Leonard Cohen the Minstrel (from Spanish)

News about Leonard Cohen and his work, press, radio & TV programs etc.
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HelenOE
Posts: 1008
Joined: Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:06 am

Leonard Cohen the Minstrel (from Spanish)

Post by HelenOE »

From online publication ARTEMX (I'm not familiar with it, but it looks like it may be an arts magazine from Mexico?) comes this article in Spanish: Leonard Cohen el Juglar
I did a quick cleanup of the Google Translate version of the article:
Leonard Cohen the Minstrel

Like medieval artists, Leonard Cohen tells stories with a beginning, a middle and an end. In many of his songs / poems, the chorus is also part of the story and not just a repetition needed for the melodic structure.

His deep bass voice is unmistakable and always gives a special stamp to his interpretations, in contrast to some other singers who have given a very different character to his compositions, such as Judy Collins, who made the song Suzanne a huge success in the sixties, with a folk style wholly of the time, and a very sweet voice. Or as happens with the "cover" done by the young English hip hop singer Plan B, who did not hesitate to remix a version of Suzanne which includes Cohen's voice, taken from one of his youthful recordings, and then use the melody as a musical base for his rap version.

Cases such as that of Plan B show two things: it is always good for a young person to take an interest in "classic" authors of quality because that represents, for the latter, the ability to reach new audiences. And the other is that poetry is able to subdue and seduce even a hardened and rebellious hip hop artist.

Here we share a version sung by the minstrel Cohen, who in the nineties was ordained a Zen Buddhist monk and a few years later was defrauded by his manager, who left him bankrupt.
HelenOE
Posts: 1008
Joined: Fri Mar 22, 2013 6:06 am

Re: Leonard Cohen the Minstrel (from Spanish)

Post by HelenOE »

and in case this hasn't hit the forum before, here is the Plan B remix of Suzanne

Personally, I don't think the chainsaw murder or the profanity improve the song, but your mileage may vary.
HelenD
Posts: 101
Joined: Wed Dec 17, 2008 1:39 pm
Location: Stockport

Re: Leonard Cohen the Minstrel (from Spanish)

Post by HelenD »

Only one word springs to mind on hearing this rubbish - sacrilege!
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lizzytysh
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Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2002 8:57 pm
Location: Florida, U.S.A.

Re: Leonard Cohen the Minstrel (from Spanish)

Post by lizzytysh »

What lies behind those eyes in those still shots that he would choose his particular screen name, as well as conceive of this application of Leonard's song?
A real-life, heinous death of a woman named Suzanne, with his already knowing the song?
My hope is that some young people who aren't aware of Leonard will BECOME aware of him... and maybe some other troubled eyes will be helped through Leonard's music.
This one is bizarre and unsettling.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."
~ Oscar Wilde
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