In this muddled but marvelous blend of documentary and concert film, director Lian Lunson takes you down to a place where it's possible to look closely at the life and art of cult troubadour Leonard Cohen. The Montreal poet had just turned seventy when the Sydney Opera House honored him with this 2005 tribute show. As musical guests cover Cohen songs -- highlights include Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," Nick Cave on "Suzanne," and Beth Orton and Jarvis Cocker on "Death of a Ladies Man" -- the film cuts in interviews with Cohen interpreting his songs and telling of adventures that took him from New York clubs to a Zen monastery on California's Mount Baldy. It's only at the end that Cohen, joined by Bono and the Edge, raises his own voice on "Tower of Song." It's enough to send fans and converts alike to the Cohen library for more of the master himself.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.