my dad had a stereo from the mid 80s. great piece of kit. anyway, a mate of mine always said Cohen's music was slit your wrist depressing so he had a good giggle when I told him that stereo finally gave up the ghost whilst it was playing Leonard Cohen's so long Marianna. which happens to be one of my favourite tracks by the late great man.
I saw him at the O2 in 2008 and it was one of the most moving evenings of my life. He communicated warmth and sincerity at such a level that the whole audience felt as if they were undergoing a religious experience.
So many great songs, haven't played any Leonard for a year or two. Will play some tonight with a nice whiskey as accompaniment Famous Blue Raincoat is one of many faves for me
My first experiences of LC weren't his music, but two references to him by Neil on The Young Ones: 1) After Rik steals 5p from him: "I won't say anything because nobody listens to me anyway. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record." 2) On the prospect of being bitten by a vampire: "We'd be, like, dead and yet still alive...like Leonard Cohen!" I didn't understand these references at the time, but my dad pissed himself laughing. When I sat and listened to him later in life, I finally got the jokes, but at the same time, really enjoyed what I heard.
Leonard Cohen always seemed to me to have real passion about issues such as war, peace, politics or religion, but he also seemed to have a sense of humour about himself - I point you to the splendidly self-deprecating lyrics in "Tower of Song" from the, I think, "I'm your man" album.
Personally, I Like some of his old stuff and a bit of his newer stuff, but overall I just kind of like him. I listened to "The Future" recently and enjoyed it. It's just not easy to pinpoint why! I know he's known for his lyrics rather than his voice, but strangely, my favourite Cohen song is "The Partisan" which is a version of a French resistance folk song. It's just so respectfully done.
I'll miss him. I'm sure many of us will. Even Neil from The Young Ones.
For those who haven't seen it it's on BBC catch up... bird on a wire. Film focusing on Cohen's 72 tour of Europe. Though at the end he acts a bit of a tart due to him not feeling the "vibe" at a gig (having said that I would find it hard performing songs that are on the most part very emotionally personal to an audience of strangers in a foreign country at the end of a long tour) but the film shows how much he's just a nice very cool bloke, complex at times but extremely likeable and funny. Well worth a watch.
When I think how much pleasure I've taken from playing guitar and singing (mostly to myself) for 45 years or so, it all started with this man's songs - I owe him a huge debt.
Earlier this year at a concert in a local folk club Judy Collins told how she was first introduced to Cohen by a mutual friend who had known Cohen at McGill University. The friend had told Judy of Cohen's work and said she must meet him. When they met, Cohen said something like this to Collins - "well I can't sing, can't play the guitar and I'm not sure my songs are up to much". Collins with emotion and some awe in her voice said "he then proceeded to play Suzanne".
"Suzanne" went on to be a huge song for Cohen and the following year Collins invited him to come with her to a big charity concert to perform the song. It was the first time he'd played in front of such a large crowd and half-way through the song he walked off the stage unable to continue. The crowd went "nuts" shouting for him to come back. Collins went to talk with him backstage and persuaded him to go back on and perform the song with her.
The rest, as they say, is history.
As you can imagine we've had lots of stories and obits in the Canadian press this weekend, the one I enjoyed most is about his local community in Montreal. Cohen lived there for much of his life and was well known in the neighbourhood for frequenting a local park where he could sometimes be seen sitting on a bench watching the world go by. When news of his death broke, dozens of local people walked unbidden and quietly out to their park with candles, flowers and cassette tapes of his music, spontaneously coming together to mourn the passing of one of the most cherished members of their community.
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my dad had a stereo from the mid 80s. great piece of kit. anyway, a mate of mine always said Cohen's music was slit your wrist depressing so he had a good giggle when I told him that stereo finally gave up the ghost whilst it was playing Leonard Cohen's so long Marianna. which happens to be one of my favourite tracks by the late great man.
RIP Mr Cohen
One of the most "covered" musicians of all time and rightly so.
I'm sure he's already sitting up there in that Tower of Song alongside Hank Williams.
1) After Rik steals 5p from him: "I won't say anything because nobody listens to me anyway. I might as well be a Leonard Cohen record."
2) On the prospect of being bitten by a vampire: "We'd be, like, dead and yet still alive...like Leonard Cohen!"
I didn't understand these references at the time, but my dad pissed himself laughing. When I sat and listened to him later in life, I finally got the jokes, but at the same time, really enjoyed what I heard.
Leonard Cohen always seemed to me to have real passion about issues such as war, peace, politics or religion, but he also seemed to have a sense of humour about himself - I point you to the splendidly self-deprecating lyrics in "Tower of Song" from the, I think, "I'm your man" album.
Personally, I Like some of his old stuff and a bit of his newer stuff, but overall I just kind of like him. I listened to "The Future" recently and enjoyed it. It's just not easy to pinpoint why!
I know he's known for his lyrics rather than his voice, but strangely, my favourite Cohen song is "The Partisan" which is a version of a French resistance folk song. It's just so respectfully done.
I'll miss him. I'm sure many of us will. Even Neil from The Young Ones.
RIP Leonard Cohen.
For a drum I'll never mend.
And all the rain falls down, Amen,
On the works of last year's man.
Great man, amazing lyricist. RIP L Cohen.
When they met, Cohen said something like this to Collins - "well I can't sing, can't play the guitar and I'm not sure my songs are up to much". Collins with emotion and some awe in her voice said "he then proceeded to play Suzanne".
"Suzanne" went on to be a huge song for Cohen and the following year Collins invited him to come with her to a big charity concert to perform the song. It was the first time he'd played in front of such a large crowd and half-way through the song he walked off the stage unable to continue. The crowd went "nuts" shouting for him to come back. Collins went to talk with him backstage and persuaded him to go back on and perform the song with her.
The rest, as they say, is history.
As you can imagine we've had lots of stories and obits in the Canadian press this weekend, the one I enjoyed most is about his local community in Montreal. Cohen lived there for much of his life and was well known in the neighbourhood for frequenting a local park where he could sometimes be seen sitting on a bench watching the world go by. When news of his death broke, dozens of local people walked unbidden and quietly out to their park with candles, flowers and cassette tapes of his music, spontaneously coming together to mourn the passing of one of the most cherished members of their community.