# Leonard Cohen -- Holy crap! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463 "2008-03-07T17:31:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/41 "2008-03-08T03:24:49Z")
“Songs From a Room” will always be Cohen’s seminal work to me. “The Partisan,” “Bird On a Wire,” “The Old Revolution,” and “The Story of Isaac” (my favorite.) Killer album. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/42 "2008-03-08T13:32:49Z")
If Cohen had only written “Bird on the Wire” he would be remembered. That is one amazing song. I also like “Seems So Long Ago.” ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/43 "2008-03-08T14:47:45Z")
[QUOTE=Intelligently Designed] The most painfully beautiful [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIdZ-rRnUkg&feature=related) ever made. [/QUOTE] Oh my God, that’s incredible! Thank you for posting the link. I’ve loved Leonard Cohen since the 60s but lost touch with his later songs. This is achingly beautiful, pure Cohen magic, the heart just melts before it, the eyes water up. Wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/das_glasperlenspiel/32/2944_2.png) [@Das\_Glasperlenspiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Das_Glasperlenspiel)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/44 "2008-03-08T15:18:08Z")
k.d. lang’s cover of [“Hallelujah”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXV19TykLY) is one of the best, IMHO. From her album “Hymns of the 49th Parallel”, which covers material by Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian artists. Magic. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/45 "2008-03-08T15:38:04Z")
I like [R.E.M.'s cover of _First We Take Manhattan_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rSe4cBNhSk), which can can be found on the [I’m Your Fan](http://www.amazon.com/Im-Your-Fan-Various-Artists/dp/B000002ISX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1204990502&sr=1-1) compilation. Track listing: 1. First We Take Manhattan - R.E.M. 2. Hey That’s No Way To Say GoodBye - Ian McColloch 3. I Can’t Forget - Pixies 4. Stories Of The Street - That Petrol Emotion 5. Bird On A Wire - The Lilac Time 6. Suzanne - Geoffry Oryema 7. So Long Marianne - James 8. Avalanche IV - Jean-Louis Murat 9. Don’t Go Home With Your Hard-on - David McComb & Adam Peters 10. Who By Fire - The House Of Love 11. Chelsea Hotel - Lloyd Cole 12. Tower Of Song - Robert Forster 13. Take This Longing - Peter Astor 14. True Love Leaves No Traces - Dead Famous People 15. I’m Your Man - Bill Pritchard 16. A Singer Must Die - Fatima Mansions 17. Tower Of Song - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds 18. Hallelujah - John Cale ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/46 "2008-03-08T16:00:45Z")
Apologies if someone has already mentioned it in this thread, but Leonard Cohen’s among this year’s [inductees](http://www.rockhall.com/inductees) in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/47 "2008-03-08T18:11:59Z")
[QUOTE=Intelligently Designed] The most painfully beautiful [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIdZ-rRnUkg&feature=related) ever made. [/QUOTE] Damn it. I had originally wnated that to be our first dance when Mrs Jophiel and I got married but she backed out. If I had been able to show her that video, it would have been a lock. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/48 "2008-03-08T20:09:35Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] If Cohen had only written “Bird on the Wire” he would be remembered. That is one amazing song. [/QUOTE] Agreed; I had part of that song in my head for years before I found out who wrote it. Didn’t Willy Nelson do a great cover some years back? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/49 "2008-03-08T21:25:21Z")
[QUOTE=Das Glasperlenspiel] k.d. lang’s cover of [“Hallelujah”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXV19TykLY) is one of the best, IMHO. [/QUOTE] I’ll suggest [Jeff Buckley’s cover,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsa_xWLOghg&NR=1) and let the Gentle Listener decide. His death broke my heart. ---
**Author:** ![ErmesMarana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/82dd89/32.png) [@ErmesMarana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErmesMarana)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/50 "2008-03-08T22:28:04Z")
_I’m Your Man_ is probably my favorite Cohen album. Cohen’s voice goes perfectly with the songs on this album, and he blows away the many covers that have been attempted. You just aren’t going to improve on _Everybody Knows_, _I’m Your Man_, or _Tower of Song_. After that, _Songs of Love and Hate_, _Songs of Leonard Cohen_, and _Songs from a Room_ are outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/51 "2008-03-09T00:00:12Z")
[QUOTE=Das Glasperlenspiel] k.d. lang’s cover of [“Hallelujah”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXV19TykLY) is one of the best, IMHO. From her album “Hymns of the 49th Parallel”, which covers material by Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian artists. Magic. [/QUOTE] I agree that the k.d. lang version is the best I’ve heard. Somehow it’s the only version that (IMHO) actually has _emotion_ behind it! Actually, the one I’ve heard her sing was the one at the Junos: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P\_NpxTWbovE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_NpxTWbovE) ---
**Author:** ![Daffyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daffyd/32/8923_2.png) [@Daffyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daffyd)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/52 "2008-03-09T03:38:33Z")
[QUOTE=Das Glasperlenspiel] k.d. lang’s cover of [“Hallelujah”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXV19TykLY) is one of the best, IMHO. From her album “Hymns of the 49th Parallel”, which covers material by Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bruce Cockburn and other Canadian artists. Magic. [/QUOTE] \*\*Exactly \*\*what I was going to say… I had chills go down my spine the first time I heard kd’s version of Hallelujah. I swear I have put that song on repeat more than once and listened to it 10 times in a row. I love the whole album, but that song stands out. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/53 "2008-03-09T04:03:06Z")
[QUOTE=MikeG] His latest album Ten New Songs is simply amazing. [/QUOTE] I have good news for you: Ten New Songs isn’t his latest album, it’s Dear Heather, which he released around 2004. It’s supposed to be good too. I have it, but haven’t got around to listening to it yet. I like Ten New Songs a lot too. I think there’s an album where he wrote all the songs but a female singer sang all of them. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/54 "2008-03-09T12:46:15Z")
[QUOTE=Talon Karrde] I think there’s an album where he wrote all the songs but a female singer sang all of them. [/QUOTE] _Famous Blue Raincoat_, by Jennifer Warnes, mentioned in post #8. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2008, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/55 "2008-03-09T23:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] _Famous Blue Raincoat_, by Jennifer Warnes, mentioned in post #8. [/QUOTE] Actually the one I was thinking of wasn’t a tribute album, all the songs were new [here it is](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Alert_%28album%29). I guess he just wrote the lyrics, not the music. ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/56 "2008-03-10T00:27:28Z")
All right, I just put in a request for “Essential” and “Ten New Ones.” You Dopers have turned me on to Terry Pratchett, “Donnie Darko” and Futurama, so I suspect y’all be right on this one, too. Membership on this board’s costing me a lot of money, you know. Not that I’m complaining 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/57 "2008-03-10T00:34:37Z")
[QUOTE=pesch] All right, I just put in a request for “Essential” and “Ten New Ones.” You Dopers have turned me on to Terry Pratchett, “Donnie Darko” and Futurama, so I suspect y’all be right on this one, too. Membership on this board’s costing me a lot of money, you know. Not that I’m complaining 😃 [/QUOTE] Total Hijack- I hope you’re spending as much on the DVD’s of The Wire as I am. And loving it as much as I am. MiM ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2008, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/58 "2008-03-10T12:26:59Z")
WABC 710 Radio had this conversation this morning on the 6:30 news: News Reporter giving list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees: And finally, Leonard Cohen is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Finally he gets in. DJ Joe Bartlett: Who is Leonard Cohen? News Anchor: You don’t know Leonard Cohen? DJ: No. NA: He is a fantastic songwriter from the 60’s. DJ: Oh. NA: Fantastic songwriter. Not much of a singer, but he wrote some good songs. DJ: Never heard of him. And I thought of this thread ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/59 "2008-03-12T10:13:57Z")
Just in today: > **[BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Singer Cohen announces world tour](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7291386.stm)** > > Legendary singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is to start his first world tour for 15 years in Toronto in June. unless I missed it earlier in the thread. He’s 73!? ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463/60 "2008-03-21T19:48:09Z")
I got introduced to Leonard Cohen through Wim Wenders’ movie Land of Plenty [http://www.wim-wenders.com/movies/movies\_spec/landofplenty/land-of-plenty.htm](http://www.wim-wenders.com/movies/movies_spec/landofplenty/land-of-plenty.htm) Minor hijack, I highly recommend Wenders’ films From the I’m Your Man dvd my favorite song is Antony’s version of If It Be Your Will [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MDlMdu2gjw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MDlMdu2gjw) fantastic lyrics, fabulous rendition [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/leonard-cohen-holy-crap/440463.md?page=4)