out of desire not consolation" in the Last Goodbye, and sing it because they know that song was written for them and it explains everything their confused, yearning heart contains far more eloquently than they ever could... Well it's fair to say he has contributed to the sum of human happiness (If you are that person, don't worry it'll turn out alright...). So as much as I laughed when this years effort was beaten to Christmas number 1 by Rage Against the Machine... would I have felt the same if instead of a Miley Cyrus song he had chosen "I Hope There's Someone" by Antony and the Johnsons or "Like A Hurricane" by Neil Young. No I wouldn't have, because if those or any other truly great songs are spread to millions of people in whatever fashion then that's a better thing than a 17 year old metal song selling millions again. Simon Cowell won't go away, but if occasionally he picks a song that will open the public's ears to something truly, truly great then that's okay isn't it??
Recommended Listening- "I am a Bird now" Antony and The Johnsons (2005)
"Like A Hurricane" (Unplugged) Neil Young (1993)
Recommended Reading- " Dream Brother, the lives and music of Jeff and Tim Buckley" David Browne (2001)
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