Leonard Cohen Rest In Peace

To me the graduation to $10 Casios, like Dylan going electric, marked an incalculable revolution in his sound: he found an aural correlative for the seventeenth century ironies of his lyrics and the deadpan delivery.

oh wow leonard

i am sad

you were amazing

I feel like he's one of those artists who you really remember when you got into him, and how

i got really into leonard around the birth of my second son. i took a lot of time off of work and spent it all with my sons and my wife at home and listened to so much of his music

Genius, genius, genius. Rest in peace, L Cohen.

I can't think of a single other songwriter who produced work of such quality at such an advanced age.

My Gateway...seeing this at 20

http://www.astortheatre.net.au/wp-content/uploads/mccabe-poster.jpg

yeah, that was the gateway for those of us who juuuust missed the '60s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt-r3QcegnU

Mine was Judy Collins' "Suzanne," which I loved as a kid but had no idea who Leonard Cohen was. The real immersion was Jennifer Warnes' album, which my dad bought when I was in high school and I was fascinated with. I think he's the most grown-up songwriter ever. Everything about him always seemed adult, in the best meaning of the word -- experienced, knowing, compassionate, patient. Like he'd lived 50 lifetimes and was distilling them down to their essence.

I'm exhausted from the year taking so much and giving so little

Damn. RIP

Well, that's one way to headline an obit:

"Genius Songwriter Of Music From “Watchmen” Sex Scene Dead At 82"

I think he's the most grown-up songwriter ever. Everything about him always seemed adult, in the best meaning of the word -- experienced, knowing, compassionate, patient. Like he'd lived 50 lifetimes and was distilling them down to their essence.

― Mike Pence shakes his head and mouths the word ‘no’ (tipsy mothra), Thursday, November 10, 2016 10:19 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yea!

My heart is broken. I had a lot of feelings so I wrote an uncharacteristic number of tweets. https://twitter.com/hollowmines/status/796902502545362945

Watching Cohen DVDs at 3am (I don't want to play records this late). He accompanied me on many sleepless nights, so why not this one too.

RIP

i feel bad that i didn't get around to listening to his new album until hearing this new, but i'm doing it now. it's excellent. "on the level" is an early fave.

until hearing the news, i meant.

I was lucky to see Leonard Cohen live a couple of years ago. It's amazing that he played a 3 hour set at 80 years old. His music is eternal.

You Want It Darker is great, and I said as much back when I thought he actually might have a couple more records in him, as he'd said he was planning on.

I think he's the most grown-up songwriter ever. Everything about him always seemed adult, in the best meaning of the word -- experienced, knowing, compassionate, patient. Like he'd lived 50 lifetimes and was distilling them down to their essence.

― Mike Pence shakes his head and mouths the word ‘no’ (tipsy mothra), Thursday, November 10, 2016 10:19 PM (twelve minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

there is something very comforting about listening to him at this particular moment too. it's been a rough few days, some reminder of humanity, wisdom, maturity

I was lucky to see Leonard Cohen live a couple of years ago. It's amazing that he played a 3 hour set at 80 years old. His music is eternal.

― Al Moon Faced Poon (Moodles), Thursday, November 10, 2016 10:00 PM (thirty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I saw him in 2010 and not only did he play 3 hours but he skipped on and off stage like a giddy child, light as a feather. Just a treasure.

like a bird on a wire
like a drunk in some midnight choir
i have tried in my way to be free

like a worm on a hook
like a knight from some old fashioned book
i have saved all my ribbons for thee

Xxxxxxpost
Alfred, I was just watching a 88 live show and they definitely weren't cheap Casio's, saw a DX7 and a Korg so it was p state of the art

weirdest irony of my adult life was getting my Mum into Leonard & now she's seen him live like 3 times and I have seen him zero times

rip beautiful old man, into the heavens with you

Had been avoiding You Want It Darker for some reason... maybe in some ways I knew it was the end, but wow this is great

oh leonard

Just rescreened McCabe &...

So many feelings.

Played the new album yesterday for the first time, the title track seemed to fit the Trump news. I did wonder if Len thought so too.

I was waiting for the vinyl release of the new album, but it seems to keep getting pushed back. I guess I might give it a listen now.

RIP L. Cohen. Been listening to 'Democracy' and 'Anthem' a lot recently.

I was only just watching Bird on a Wire, the 1972 concert documentary, last night. It's a great watch, for those who haven't seen it. Rest in peace.

I haven't seen this mentioned, but it's a great recent article about him (and tbh softened the blow - it's fairly clear in it that he's on his way out).

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/leonard-cohen-makes-it-darker

absolutely crushed by this, but also so heartened by him and his, I don't know... his example, his music, ILX knows what I am trying to say

It's something surely everyone has been expecting for a long time but god if it isn't another kick in the teeth in a terrible week. Or looking at it from the other angle, his timing is once again perfect and poetic. I can only hope he slipped out of consciousness 70 hours or so ago.

I've been wondering which Cohen record I'd go straight to in the event of his death, for a while I'd assumed it would be The Songs of Leonard Cohen or Old Ideas, but in the end it was, without hesitating, The Future. He saw through all that end-of-history nonsense so early on, and expressed it with such piercing humour, and both the title track and Democracy have been in my head a lot this week.

Given his whole life's project was based around exploring the area around love, the body, god and death, it's unsurprising that his last trio of albums is also up there with his best. Maybe it's because he was always the old guy (even in the 60s, he was the one guy who never got to be the young firebrand), but old age suited him so well, only Johnny Cash did it better. And like Johnny, it hits all the harder when their voice is at its most potent at the end of their life.

He meant a lot to me and my wife personally, and a lot to my parents. I saw him live twice, once at Glastonbury in 2008, which was one of the all time great Pyramid Stage moments (and the corny fucker knew exactly what he was doing when he timed Hallelujah to accompany the sunset). The second time was in London three or four years ago, and he actually *jogged* onstage and then played a Springsteen-length set. In his 80s. And he smoked every day. RIP.

I can only hope he slipped out of consciousness 70 hours or so ago.

he died monday

His last words were "Thanks, Obama"

(don't worry, I'll fp myself)

RIP Leonard ;_;

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1e/25/57/1e25575fb5d122e8f0bf6c8755c90789.jpg

weirdest irony of my adult life was getting my Mum into Leonard & now she's seen him live like 3 times and I have seen him zero times

My mother's been into LC her whole life (and been to many gigs) and just posted a really lovely post on FB of all places and also managed to refer to DJT as 'that orange arseh0le' so mum otm

He was my first folk music to hear. My dad had two of his records that I found in his stack. Then I heard him on Pump Up The Volume and pulled them out again. Its been a love affair ever since. Rest in Peace

it is hard to even think of what to say. Cohen is one of those artists who can make time stand still w just a voice and an acoustic guitar. Cohen was a shining light in this godless world. he wrote about spirituality with a sense of sincerity, wisdom, and humor that you don't see much, or at all, in pop music. my favorite album of his, "Death of a Ladies Man", imo is the modern "Dark Night of the Soul".

RIP.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WirxqAn7Ck8

Always loved this speech he gave a few years ago, in which he recounts how his education as a guitarist was touched by tragedy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIR5ps8usuo

RIP, Leonard, thank you ...

I especially love his acceptance speech for the R&R Hall of Fame. He recites Tower of Song, and the couplets hit like punchlines. An audience unfamiliar with the song might have thought he was just making extemporaneous observations that rhymed almost by accident. It's a testament to his stagecraft and wit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9IZfiHEgd8

obv Cohen-sceptic response: I think you'll find that was him singing

Now the clasp of this union
Who fastens it tight?
Who snaps it asunder
The very next night
Some say the rider
Some say the mare
Or that love's like the smoke
Beyond all repair

But my darling says
"Leonard, just let it go by
That old silhouette
On the great western sky"
So I pick out a tune
And they move right along
And they're gone like the smoke
And they're gone like this song

It's written on the walls of this hotel
You go to heaven once you've been to hell

A heavy burden lifted from my soul
I heard that love was out of my control

I used to spot him regularly when I was in high-school, on our lunch breaks we'd go to this Portuguese chicken place that was just far enough to get take out and get back in time, and we'd see him walking up and down Saint-Laurent, always with his arms wrapped around Anjani, the two of them walking slowly, totally oblivious to the rest of the world. it was cute, i remember being surprised, he seemed to be as romantic as the guy in the old songs.

One anecdote that I love: my friend Vincent's mother put on a play about his life, around that time, and invited him to the debut. he accepted, sat in the front row, but spent the entire performance with his back to the stage, engaged in some sloppy heavy petting with Ms Thomas. lol <3

ha!! that is great

it really is. <3

with leonard cohen you're almost certainly going to land on a decent song at the very least, every single time

Except "Jazz Police". Why Leonard, why?

xxp great story

!!

I like Jazz Police. It's disconcertingly kitschy but harmonically interesting (that's what she said).

Jazz Police is great fuiud

i've been listening on shuffle a lot too. previously i kind of settled in on new skin through recent songs as my favorite period but so much of the other stuff has resonated more this time. "here it is" from ten new songs blew me away this morning

No, Jazz Police is not great, it's shit.

The only song I don't like on I'm Your Man is the title track, as it is just too musically slight.

imo "jazz police" rules

eh

I've heard it once. I skip it.

I'm a fan of Jazz Police, it's very silly, but I'm cool with that

For a song that's basically an in-joke between Cohen and the band it's a lot of fun. Guessing it did not take as long to write as hallelujah

Although I find it funny to think of him writing 80 verses

Did anyone ever edit together all extant verses, like on Youtube for instance?

a larf via the ny times copy desk

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2016/11/16/rather-unfortunate-newspaper-correction-leonard-cohen/

lol I don't need to open that to know which correction they're referring to

“I don't like what you done to my mister..."

My favorite Leonard Cohen story is the one that I think came from Rufus Wainwright. Where he goes to his apartment to meet before a collaboration, and Leonard Cohen is there basically in his underwear. He greets him, excuses himself for a few minutes, then comes back in a perfectly tailored suit.

anyone have a quote from Cohen regarding the musical choices he made (sparse, digital, dubbed) from ~Various Position onwards?

this SOS article is interesting enough but I'm curious to know what motivated him and what kind of band sounds he likes http://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-leonard-cohen-slow

The Singles Jukebox pays tribute

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22642-im-your-man/

xpost to Josh In Chicago: my favourite detail in the Rufus Wainwright story is that Cohen was apparently chewing up sausages and spitting them out to feed to a baby bird he had rescued.

so my band is organizing/playing this thing
https://www.facebook.com/events/222751078134441/

this will be the Beards' first performance since Leonard's passing