When Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, didn't you wonder about whether Leonard Cohen could have also had this honour.
The Nobel Prize for Literature would have been a nice ending for a very rich life as a poet, songwriter, singer, and overall cool cat. Leonard Cohen, who had been sick for some time, passed away Monday at the age of 82.
We'll talk more about his music and songs further down. Cohen's coolness level is what a lot of people know most about him. I talk about cool Canadian women considerably, but he is the master of cool. When The New York Times noted Canada's hip level, of Canada's "sultans of cool in the past," Leonard Cohen was "the coolest cat in a hat."
Leonard Cohen made my first list of guests when I envisioned a Canadian dinner party. This is what I said at the time in 2013. "Cool is the closest you can come to describing the impact of Leonard Cohen. The lyrics, rhythm, and ooooo that voice. Just wonderful."
Barney Stinson listed Leonard Cohen as one of the great things Canada gave us to his then-fiancee Robin Scherbatsky on the CBS-TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
We think of singers as lyricists more than poets, but Cohen had a decade of poetry success before he became a singer. His first poetry book Let Us Compare Mythologies came out in 1956; his music career started in 1967.
Leonard Cohen proves you're not too old to win a Juno
Bird on the Wire, Suzanne, Hallelujah, Dance Me to the End of Love, First We Take Manhattan, Everybody Knows.
You may know these songs and more from Leonard Cohen via other artists. In that sense, Cohen is comparable to Bob Dylan, where others love to interpret these lyrical sonnets in their more animated style.
A lot of people may not know First We Take Manhattan is a Cohen song, knowing the hit from Jennifer Warnes. The song was on the 1986 album Famous Blue Raincoat, where Warnes recorded songs written or co-written by Cohen. Madeline Peyroux's version of Dance Me to the End of Love may be more famous in some circles, but the original has its own charm.
Hallelujah was perhaps the most surprising of successful covers. The k.d. lang, John Cale, and Jeff Buckley versions brought the song out to the masses. X-Factor winner Alexandra Burke had a #1 hit in the United Kingdom in 2008 with the song.
I don't normally offer too personal details, but I have to add a few words on a couple of Leonard Cohen covers. I first discovered Leonard Cohen through the Judy Collins version of Suzanne. My parents had a lot of folk records though not any by Cohen. I was a huge Judy Collins fan and that encouraged me to learn about Cohen.
Everybody Knows was the leadoff track to Fair and Square, the second album by the Washington Squares. This upbeat folk band from the late 1980s became a mini-obsession for me in my university days. I played their music on college radio. They played a show in the college bar where I worked. I even switched my shift and ended up waiting on them.
Their version of Everybody Knows is very powerful, as was their style. Even with all that power, the lyrics truly stand out.
Some thoughts on what could go into a Canada music national playlist
Canada's hip level doesn't need approval from The New York Times
Since we write a lot about Canadian film, we should mention the influence of Leonard Cohen music on Canadian film.
Take This Waltz was the title of the Sarah Polley film that also features the Cohen song at a prominent point. I always enjoyed explaining the significance of the title when telling people about the film; that joy will get even brighter now.
Everybody Knows factors prominently as the theme music for Mia Kirshner's character in Exotica, the 1994 film from Atom Egoyan.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen is a National Film Board film on Cohen when he was a 30-year-old poet before the music even started. You can check that out here.
While Rosewater is not technically a Canadian film, Leonard Cohen plays a significant role. His 1988 album I'm Your Man is given as an example of Western decadence. Dance Me to the End of Love plays during a scene where Maziar Bahari, who has a Canadian connection, is in prison.
Robert Altman used several Leonard Cohen songs in his 1971 film McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers used three songs from Cohen in 1994.
Rosewater and its Canadian connections
Robin-Barney wedding in Canada?
Carly Rae Jepsen is big winner at 2013 Junos
The CBC Radio show As It Happens interviewed Jan Christian Mollestad, a friend of the Leonard Cohen muse Marianne Ihlen, who passed away in July this year. Cohen wrote a final letter to Ihlen. The interview gives us some insight in their special relationship. Here is a link to that interview.
Words is the theme of the inaugural Canadian Dinner Party
CanadianCrossing.com music coverage
Leonard Cohen's son, Adam, produced his final album You Want It Darker. Adam Cohen was Tom Power's first guest on the new Q on October 24. The interview is definitely worth a listen if you missed it. Here is a link to the Q interview from CBC Radio.
Today's version of Q pays tribute to the late singer-songwriter.
photo credit: Roz Kelly/Getty Images
Comments