'Cause I just adore him. And every fan I know is also a girl. I knew this boy in high school who was always talking about how much he loved Leonard Cohen, but I later found out that he was just trying to impress a girl.
Is he a strictly feminine thing, or do boys dig him, too?
I do. Although my mom introduced me too him. My favorite is the one that goes “Now in Vienna there’s ten pretty women …”
There was also this male skater who did a skate performance to “I’m Your Man.”
Until I learned just now that it’s a girly thing, I did. 
Seriously though I dig Leonard Cohen a lot. When I was back in high school I bought my girlfriend one of his CDs for her birthday, figuring she liked it, which she did. So there you have a guy introducing a girl to Leonard Cohen.
I’m a male and I love Leonard Cohen. Strangely, every LC fan I have ever met has been male.
Haj
Well, I’m a guy and I’ve always liked “Waiting for the Miracle” and “The Future” on the NATURAL BORN KILLERS soundtrack. I also like “Everybody Knows” which was featured in that classic of teen angst PUMP UP THE VOLUME. I have no qualms against the ubiquitous “I’m Your Man”. I’ve also checked one of his CD’s out from the library, but I haven’t listened to it yet.
Well, now that I know that chixdiggit I think I will.
Ditto hajario - Guy, dig Cohen, thought he was strictly a guy thing (I picked up my love of Cohen’s stuff from my dad, for instance.)
I’m a boy (well, a 44-year old boy), and Leonard Cohen is possibly my favorite singer/songwriter. Strangely enough, I hardly know anyone else of any gender who likes him. I play his music only when my wife isn’t home.
I’m 25 and a boy. I love Leonard Cohen, although my introduction to his music was a little strange. R.E.M. did a cover of First We Take Manhattan that was included on one of their obscure collection of B-sides CDs that I bought. I fell in love with the song, and insisted on playing it for my mother. She remarked that it was a cover of a Leonard Cohen song, however, she hadn’t converted any of her old “reh-cords?” into CD format and couldn’t play the original for me. She did have a CD by Jennifer Warnes (whom I had never heard of before nor have ever heard from since) called Famous Blue Raincoat, which was a collection of Leonard Cohen songs covered by the aforementioned artist. The songs on the album got me hooked and began a long, mostly insane, quest to find his music on CD. 
“Suzanne” and “Hallelujah”… ::sigh::
As much as I love those songs I sometimes wish I’d never heard them.
Although, admitedly, I enjoy the Jeff Buckley cover of “Hallelujah” more than the original.
I really liked “Everybody Knows,” too. Great dark lyrics, and Johnette Napolitano really cuts loose toward the end.
…and by the way, my favorite song is So Long Maryanne.
I’m standing on a ledge
and your fine spider web
is fastening my ankle to a stone
Haj
Another guy fan (make that massive fan) checking in. I particularly like his early records (Songs of L. C. and Songs of Love and Hate), but enjoy some of the 80s-90s records.
I have gotten three or four women into him, but other than them I haven’t met any other female fans, but plenty of male ones.
I’m so happy everyone is talking about Leonard Cohen! I just picked up a best of and am really listening to him for the first time. What great lyrics! What a unique voice! What shitty, shitty, shitty production!
I don’t know about the guy vs. girl thing, and I confess the best of collection only includes old songs, but man, this guy needs to get rid of the dry, flat female backing vocals and ridiculously uninspired instrumentation. If there can’t be any good background stuff, he could at least just strip it down to voince and guitar and leave well enough alone.
I’m a boy, by the way.
For anyone reading who hasn’t heard old Lennie, I’d just like to state how much I disagree with the comment about the production. It has its own special feeling, which works best when a record is listened to straight through.
Songs Of Love and Hate is available cheaply, and is one of the best sounding ‘quieter’ records from 1970. I’d ask anyone to listen first, preferably after a couple of ales.
I always figured that he was sleeping with the backup singers so, as a gentleman, he HAD to include them.
He’s sensitive, but straight. A fine role model for other sensitive but straight guys. Anybody that old and that ugly who nails Rebecca De Mornay on a regular basis is my hero.
Dammit, dropzone, you beat me to it!!
Another male LC fan here. I will say that I’m not crazy about the arrangements for his more recent stuff (sounds like the “auto-arrangement” buttons on a cheap Casio synth), and generally tend to enjoy the old stuff much more.
I waiver between Suzanne and The Partisan as my favorite Cohen songs. Something about those creepy French children at the end of the Partisan always gets to me.
Does anyone else know about the Ween parody?
Here’s the original:
http://gs.cdnow.com/graphics/COVERART/local/L/00/38/00000038.jpg
And here’s the Ween “tribute”:
http://gs.cdnow.com/graphics/COVERART/AMG/L/91/48/00269148.jpg
Got a good chuckle when I stumbled across that in a record store. Seems strangely appropriate now though…
Have you read his poetry? He’s written some of the finest love poems I’ve ever read (very simple and unsentimental poems, naturally) and his Book of Mercy is a fantastic collection of 50 psalms he wrote at age 50. I love him. But then, I’m a girl.
bliss
I own SONGS FROM A ROOM, but I don’t think I’ve listened to it through even once, which is odd, 'cause I seem to be the sort of person who would probably like Leonard Cohen. At least that’s what the two people I’ve met in my life who like Leonard Cohen tell me. They’re both male, by the way.
Maybe I’ll go and put it on now.
Ike, you really are a natural. Give it a try.