Leonard Cohen - dead at 82

[Marvel]

Followed him for years... will certainly miss him.

[Wolfbane]

1 hour ago, Marvel said:

Followed him for years... will certainly miss him.

 

Me too. Canada's own Bob Dillon.

[thebes]

An incredible and songwriter.  It took me years to figure out that many of his songs were about sex.  The power of suggestion, good lyrics, melodies, the times and too much weed.

 

I still treasure and listen to him to this day, and hopefully, till the day I die.

[oldenough]

It was a sad day, a long time fan of Leonard Cohen.

 

[Tarheel]

What are some of his best CDs?  May order some from Amazon.

[garyrc]

One of the greats.

 

My future wife and I saw him at a sold out Berkeley Community Theater in the very early '70s (one of the singers touring with him for just a few of his concerts, including this one, was Michelle Phillips, of the Mamas and the Papas).  Extra tickets were sold to accommodate the crowd, and some people sat in the aisles.   That was not unheard of in area art houses, and for Road Show movies in those days before handicap access spaces existed, a few wheelchairs were often rolled into the aisles after the crowd was seated.  But it was not to be this time, in this theater.  The Fire Marshal appeared, and announced that the people in the aisles would have to leave.  Cohen said, "They can come up on stage with me."  They did.  The number of people on the stage was not many more than there would be for Hair, and certainly fewer than for, say, Aida.  The Fire Marshall didn't like that, and ordered them off.  They stayed.  The authorities turned off Cohen's microphone, so he calmly stepped around it, and sang and played acoustically.  Then they turned off all the lights, which made the building very fire evacuation safe, indeed.  Cohen finished his song in the dark, then said something like, "I now agree that under these unfortunate circumstances, this theater is unsafe, so we should adjourn."  People filed out.  I don't know what happened to Cohen, whether he was arrested for aiding and abetting, or not.  Perhaps Michelle Phillips would have had more of a role if the concert had gone on.  We hung around outside for a while to see if there would be any announcements, then went home.  

 

It was all very '60s/'70s.   

 

Now, about 45 years later, my wife and I still think of him warmly, and love playing his music.  Thanks, Leonard, and Rest in Peace.

[YK Thom]

He was a great musician, a great Canadian and a great Jew. The finest and most sucessful to come out of Montreal's community. If I knew how, I would post a link...IPads are not like real computers. In the spirit if Rememberance Day and  Armistice Day, I suggest a two second bit of effort...a quick Google of the IDF version of Hallelujah sung in modern Hebrew. You have heard the tune a thousand times...this version is in my opinion the definitive version next to the original.

Leonard Cohen Z"L

 

[thebes]

17 hours ago, Tarheel said:

What are some of his best CDs?  May order some from Amazon.

"Songs of Leonard Cohen" is his first and best.  Very interesting is "Songs from a Room" which has "Bird on a Wire".

 

I would also heartily recommend, "Tower of Song, The Songs of Leonard Cohen" which is an awesome cover album which will surprise and delight you by some of the artists covering his work.

 

 

[thebes]

I've looked at Mr.Cohen in many different ways over the years.  Here's a take I wrote in another forum awhile back:

 

 

 

 Bob Dylan Is a Balladeer, that Makes Leonard Cohen...

...A sex starved maniac.

Hah!  Thought I was going to say "poet" didn't you?

Well on the surface, you would be correct. A deep sonorous voice coupled with obscure lyrics and an art house beat.  Poet. Fur sure.

I think not. In my wild and feckless youth I burnt many a smoky offering on the alter of my contemporary Leonard Cohen, in hopes he was the longed for missing link between the death of religion and the coming Dawn of Thebes.

Somewhere along the way, lost to the press of my pursuit of Godhead, I placed Cohen aside, remembered but in a very real sense forgotten. Unplayed.

But then one day, years later, I built a marvelous stereo system, an altar of its own  upon who I lavished the same worship and attention my various minions lavished upon me. And so I reached out, pulled from the pile a dusty, but pristine vinyl copy of "The Songs of Leonard Cohen" . I lit a smoking offering, sat back, prepared to be overwhelmed in a poetic bliss, only to discover that old Leonard was one horny son-of-Maryanne and was really penning pornographic notes to lover-of-the-moment.

Ah well, I thought. Life is full of unrealized dreams and expectations.  But then I stumbled upon a disc of all things, entitled "Tower of Song the Songs of Leonard Cohen" a compilation. A gathering of artists who had fallen under his spell, inspired, and created their own understanding of what blessing he, the poet, had cast upon the waters. An awesome and eclectic collection of "various artists" (sometimes known as the usual suspects).

Upon deep reflection, and many more burnt offerings,  I have determined that Leonard Cohen is one hell of a horny poet.

So get in touch with your inner lustiness and track down a copy. Published in 1995

 

[Wolfbane]

29 minutes ago, thebes said:

I've looked at Mr.Cohen in many different ways over the years.  Here's a take I wrote in another forum awhile back:

 

 

 

 Bob Dylan Is a Balladeer, that Makes Leonard Cohen...

...A sex starved maniac.

Hah!  Thought I was going to say "poet" didn't you?

Well on the surface, you would be correct. A deep sonorous voice coupled with obscure lyrics and an art house beat.  Poet. Fur sure.

I think not. In my wild and feckless youth I burnt many a smoky offering on the alter of my contemporary Leonard Cohen, in hopes he was the longed for missing link between the death of religion and the coming Dawn of Thebes.

Somewhere along the way, lost to the press of my pursuit of Godhead, I placed Cohen aside, remembered but in a very real sense forgotten. Unplayed.

But then one day, years later, I built a marvelous stereo system, an altar of its own  upon who I lavished the same worship and attention my various minions lavished upon me. And so I reached out, pulled from the pile a dusty, but pristine vinyl copy of "The Songs of Leonard Cohen" . I lit a smoking offering, sat back, prepared to be overwhelmed in a poetic bliss, only to discover that old Leonard was one horny son-of-Maryanne and was really penning pornographic notes to lover-of-the-moment.

Ah well, I thought. Life is full of unrealized dreams and expectations.  But then I stumbled upon a disc of all things, entitled "Tower of Song the Songs of Leonard Cohen" a compilation. A gathering of artists who had fallen under his spell, inspired, and created their own understanding of what blessing he, the poet, had cast upon the waters. An awesome and eclectic collection of "various artists" (sometimes known as the usual suspects).

Upon deep reflection, and many more burnt offerings,  I have determined that Leonard Cohen is one hell of a horny poet.

So get in touch with your inner lustiness and track down a copy. Published in 1995

 

 

Leonard Cohen was also a real chick magnet with a long list of conquests of some of the real lookers in the film and music industry. For example  Rebecca De Mornay.

 

Woman love his poem, music, etc.

 

 

[oldtimer]

13 minutes ago, Wolfbane said:

Rebecca De Mornay.

She was easy.

[Wolfbane]

17 minutes ago, oldtimer said:

She was easy.

 

Only for Cohen or in the movie Risky Business: