May 08, 2006

Leonard Cohen in the flesh. Leonard will be appearing at Indigo, Bay & Bloor, T.O., May 13th, 3:45. He'll be there to support his new book and his girlfriend's CD.

Part of a larger campaign to raise some much-needed cash, which is bad for Leonard, but good for us. Said new book is allright, but simply can't compete against his own brilliant past. A little light, and in need of a tough editor. Confirms that Leonard is at his worst when he's in love.

posted by Capt. Renault 18 years ago
  • Oh -- the "appearance", which I presume means 'not-a-signing', will feature tributes from various artists, apparently including Sexsmith (meh), Rufus (meh), and the Barenaked Ladies (wha?). Me and Mother Renault will be there as well, obv., but will be otherwise occupied.
  • I don't mean to confess that I love him the best, but my god, man. I feel a jerking empathy that is dwindling into the cesspool of that association. Poor Leonard. Not Knowing Where to Go Not knowing where to go, I go to you. Not knowing where to turn, I turn to you. Not Knowing what to hold, I bind myself to you. Having lost my way, I make my way to you. Having soiled my heart, I lift my heart to you. Having wasted my days, I bring the heap to you. The great highway covered with debris, I travel on a hair to you. The wall smeared with filth, I go through a pinhole of light. Blocked by every thought, I fly on the wisp of a remembrance. Defeated by silence. here is a place where the silence is more subtle. And here is the opening in defeat. And here is the clasp of the will. And here is the fear of you. And here is the fastening of mercy. Blessed are you, in this man's moment. Blessed are you, whose presence illuminates outrageous evil. Blessed are you who brings chains out of the darkness. Blessed are you, who waits in the world. Blessed are you, whose name is in the world. - Leonard Cohen
  • so, am I the only one that hated "Dear Heather"?
  • Digging on Anjani's site, it seems that he's signed 1,500 copies already. Which I guess means that he won't be having any personal interaction with the public that day. Which is likely the only way Leonard would ever have agreed to an event like this anyway. *sigh* I hear you, IC, I hear you. Having to share Leonard with other people -- people who don't love him the way I do -- it's killing me. And as for Dear Heather, Nick, it's a tough album, no doubt about it. He's revisiting old influences, which makes it more a poetry piece than a record. In the context of his early career, it makes a lot of sense, but as a piece of music, it's probably somewhat alienating.
  • Don't forget the film.
  • And as for Dear Heather Perhaps I'll give it another listen... I love his earlier stuff, and I was pretty happy with 10 new songs, but DH left me extremely flat.
  • The film was pretty entertaining when it was just Leonard Cohen talking, but all the performances of his work by people like Rufus kind of wore on me. I wish they gave him more time to talk, he had a lot of cool stuff to say and he was funny too. His drawings weren't too bad either.
  • You've SEEN IT?!? *seethes*
  • Please define "in the flesh". Will he be singing Floyd, or will he be naked?
  • Saw it at the Philly Film Festival (in fucking DVD projection, though. Wankers...). Definately go see it. Bring a good book for all the boring people in it, but it's worth the $9.
  • I laughed out loud when I played Dear Heather.
  • Dear Heather was dramatically anticlimactic. And as far as the "as poetry" goes, Capt. I say if it's supposed to be word, don't sell it as music. Besides, he doesn't have to read his words aloud, they're equally beautiful without that voice. He should take his own "advice" on occasion before the cash grab.
  • Yeah, then, uh, idunno. I just liked it. I thought it was funny in parts (like how he went from 'bend over the bed' to the unexpected 'cover me like a baby that is shivering'), and lovely tributes to old mentors in others (esp. the A.M. Klein one, and the Frank Scott villanelle). The experimental sections, like the W-I-N-T-E-R thing, took a little getting used to, but I like them now too. So, yeah. Dunno.
  • Update: Like I do every year at about this time, I bought a small box of mandarin oranges from the nearby supermarket. They came "all the way from China." Oh. Wow. Leonard, what was your friggin' point? Produce is commonly shipped globally. Where did you think Suzanne's bananas came from? Cleveland? Did her fake crabmeat come from the 7-11? Import/Export, Leonard. Hello? Everyday, common stuff. Smoke something less harsh at lunch, maybe your lyrics will mean something. I mean, geesh.
  • RTD, before Capt. R goes all ballistic on your fine self, I would like to point out that "Suzanne" was born in the mid 60s, when intercontinental commerce was not so commonplace as 'tis now. Those oranges were a *huge* xmas treat back then. Do you mean Canada geesh?
  • Uh. . . Does it matter? Even if it's common place, have you ever considered how wonderful the common place is?
  • I think 1876 and 1878 were the intercontinental commerce dates you were looking for there, fishy, and the Captain and Cohenille started doin' their muskrat/exotic love about 90 years later. But I've touched your perfect comment with my mind.
  • Touche, Nick. The common place is a wonderful place. One only needs to look back at this week's soliliquy on public toilets. Common places, wonderful happenings. Serendipity abounds.
  • Available didn't necessarily equal cheap (heh), especially among hippie types in the 60s. Also, what Nick said. Just look at this orange, man, it came all the way from China -*toke*- oh wow, man!
  • Even tho' Ralph was just being his usual facetious self with the import remarks, I think the import of the "all the way from China" refers to the fact that they aren't drinking earl grey and nibbling on Florida cheese apples; instead they are smoking some serious "mandarin tea" heroin. Obviously.
  • I must be high, cause I have no frickin idea what's going on.
  • Forget it, NONE of you get it. I'm the only one.
  • C'mon, Nick, everybody knows.
  • And if you get seats ahead of me, I'll cut ya. No hesitation. None.