I’ve taken a break from t’internet these past two weeks – all the posts on the blog were pre-packaged in advance and the plan had been to get back into things over the weekend.
But I just can’t let today go past without paying a small tribute.
I came late to Leonard Cohen in terms of appreciating him. As I said on a previous post, I became aware of his work from about the age of 13 as a mate’s older brother insisted on playing his stuff all the time. I can’t say I was too keen….it was all a bit doom and gloom and let’s face it, the majority of the subject matters went right over my head at the time. But as a number of my own favourite musicians in the 80s began to name check him as an influence I re-approached his material with a fresh mind and discovered that I was indeed a fan.
I was lucky enough to have just about the best seats in the house to see him perform in a 3,000 capacity venue in Glasgow back in November 2008. It was a joyous, uplifting and wonderful evening during which he was on stage for well over 2 hours and performed 26 songs from right across his incredible career. I felt afterwards as if I’d just put the biggest possible tick on my bucket list.
I first heard of Leonard’s passing via a friend’s comment on Facebook. It’s not a medium I use all that much but I did leave the following words:-
“2016 can go and take a fuck to itself”
It’s hardly the most poetic few words I’ve ever come up with, but it is heartfelt.
mp3 : Leonard Cohen – Suzanne
mp3 : Leonard Cohen – Democracy (live on Later, 1993)
mp3 : James – So Long, Marianne
The world is a sadder place today.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
I remember as a teenager being out with my pal and our girlfriends and walking past a queue for a Leonard Cohen show at the Glasgow Apollo, a sight we found highly amusing. Oh how we sneered at these old hippies going to see someone sing such depressing songs.
A few years later I got listening to him properly for the first time and immediately realised what an immensely talented man he was and how stupid we had all been.
RIP Leonard.
It is – and I’ve really had it with this year….
I was more shattered last night by the passing of The Man than the passing of my country on Wednesday morning. They will write books about 2016 and they will include the losses to our musical world. Music is a refuge, a place to go to find relief, to find support, to find focus. Losing the musical voices that provide that can be oh so very hard to take.
Such a loss.. I was lucky enough to meet him once in Montreal- I could best describe him as a “superhero artist” whom we all loved dearly. I share with you my cover of “Dance me to the End of Love” with video filmed outside Leonard Cohen’s Montreal home where a memorial was held and lasted for weeks~