More on L. Cohen
Holy cow. Right after posting the previous entry I learnt that Leonard Cohen was inducted into the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame”… only five days ago. That is good news for three reasons: a) it's good to check, from time to time, that L. Cohen is still alive; b) his appearance at the event proved that he is still brilliant with words and that the pitch of his voice has dropped down yet one more octave, entering the range of infrasounds; and c) there is still hope for a music industry that can spot an amazing lyricist among all the rubbish, and pay tribute to him even after so many years.
There are people whose soul vibrates in resonance at the same harmonics as Leonard Cohen's. For all those people (of whom, if my reckoning is right, there are exactly zero among the handful of readers of this blog) let me link a few items about Leonard Cohen that are dear to me:
- The event of his induction into the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame” on March 10, 2008. Includes a short clip with words and images and an ardent introduction by Lou Reed. Cohen's acceptance speech is short yet witty. After a few words of gratitude he recites part of the lyrics of “Tower of Song” and everything just works. Suddenly every single verse he wrote in 1988 becomes unexpectedly meaningful.
- Damien Rice performing “Hallelujah” at the same event. Even if it's not one of my favourite songs and its title always put me a bit off, I think this is a really good cover. But I still prefer…
- …this other cover of “Hallelujah” performed live on TV by four Norwegian singers. I love Kurt Nilsen's voice (at 2:05).
- “Famous Blue Raincoat”, one of my favourite songs. Write a letter for the man who stole your woman — she is back with you again, but you know that he gave her something that you could not. Lyrics. Full song (kudos to Last.fm).
- “Everybody Knows”, another great tune. Lyrics. Full song.