The Constorium of Greater Minds

i can’t remember how i stumbled across leonard cohen’s stuff…i think it was through a preview for the documentary that was recently filmed about him. the lyrics of the below three songs are what really get me; they are moody and evocative in a melancholy kind of way that’s great for a rainy day. and of course there’s the new york city theme that caught my attention…chelsea hotel…famous blue raincoat, “new york is cold but i like where i’m living. there’s music on clinton street all through the evening.” three of my favorite cohen tracks:

chelsea hotel #2

famous blue raincoat

so long, marianne

Leonard Norman Cohen (born September 21, 1934 in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963.
Cohen’s earliest songs (many of which appeared on the 1968 album Songs of Leonard Cohen) were rooted in European folk music melodies and instrumentation, sung in a high baritone. The 1970s were a musically restless period in which his influences broadened to encompass pop, cabaret, and world music. Since the 1980s he has typically sung in lower registers (bass baritone, sometimes bass), with accompaniment from electronic synthesizers and female backing singers.
His work often explores the themes of religion, isolation, sexuality, and complex interpersonal relationships.
Cohen’s songs and poetry have influenced many other singer-songwriters, and more than a thousand renditions of his work have been recorded. He has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame and he is a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation’s highest civilian honour.