Comment by qwertox

Comment by qwertox 10 months ago

15 replies

I dislike "Hallelujah" and am not aware of other songs from him. There's the line "Give me a Leonard Cohen afterworld, so I can sigh eternally" in Pennyroyal Tea, which made me not judge him, and then there was Chris Cornell's daughter Toni singing it for her father [0], which was really moving.

What am I missing out on?

[0] https://youtu.be/w5-M1lwLvDU?t=75

jszymborski 10 months ago

Pretty much every track is a hit, but here are some four random personal favourites:

- Everybody Knows https://youtu.be/Gxd23UVID7k

- First We Take Manhattan https://youtu.be/JTTC_fD598A

- Famous Blue Raincoat https://youtu.be/ohk3DP5fMCg

- Who By Fire https://youtu.be/ilGahIwQEQ0

Obviously too many to list here though, just pick up any album. By virtue of the fact that he was an incredible songwriter, his songs have such wonderful covers.

The Tori Amos cover of Famous Blue Raincoat [0] is one of my favourites, and this cover of Who by Fire by PJ Harvey & Tim Phillips gives me chills every time [1] (also the theme for Bad Sisters which is an amazing series). Also, pretty much every Canadian who was an adult in 2010 has an emotional connection to the k.d. lang performance of Hallelujah at the Vancouver olympics [2].

[0] https://youtu.be/PMSbICWbjBw

[1] https://youtu.be/PPY_MqCfMqE

[2] https://youtu.be/tcOQSk_cMO0

neom 10 months ago

For me Cohen is a double whammy, if you like to (or are able to?) "look at music" - his music is really fun to look at, I mean the composition etc, just how he lays it out is really really good. His lyrics are also sublime, he started as a poet, many think he's not much of a singer, his voice is.. you know, whatever, I think it took me some time to really..take the time... to look at his music properly, to see what all the fuss is about? It's pretty good, if you like looking at music he might, be the best... :) - 2:18 thru 4:05 in here is some "very cohen-ish" type stuff I particularly enjoy, it's a really fun walk. I find a lot of new stuff in this song each time I listen to it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux8s4wJXNnA

touisteur 10 months ago

There's also "A Thousand Kisses Deep" and its rare cover by Jackson Browne https://youtu.be/w_mV4tdw2wY

And "Dance Me To The End of Love" which has also been beautifully covered.

I'm also very fond of Chelsea Hotel (more touching if you get the context) and Boogie Street.

Most of Cohen isn't very accessible to me as I miss many cultural markers, but they still very often feel appropriate (pop-up) in times of melancholy...

quintsbane 10 months ago

The entire album New Skin for the Old Ceremony is worth a listen. It contains many of his “hits” and is approachable for a modern audience.

gmac 10 months ago

It’s funny, I quite viscerally hate Cohen’s original Hallelujah, but I first encountered it as sung by Jeff Buckley, and that version I absolutely love.

Otherwise I like his first album (Songs of Leonard Cohen) when I’m in the mood for something depressing, but everything else of his I’ve heard just sounds to me like a drunk on a street corner with a Casio keyboard.

  • SECProto 10 months ago

    > everything else of his I’ve heard just sounds to me like a drunk on a street corner with a Casio keyboard

    Though I disagree with the characterization, there's a beauty in it, too

  • RankingMember 10 months ago

    > on a street corner with a Casio keyboard

    Muscling in on Wesley Willis' territory!

indigodaddy 10 months ago

I wouldn’t discount exploring further if you disliked Hallelujah, as the song is a bit niche even against LC’s larger library. Find a best of album and give it a go. ‘Everybody Knows’ and many others that you may better regard will certainly be on it.