Greil Marcus was asked about Leonard Cohen yesterday. Response:
think the reason I like Leonard Cohen better on movie soundtracks—McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Natural Born Killers, Pump Up the Volume most memorably for me—is that there the music is orchestrating the actions of people, and if they’re good, and here they are (Julie Christie, Shelley Duvall, Warren Beatty, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Woody Harrelson, Juliet Lewis), they draw us in, and we care about what they’re doing and why, we worry about them, we feel protective toward them—in other words, in the movies there’s a dimension of humanness, of vulnerability and jeopardy, that is attached to the music, a dimension that I find completely absent from Cohen’s music on its own. To me it was more than half a century of someone looking down from his tower of song on everyone else. Randy Newman put it best, long ago, introducing his song “Suzanne” onstage in San Francisco: “This isn’t Leonard Cohen’s ‘Suzanne.’ It’s on a somewhat lower moral plane, actually.”
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:06 (seven years ago) link
Otm dan
― diary of a mod how's life (wins), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:09 (seven years ago) link
but that was only replacing the previous 1d perception of cohen as depressive doom merchant - basically there is a bit more to this guy's life & work
like in the years before your basic types decided it was all about wry genial irony the idea of having to say "no there's also an element of self loathing/paranoia/whatever" would be absurd no
― diary of a mod how's life (wins), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:23 (seven years ago) link
there’s a dimension of humanness, of vulnerability and jeopardy, that is attached to the music, a dimension that I find completely absent from Cohen’s music on its own
I guess someone needs to hear Death of a Ladies' Man.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:27 (seven years ago) link
Marcus reliably boring
I am a xgau-sceptic and xgau is a cohen-sceptic but his long essay on cohen is good (haven't read the recent obit btw); it does contain the kewl anecdata that all the hardcore cohen fans he knows cheated on their wives tho
― diary of a mod how's life (wins), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:34 (seven years ago) link
Simon I am trying to throw something together now btw, it's difficult
― diary of a mod how's life (wins), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:35 (seven years ago) link
simon I won't be able to get in today but possibly tomorrow morning? If that's too late that's fine
― I've read Ta-nehisi Coates. (marcos), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:39 (seven years ago) link
tomorrow morning could be workable - I'm only rolling out the albums on Monday so there's some wiggle room. all I'm doing today is collecting links, quotes, etc
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:56 (seven years ago) link
for anyone struggling, I highly recommend just doing an unranked or partially ranked ballot.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Sunday, 4 December 2016 16:57 (seven years ago) link
Submitted
― diary of a mod how's life (wins), Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:22 (seven years ago) link
Don't sweat this, people: throw a buncha songs on a list, make sure "Hallelujah" ain't on it, hit send.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:52 (seven years ago) link
we are now up to 19 ballots!
I entered an antique shop today and the only two CDs they had - as in, at *their entire CD stock* - were pristine used copies of Ten New Songs and Recent Songs, which I'd been looking for. That made my whole week.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Sunday, 4 December 2016 22:28 (seven years ago) link
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 4 December 2016 17:52 (five hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Pretty much what I did yah; clearly hallelujah is a lovely and excellent song but I could do the out four 20s without touching it, also I voted for two albums that contain it
― diary of a mod how's life (wins), Sunday, 4 December 2016 23:49 (seven years ago) link
*three or four
― diary of a mod how's life (wins), Sunday, 4 December 2016 23:50 (seven years ago) link
I *may* have to delay the rollout by a day as tomorrow night I will apparently be making dinner for a human woman, a thing that quite literally never happens. The Cohen effect?
Also, my second Cohen biography ebook came in today - very fortuitous timing.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Monday, 5 December 2016 00:42 (seven years ago) link
Follow Leonard's implied advice and wear a suit & tie.
Or don't. I don't know anything about your life.
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Monday, 5 December 2016 00:44 (seven years ago) link
y'know I don't even wear a tie to work but I might but one on for kicks when I get home
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Monday, 5 December 2016 00:46 (seven years ago) link
Scratch what I said, the rollout WILL start tomorrow night, albeit in slightly unorthodox (read: not work-intensive for me) fashion.
Unless any more come in before I go to work tomorrow, we got in a v respectable 20 ballots.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Monday, 5 December 2016 01:51 (seven years ago) link
here we go
Laughing Len strikes again: ILM Artist Poll #81 - Leonard Cohen
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Monday, 5 December 2016 05:35 (seven years ago) link
Voted!
― Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever), Monday, 5 December 2016 06:08 (seven years ago) link
Yer in!
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Monday, 5 December 2016 06:19 (seven years ago) link
Ranking those late albums.
― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 28 September 2018 01:15 (five years ago) link
I really like your take on "I'm Your Man."
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 28 September 2018 01:42 (five years ago) link
thanks
― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 28 September 2018 02:06 (five years ago) link
FWIW this sentence seems to be missing a clause:"It’s hard to remember which songs appear on the comeback albums, but to my ears Popular Problems is where the performing chops gained by a tour necessitated by money problems."
and you forgot the record "old ideas"
and i think you mean "if it be your will"
sorry to nitpick :(
the webb sisters version of the latter song was a staple of the late tours, and it's quite something
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDemnguRYj4
― affects breves telnet (Gummy Gummy), Friday, 28 September 2018 09:34 (five years ago) link
that sentence works actually, although I would have subbed it – the performing chops on PP gained (i.e. improved) as a result of the tour.
― the word dog doesn't bark (anagram), Friday, 28 September 2018 10:36 (five years ago) link
Thanks for the correction!
― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 28 September 2018 15:04 (five years ago) link
I rank 1971-1979
― Your sweetie-pie-coo-coo I love ya (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 11 December 2018 03:52 (five years ago) link