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Saturday 10 August 2013

Leonard Cohen...

In my world is like Marmite.
It seems to me, you either love him or hate him.
I've always been of the latter,
not hate exactly, because I try not.

 I've always said in my best no-nothing
way, his music is the one to slash your wrists to.

 I ought to own up here,
that I am the first to say
 when child or person says

 'I don't like that!'

 'Have you actually tried it?'

 'Err, no, but I know I'm not going to like it!'

 I am that person about Leonard Cohen.
The minute I hear his voice I instantly
turn the radio off.

 Well that is until today when I've
avidly read this article


'Two people with one mind'





Cohen by his own admission has suffered a
'lifetime's relentless depression.'
So I wasn't so far off in my thinking.

 After reading the article I decided that perhaps
I'd been hasty in my reaction to the man and his music.
I played snippets of the tracks of the album on itunes.
His voice I'm afraid I still can't get on with;
he makes Rod Stewart sound positively
mellifluous.
Her voice on the other hand is achingly
wistfully wonderful.

 Her debut solo album 
'Everybody Knows'
I am definitely buying.

 Leonard, I did try
and I'm afraid my thoughts and feelings stay the same.

 I'd be interested on your take on
the man and his music?
at

12 comments:

  1. Carol10 August 2013 at 12:07

    LL, Leonard Cohen is coming to Cairns. Here is a recent blog post from a local DJ about him, mostly about covers of his songs.

    http://mojowire.net.au/2013/08/02/leonard-cohen-coming-to-cairns-tony-hilliers-world-of-music/

    Thank you for recommendation of Sharon Robinson music.

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    Replies
    1. lettice leaf11 August 2013 at 10:50

      Ooooh, The Mojowire sounds superb Carol. Added to which I think I ought to re-evaluate my biased view of the man's voice and read his words. 1,300 cover versions of his songs speaks for itself methinks.

      Are you planning on going? Don't look now but I'm seriously tempted, especially after what one of your guys said about a review in the UK's Telegraph about the concert.

      Cat amongst the pigeons... Oo err!

      Thanks for the link I'll pop over once in a while, Tony Hilliers World of Music sounds a good programme.

      LLX

      Delete
    2. Carol11 August 2013 at 11:04

      I would love to go, just to say I went. I expect the ticket price might be close to $100AUD which is a bit steep for me. But I did pay that a few years a go to see Jackson Browne here in Cairns ~ just to say I had seen him, and was not disappointed. In contrast, I paid $60 to see Th Searchers earlier in the year to get my taste of Merseybeat live ~ I blogged about it http://backtothechalkface.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/the-b-side_23.html ~ the music clip might be missing when I migrated it from my other blog, need to fix that.
      And then I caught Frank Turner for $20 (bargain) at The Jack Hotel ~ obviously short for Union Jack. So Cairns does have a lot of music happening here for a laid back town with an International airport to the World. A friend of mine does an Online TV kind of segment each month on the music scene. And then there is Tony Hilliers segment every Friday afternoon.

      Delete
  2. menopausalmusing10 August 2013 at 13:55

    I utterly adore and worship at his feet.......... not that HE knows this................ (I was listening to him as I read your blog post). :O)))))))))))))))))))))

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    Replies
    1. lettice leaf11 August 2013 at 10:36

      Just had an email from wicked daughter-in-law (WDinL)... She feels exactly the same as you. Her knickers self-ignite at the sound of his caterwauling.

      LLX

      Delete
  3. ted and bunny11 August 2013 at 09:33

    I'm in the same camp as Cathy above. . .but they do say when you're happy you listen to music and when you're sad you listen to lyrics. . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lettice leaf11 August 2013 at 10:31

      Let me get this right Elaine, what you're saying is... the fact that Len's voice sounds like he smokes 50 Capstan full-strength whilst running chalk over a blackboard. Get over that if you can, and listen to the words, especially if you are feeling a tad sad. If you're upbeat listen to Freddie and the Dreamers...

      LLX

      Delete
  4. Yorkshire Pudding11 August 2013 at 12:51

    I don't actively listen to music these days but when I did - back in the day - Leonard Cohen was one of my favourites. He was and is a poet and he seemed to speak to the most private frailties of human life in the western world. I never found him maudlin. I found him true and intimate with original twists in his use of language and memory. I saw him in concert in 1970, singing in the dawn at the Isle of Wight. It was unforgettable.

    ReplyDelete
  5. lettice leaf11 August 2013 at 13:26

    Two questions Mr YP... Why don't you listen to music these days AND should I take my bias based on 'know nothing' along to his concert in London or Brighton? What sayest you oh wise one?

    LLX

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  6. menopausalmusing11 August 2013 at 18:39

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmON_0bzUZc

    Just look at his little face......... just enjoy his sense of humour.............

    (Leonard, if you read this I am available.......... ;O))))))

    ReplyDelete
  7. nilly11 August 2013 at 20:47

    Aaaargh !!! Please make it go away!!!
    I cannot bear his voice nor his HUGE ego.

    But I love Marmite!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Debbie13 August 2013 at 20:58

    I love Leonard Cohen and have done since my best school friend and I were teenagers. The angst in his songs paralleled the anguish in our love lives, and we'd sit in our darkened bedrooms and cry together, listening to Cohen. I don't feel that now (no love life to feel anguished about!) but I listen to him a lot whilst I'm sewing. My son likes him too, as a poet mostly and has several of his poetry books.
    Listen to more of him....

    ReplyDelete

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