(no subject)
Leonard Cohen has died. I'm not a mega-fan, I'm not a life-long fan, but I do enjoy a chunk of his music
--
Last year was good for me with the guitar, two things invigorated my playing. First was Brian coming over from Australia, the other was switching tuning to DADGAD when Mam and Dad talked about it from their music night. The first song that I really tackled and made something out of in DADGAD was Hallelujah. Maybe in my heart I hear Buckley, and maybe when I was learning I was taking from Presnyakov and Alexandra Burke... but when I'm playing, I'm feeling Cohen.
When my room was sorted last winter for a couple of days it was all but empty, a couple of bits of furniture... and my stereo. It was the first time I'd had access to proper speakers in a long time. Many years. And I listened to various things at first, that's the truth. But when I had the house to myself and I turned the volume up high I was listening to Tower of Song. Now, sure, my jive is for Martha Wainwright on this one - she elevates that song to the fucking heavens, but it is Cohen's vehicle we're sitting in while we go.
Back in the day, when I was making videos of things I'd done in computer games there were two parts to that process. First of all was actually doing something worthwhile. Second there was thinking about music. And there are a hundred tracks I could pick for any video, there's so much good music out there. The first time I quit Diablo 3 I made a video, it was one of only two I'd made in a couple of years. And who did I celebrate quitting D3 with? Leonard Cohen, he got the entire video all to himself.
When I'm listening to Cohen I feel like I'm listening to a genius. Even if I don't love the particular song. I'm not sure how often I've felt that outside of classical music? Very rarely, that's for sure, maybe not at all in the way I do about Cohen.
His fame is not really in the same league as Bowie or Prince, or some of the others who have passed recently. In this social media age he ain't going to cause the same stir. And me? I'm not emotional or sad, I'm writing this because I want to, not because I need to. But, of all of them, maybe Cohen is the one. This is the one who ain't coming back. There may be another Dylan, another Beatles, another Cash, another Elvis... but we ain't getting another Cohen. That ship has sailed.
I hope that a bunch of people discover his music in the light of this. Most will hate it, that's fine. But some won't.
Anyway. Cheers, Cohen, your rent is paid. Off to the tower of legends.
--
Last year was good for me with the guitar, two things invigorated my playing. First was Brian coming over from Australia, the other was switching tuning to DADGAD when Mam and Dad talked about it from their music night. The first song that I really tackled and made something out of in DADGAD was Hallelujah. Maybe in my heart I hear Buckley, and maybe when I was learning I was taking from Presnyakov and Alexandra Burke... but when I'm playing, I'm feeling Cohen.
When my room was sorted last winter for a couple of days it was all but empty, a couple of bits of furniture... and my stereo. It was the first time I'd had access to proper speakers in a long time. Many years. And I listened to various things at first, that's the truth. But when I had the house to myself and I turned the volume up high I was listening to Tower of Song. Now, sure, my jive is for Martha Wainwright on this one - she elevates that song to the fucking heavens, but it is Cohen's vehicle we're sitting in while we go.
Back in the day, when I was making videos of things I'd done in computer games there were two parts to that process. First of all was actually doing something worthwhile. Second there was thinking about music. And there are a hundred tracks I could pick for any video, there's so much good music out there. The first time I quit Diablo 3 I made a video, it was one of only two I'd made in a couple of years. And who did I celebrate quitting D3 with? Leonard Cohen, he got the entire video all to himself.
When I'm listening to Cohen I feel like I'm listening to a genius. Even if I don't love the particular song. I'm not sure how often I've felt that outside of classical music? Very rarely, that's for sure, maybe not at all in the way I do about Cohen.
His fame is not really in the same league as Bowie or Prince, or some of the others who have passed recently. In this social media age he ain't going to cause the same stir. And me? I'm not emotional or sad, I'm writing this because I want to, not because I need to. But, of all of them, maybe Cohen is the one. This is the one who ain't coming back. There may be another Dylan, another Beatles, another Cash, another Elvis... but we ain't getting another Cohen. That ship has sailed.
I hope that a bunch of people discover his music in the light of this. Most will hate it, that's fine. But some won't.
Anyway. Cheers, Cohen, your rent is paid. Off to the tower of legends.