RIP Leonard

[Biggles]

Leonard Cohen has passed away at the age of 82. One of the greatest songwriters of the last half century. Here he is in his youth ... & during his remarkable late career tour in 2008 when he headlined Glastonbury - a performance many have described as the most memorable ever at Glastonbury.





RIP Leonard.

 

[JockeP22]

That is sad. Here's my favorite song of his;


He recorded a pretty good album two years ago called Popular Problems. Another great musician has left the world...

 

[TenEightyOne]

Maybe I've been here before - I've seen this room and I've walked this floor... but I never really knew love until I knew you.

Very sad, RIP

 

[Dotini]

I was struggling back in the early 70's, living in a trailer court outside the University District when my stoner friend Bob J turned me on to Leonard Cohen. His music and lyrics gave me comfort then, and ever since.

Bird on a Wire commences at at about 6:15

 

[Johnnypenso]

Appropriate. R.I.P.

 

[Johnnypenso]

Appropriate. R.I.P.

 

[Biggles]

I was struggling back in the early 70's, living in a trailer court outside the University District when my stoner friend Bob J turned me on to Leonard Cohen. His music and lyrics gave me comfort then, and ever since.

Dotini, you're old enough to remember one of the touchstones of American culture in the 1970's: Robert Altman's 1971 masterpiece McCabe & Mrs Miller which features a haunting soundtrack by Leonard Cohen.

 

[ALB123]

I was struggling back in the early 70's, living in a trailer court outside the University District when my stoner friend Bob J turned me on to Leonard Cohen. His music and lyrics gave me comfort then, and ever since.

Bird on a Wire commences at at about 6:15

For those who don't know. This clip is from a great film/documentary called "Bird on a Wire" by Tony Palmer. If you enjoy Leonard Cohen you will love this film.

Anyway, the clip @Dotini posted -- it was taken from the final show in Leonard's 1972 European Tour which happened to be at Yad Eliahu Sports Palace in Jerusalem, Israel. Cohen and his bandmates decided to take LSD before the show. Leonard was always very self-conscious about performing live in the 60s & 70s, but combined with the powerful substance, it made for an incredibly interesting night.

Here is a full copy on YouTube, but the Aspect Ratio appears to be off a bit. There is another full copy uploaded to YouTube, but the audio is slightly out of sync.

 

[TheCracker]

 

[Touring Mars]

I have to admit to being one of those people who admired and respected Leonard Cohen, but struggled to like much of his material - even some of his most famous work. The only album I ever had of his was 'The Best of Leonard Cohen', and consciously listening to it from start to finish was close to an act of masochism - indeed, 'Bird On A Wire' was something of an in-joke between myself and my bandmates, as it was so downbeat that it would, ironically, inspire great mirth. I also had the misfortune to share a room once with someone who used to play Cohen's album 'I'm Your Man' ad nauseum, and I grew to loathe the opening track - I still cannot stand it today. I was, however, converted by a couple of tracks, and 'Avalanche' in particular, which to this day counts as one of the most influential tracks in my entire music collection. RIP Mr Cohen, and thanks for the inspiration and the aggravation...

 

[ALB123]

Avalanche is definitely a Top 5 song of Cohen's, for me...

Most of my friends can't stand when I play early Cohen songs. The voice, they hate it. So, every now and then I'll sneak in a song written by Leonard but performed by someone else. They've all admitted they love the song as long as it's not Leonard singing it. A lot of people tend to prefer Leonard's voice as he got older and much older. Have you listened to anything from his album "The Future", @Touring Mars? If you've ever seen the movie "Natural Born Killers" then you've already heard 3 tracks from that record.

Here is one of my favorites: