Over in the United Kingdom, people still pay attention to the pop charts. At Christmas, this attention becomes a form of mania. Which is the only reason why the news has reached our shores that this year's UK Christmas Number One will likely be a cover version of the great Leonard Cohen's anthemic hymn "Hallelujah." That would be happy enough news, as it's always nice to hear that nice things are happening for St. Leonard. But the interesting twist is that the number two chart slot is likely to be occupied by a different recording of the same song. Blimey!

From The Guardian online:

If the fans behind an audacious internet download campaign get their way, the 74-year-old Canadian could find his 1984 anthem Hallelujah making chart history by becoming the first song to hit the top two slots at the same time.

Cohen, alas, will not be ensconced in either place. The No 1 spot is all-but-certain to go Alexandra Burke, who won ITV's X Factor final last week and whose cover of Hallelujah has already been downloaded more than 150,000 times since Saturday evening.

And second place is almost within the posthumous grasp of Jeff Buckley. The American singer-songwriter, who drowned in 1997, recorded what some believe to be the definitive version of Cohen's Old Testament-informed love song for his 1994 album Grace.

Such is the awe in which Buckley's cover is held that horrified fans from all over the world embarked on a campaign to get it to No 1 as soon as it emerged that Hallelujah would be released as a single by the X Factor winner.

Last week their pleas had propelled the Buckley version to No 30 on the strength of downloads alone, and yesterday an unofficial provisional "mid-week" chart suggested it had shot up to No 3. According to the figures, it was trailing Leona Lewis's cover of Run by Snow Patrol - last week's No 1 single - by just under 10,000 sales.

Were Buckley's cover to canter past Lewis, and maintain that lead until the official Christmas chart comes out on Sunday, musical history would be made and a serene, if knowing, smile might break out beneath Cohen's grey fedora.

The double honour, albeit one shared by Buckley and Burke, would crown a triumphant year for Cohen, which saw him forced into his first tour in 15 years after his former business manager allegedly misappropriated the millions that he had put aside as his retirement fund.

In March the septuagenarian was inducted into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame and ushered, officially, into "the highest and most influential echelon of songwriters". The cover bonanza should ease his financial pain a little, bringing royalties of at least £250,000 his way.

Hallelujah has already been reinterpreted by everyone from John Cale - whose take many purists judge to be the finest - to Rufus Wainwright, whose version graced the Shrek soundtrack.

Offered without comment:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COHEED AND CAMBRIA TO RELEASE 9-DISC BOX SET ON MARCH 17, 2009 TO COMMEMORATE THEIR HISTORIC NEVERENDER SHOWS IN NEW YORK CITY

Columbia Records is excited to announce that on March 17, 2009, Coheed and Cambria will release Neverender, The Children of the Fence boxset, a release that is possibly as ambitious as the event itself.

Neverender marked the triumphant culmination of the band's four-album album cycle. The historic four-night event featured the band performing each of their four albums in their entirety on four consecutive nights, October 22-25 2008 at New York’s Terminal 5 and was the first time that Coheed had performed the saga that connects the albums in order. The band performed in front of nearly 11,000 of their most passionate fans, who flew in from all over the world, organized for months in advance to carpool and share hotel rooms, lined up all day in the rain to get the best spots on the floor. Selling out in three hours, Neverender’s New York dates prompted a tide of demand that spawned three other sold-out Neverender stands, in LA, Chicago, and London.

The box set documents the New York stand (as well as clips from all 3 other cities) in one massive package that will include four live DVDs, four live audio CDs, one documentary DVD, a 10x10 hardcover 48-page photo book and a 7-1/2” custom metal dragonfly. A condensed two-disc DVD will also be made available. Pre-sales for the box began on Friday, Dec 12. Fans who pre-order it will get their names included on a “Children of the Fence” page inside the book. The first 3,000 copies will be signed by the band.

Coheed and Cambria begin a tour with Slipknot on Jan, 23rd

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Sooooo... good news all around?

OK, I know: This blog can be a little McCartney-heavy (and no, I don't mean Jesse). But this entry over at Huffington Post is just too much to pass without comment. First he wants to change the songwriting credits, then he wants it known he, not John, was the avant garde one, now he needs to have been the political one, too? When Ringo dies, will he insist he was the drumming one, too? Please, Sir P, in the name of dignity, we know which Beatle you were!

LONDON — Paul McCartney claims that he was the real politicized figure in The Beatles, not John Lennon, according to an interview published Sunday.

McCartney was quoted as saying it was he who first raised concerns over the Vietnam war within the group and advocated their anti-war stance.

Fans have long regarded Lennon, who wrote songs such as "Revolution" and _ in later years _ "Give Peace a Chance," as the group's authentic political voice.

But McCartney claimed that his meeting with philosopher Bertrand Russell in the mid-1960s sparked his own _ and eventually Lennon's _ curiosity about world affairs.

Following his talk with Russell, McCartney said he told "the guys, particularly John (Lennon), about this meeting and saying what a bad war this was," The Sunday Times quoted McCartney as saying in the interview.

The newspaper said McCartney was interviewed in Britain's Prospect magazine, which is published on Wednesday. McCartney's publicist Stuart Bell was not immediately available to confirm the comments.

According to the newspaper, McCartney said he believes his stance has inspired the work against African poverty carried out in recent years by Bob Geldof and U2's Bono.

P.S. John's overtly political songs were the worst songs he ever wrote. Discuss!

Torture is not funny. Popular music used as a torture device is not funny. Even if it's music you hate. Even if, as is apparently the case, it's Nine Inch Nails, Queen, AC/DC, Pantera, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and songs from Sesame Street. So no jokes. This is the U.S. Military, under Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld doing the torturing. Ugh. Read on at Stereogum.

Here's Trent Reznor's blog response from www.nin.com:

It's difficult for me to imagine anything more profoundly insulting, demeaning and enraging than discovering music you've put your heart and soul into creating has been used for purposes of torture. If there are any legal options that can be realistically taken they will be aggressively pursued, with any potential monetary gains donated to human rights charities. Thank God this country has appeared to side with reason and we can put the Bush administration's reign of power, greed, lawlessness and madness behind us.

The 66th annual Golden Globe Award nominations have been announced, and on the docket is a small retinue of famous and semi-famous, loved and semi-worshipped musicians (from Miley Cyrus to Bruce Springsteen, and Beyonce in between) recognized for their work writing songs for films. Some good, some lousy, but all nominated for an award! Check it:

"Down To Earth" – Wall-E

Music By: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman

Lyrics By: Peter Gabriel

"Gran Torino" – Gran Torino

Music By: Jamie Cullum, Clint Eastwood, Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens

Lyrics By: Jamie Cullum

"I Thought I Lost You" – Bolt

Music & Lyrics By: Miley Cyrus and Jeffrey Steele

"Once In A Lifetime" – Cadillac Records

Music & Lyrics By: Beyoncé Knowles, Amanda Ghost, Scott McFarmon, Ian Dench, James Dring and Jody Street

"The Wrestler" – The Wrestler

Music & Lyrics By: Bruce Springsteen

From Billboard.com:

The Decemberists will return with another epic, story-driven album next spring in the form of "Hazards of Love," due March 24 from Capitol.

The narrative this time around concerns the trials and tribulations of Margaret, her lover William, the queen of a spooky forest and a rake who interferes in it all. The 17-track piece was tied together with instrumental interludes under the direction of producer Tucker Martine.

The first full song, "Hazards of Love 1," recalls the mystic folk-rock of "Led Zeppelin III," and segues into the riffy, two-minute blast "A Bower Scene." Elsewhere, swaggering rock and majestic pop join together on "The Wanting Comes in Waves / Repaid," while the acoustic finger-picking of "Margaret in Captivity" seems to nod to Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive."

Among the guests on the album are My Morning Jacket's Jim James, Robyn Hitchcock, the Spinanes' Rebecca Gates, Lavendar Diamond's Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden.

"Hazards of Love" is the follow-up to the band's major-label debut, 2006's "The Crane Wife," which has sold a career-best 284,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The Decemberists last week completed a three-volume singles series, "Always the Bridesmaid," featuring songs the band "really loved but presciently felt they would not fit" on "Hazards of Love."

Here is the track list for "Hazards of Love":

"Prelude"

"Hazards Of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle the Thistles Undone)"

"A Bower Scene"

"Won't Want For Love (Margaret In The Taiga)"

"Hazards Of Love 2 (Wager All)"

"The Queen's Approach"

"Isn't It A Lovely Night?"

"The Wanting Comes In Waves / Repaid"

"An Interlude"

"The Rake's Song"

"The Abduction Of Margaret"

"The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing"

"Annan Water"

"Margaret In Captivity"

"Hazards Of Love 3 (Revenge!)"

"The Wanting Comes In Waves" (Reprise)

"The Hazards Of Love 4 (The Drowned)"

From the Coldplay blog:

"With the greatest possible respect to Joe Satriani, we have now unfortunately found it necessary to respond publicly to his allegations," read the statement. "If there are any similarities between our two pieces of music, they are entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him. Joe Satriani is a great musician, but he did not write the song 'Viva La Vida.' We respectfully ask him to accept our assurances of this and wish him well with all future endeavours."

In other words: Solo on this, Satriani!

More here but also here.

Virtuoso electric guitar noodler maestro Joe Satriani has accused Coldplay of biting his rhymes, specifically in their song "Viva La Vida," which Satriani says sounds a bit too close to his instrumental "If I Could Fly" for comfort. Follow the drama here, or go here to compare the two songs!

Natalie Maines, the outspoken lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, who kicked off a firestorm of country-versy a few years ago by suggesting that George W. Bush might not have been the best president this country ever had (imagine someone not saying that now), has again made extra-musical news by getting named in a defamation suit brought by Terry Hobbs, stepfather of Steve Branch, one of three kids murdered in 1993. Hobbs says Maines (and the other Dixie Chicks, by association) tarnished his name by suggesting he was involved in the murders. The people convicted of the killings—best known as the West Memphis 3—have been the subject of intense media scrutiny for 15 years now, due largely to the flimsy evidence that led to their conviction, and are widely assumed to be innocent. They've also been championed by dozens of musical acts through the years. Read all about it here.