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Original poster

Is anyone into Leonard Cohen?

111 replies

Sundaygirl01 · 25/09/2023 21:30

I don’t know where I’ve been but he and his music have passed me by and I have only just discovered him through something I read.

I know he wrote much of his work in the 1960s but he played Glastonbury in 2008 and did a world tour in 2010.

He’s growing on me!

If you like him, what songs are your favourites?

OP posts:
Vates · 26/09/2023 05:37

I adore Famous Blue Raincoat! I bought a best of/greatest hits album of his when I was 19 and fell in love with his voice.

AuntieMarys · 26/09/2023 06:40

I'm in my 60s and loved him from the age of 10...my older sister had his records.
Saw him 3 times in the 80s.
Love his self deprecating later lyrics...I ache in the places where I used to play.
There's a lovely documentary about Marianne.

MsFrost · 26/09/2023 07:05

I find it odd that the first response asked how old you are. I am in my thirties and discovered him in my mid-late twenties. I think his appeal spans ages.

I also love his poetry - he has a beautiful way with words.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Music
TheMurderousGoose · 26/09/2023 07:35

MsFrost · 26/09/2023 07:05

I find it odd that the first response asked how old you are. I am in my thirties and discovered him in my mid-late twenties. I think his appeal spans ages.

I also love his poetry - he has a beautiful way with words.

I asked how old she is so as to see how unusual it is that she's only just discovered him. The whole point of her thread is that he's 'passed her by' until now. Not so unusual if she's 21, more unusual if she's 61.

Sorry you find that so odd. 🙄

User19537876 · 26/09/2023 07:49

If you only listen to the radio and popular music, I guess he would quite easily pass you by, he hasn't really been on the radio much though did have a bit of a popularity when Alexander Burke won X factor with Hallelujah. DH probably wouldn't have heard of him much if I didn't like him

LunaNorth · 26/09/2023 07:52

I did feel sad for Marianne’s son in that documentary. I think she and Leonard were a pretty selfish pair.

TheMurderousGoose · 26/09/2023 07:54

LunaNorth · 26/09/2023 07:52

I did feel sad for Marianne’s son in that documentary. I think she and Leonard were a pretty selfish pair.

Yes he was bundled off to boarding school so they could frolic on Hydra

LunaNorth · 26/09/2023 07:55

These artists, eh?

MerelyPlaying · 26/09/2023 08:22

A lifelong fan - in my 60s, grew up listening to my older sister's records. I was lucky enough to see him at the 02 in London on his last tour - hands down the best concert I have ever been to. He managed to make a huge space feel like an intimate venue.

I'm so happy to find this thread, I'm sick of people who don't know his music saying that it's dark and depressing! Famous Blue Raincoat is my all-time favourite but there are so many - Tower of Song, Who by Fire, and the You Want it Darker album was really good.

And sorry I can't remember who posted this above - but yes, I would have, too! 😄

Daisymay2 · 26/09/2023 08:27

I have never understood why Bob Dylan got the Nobel Prize for literature when Cohen was still alive. He is much better poet than Dylan.
that’s no way to say goodbye is probably my favourite

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 26/09/2023 08:39

Have not listened to him in years. Not sure why, I do love his music and his lyrics. Saw him in the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago.

One artist I did discover late, well late-ish, was Tom Waits.

ungryHippy · 26/09/2023 08:42

Dance me to the end of love.

If you look up how he was inspired to write this song it's heartbreaking.

tintinandhisdogsnowy · 26/09/2023 08:53

I have loved Leonard Cohen for as long as I can remember. I'm 62. I saw him live at the O2 and it was the best concert I have ever seen. I cried at 'If it be your will'.
I listen to his songs constantly. They are all so beautiful.

tintinandhisdogsnowy · 26/09/2023 09:00

Daisymay2 · 26/09/2023 08:27

I have never understood why Bob Dylan got the Nobel Prize for literature when Cohen was still alive. He is much better poet than Dylan.
that’s no way to say goodbye is probably my favourite

I've been saying this for years. Leonard was robbed.

BotanicalNames · 26/09/2023 09:04

One of my absolute favourite songs of all time is The Partisan. Also, Who by Fire (live in Dublin) is amazing. His songs and words are timeless.

User19537876 · 26/09/2023 09:08

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 26/09/2023 08:39

Have not listened to him in years. Not sure why, I do love his music and his lyrics. Saw him in the Royal Albert Hall a few years ago.

One artist I did discover late, well late-ish, was Tom Waits.

Tom Waits is another one you don't hear of much, love him, saw him in the mid 80s, just does very occasional one off shows now so no hope of seeing him again. I'm also a big Dylan fan but still think Leonard was robbed of the Nobel prize.

Original poster
Sundaygirl01 · 26/09/2023 09:40

Well I don’t know Tom Waits either so I’ll give him a try too!

OP posts:
ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 26/09/2023 10:50

Sundaygirl01 · 26/09/2023 09:40

Well I don’t know Tom Waits either so I’ll give him a try too!

Start with The Early Years.

He can be very experimental later on. I can be a bit overwhelming.

TheMurderousGoose · 26/09/2023 11:11

I love Tom Waits, especially the earlier stuff. Love his melodies, love the sad stories he tells.

Kentucky Avenue is one of my favourite songs of all time.

LunaNorth · 26/09/2023 11:40

Tom Waits’ Closing Time is one of my favourite albums of all time.

Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night is another great one.

JaneJeffer · 26/09/2023 11:54

TheMurderousGoose · 25/09/2023 23:36

The Marianne and Leonard film is moving, as was the letter he wrote to her after his death.

I knew he was talented but that's next level!

Grin
MsYamada · 26/09/2023 11:55

I love Different Sides, from Old Ideas.

Vivolvolo · 26/09/2023 13:43

I also ‘found’ him in my fifties. I love I’m Your Man, Dance me to the end of love, Famous Blue Raincoat. And also many of the lyrics of so many of the songs

I Highly recommend the Live in Dublin concert CDs I think it’s the Im your Man tour. Just wonderful with fab musicians and singers, and it’s long! Perfect for a lazy, rainy afternoon.

I enjoyed the film in Hydra, it was so evocative of late 60s/early 70s, but I didn’t think he came across well.

Jaichangecentfoisdenom · 26/09/2023 13:47

If you know "The Partisan", you'll recognise my user-name which I chose because of his version of that song. I saw him in London in the late Seventies. Amazing man!

BigMandsTattooPortfolio · 26/09/2023 13:56

My dh is Cohen’s biggest fan and introduced me to his music. I love the last couple of albums he made before he died. Incredible talent and songwriter.

I remember reading this story about a little boy who got lost at a music festival and couldn’t find his parents. In tears, he was approached by a kindly older man in a hat who wanted to help and made all sorts on enquiries on the boy’s behalf to locate them. When they were successfully found and reunited, his parents were astonished when their little boy was returned to them by none other than Leonard Cohen.