We are still listening, every day, in this house. This morning the albums that got full play were “Popular Problems”, “Old Ideas” and “You Want It Darker”. All relatively recent. And here is a podcast from The New Yorker Radio Hour:
And here is a little extra on Dylan’s comments on Cohen.
A sidewalk leaf imprint that makes me think of an atomic bomb “shadow”. EOU football practice. Downtown meandering. A friendly cat follows me for nearly two blocks. Charlie shows his crazy glad-to-see-you face.
[rDays 594-598]
Just looking at the sky a lot these past few days …
[rDays 594 – 598]
Today Quartz publishes this Spotify playlist. You can see its entire article here.
Finally, here is some background on “Anthem”, one of the Cohen songs I keep returning to. And let’s add the lyrics while we are at it …
After hearing more Leonard Cohen until the wee hours of the morning, I streamed more from my server this morning upon awakening, and then most recently, Kim and I spent from 12:30 – 3:00pm listening to his “Live in London” album, issued in 2009 after that 2008 concert. That album, for newcomers to Cohen or just about anyone else, would be my recommendation for the best introduction to his spread of music over the years, performed with some of the best backing and musicianship you will ever hear and with Cohen in fine, matured “voice”. The Live in London concert is also available with video on DVD for the full effect. Another great introduction to Cohen would be the 2005 “I’m Your Man” film, mostly featuring covers, but excellent covers, of some of his work.
And here is a recent KCRW (our old hometown radio station in Santa Monica) interview, thought to be one of his last:
(By the way, we are hearing reports that Cohen actually passed away on Monday, but that his death was not announced until yesterday.)
Leonard Cohen, R.I.P.
A post about Leonard Cohen would normally be something reserved for my music blog. But …
Early this afternoon, I played Leonard’s new album, “You Want It Darker” in its entirety for the first time, sharing it with Kim as we tried to relax from the intensity of this week. We had both heard tracks here and there since its release in late October, but this was the first “real” listening. After the album play was completed, we stopped and talked about it for quite some time, stunned by the incredible poetry and effect of the music. We dove onto the Internet to find the lyrics to what we had just heard. I visited his official website for more information, confirming that he was now 82, yet he now seems to be at the very height of his powers. We talked about how the album’s music could be seen as a premonition or exploration of death that would someday come. And we welcomed his music as an alternative to the shock of the political events of this week and how the latter has been dominating all conversation and thought.
Later on this evening, after watching the news and talking by phone with Ivi for an hour, I returned to the Leonard Cohen website to find an announcement posted five hours earlier, informing us that Leonard had just passed away.
Here is the title track to the new album. I will probably be adding more from this album and much of his previous work to my music blog in posts in the days to come.
I must add that Leonard Cohen’s music — along with only a handful of other performers and composers (Bob Dylan, Nina Simone, Tom Waits, J. S. Bach all come to mind) — would be among that which I would select to take with me to that mythical “desert island”.
Leonard Cohen, R.I.P.
The best of the year stuff is starting to appear. Here you can find National Geographic’s picks for “10 of the Most Stunning Wildlife Pictures of the Year“.
Don’t miss other great collections at the Nat Geo site. Among my favorites are these photos by kids: “Through The Eyes Of A Child“.
Can you handle just one more?