You May Be A Leonard Cohen Fan If …

[bridger15]

And I must confess (to just one for now), that it was my 10 year old grandaughter who wrote me from summer camp that she asked a cabin mate ____ Cohen, if they were related. It seems that she is destined to ask every person she meets with the surname "Cohen" if they are related.

---Arlene

[holydove]

DrH, thank you for the endless laughs - your brilliance never ceases to enthrall me!!

I have something I need to discuss: yesterday, my brother came over, sat down at my computer, & proceeded to make me watch youtube videos of various singers that he finds interesting (none of them were Leonard Cohen!). I couldn't help wondering if he was trying to somehow dissipate my very valid & understandable obsession with Leonard Cohen, or if he just doesn't understand that Leonard Cohen is the only really interesting singer in the world. I sat & watched the videos as patiently as I could, as I didn't want to hurt his feelings, but it took some effort to refrain from yelling out, every couple of seconds, "NOW LET'S WATCH LEONARD COHEN". I basically felt like I was being tortured, & can't understand why my brother, who I know really loves me, would torture me like that.

Phew - it "feels so good" to have someone to whom I can express those feelings - thanks for the therapy!!

[MaryB]

holydove - Are you SURE your brother loves you?

Allan - yet again you have outdone yourself. You know what they say - it takes one to know one. Thanks for the laughs!

Best regards,
Mary

[crystal]

holydove, I understand exactly how you felt. A couple of nights ago my husband, who is the world's greatest Rolling Sones fan, made me watch a Rolling Stones video. Afterwards it was like, okay quite nice but now let's watch real videos with real music and Leonard Cohen.
But since he he tolerates my obsession and even let some of it spill over I feel it's okay - once in a while - when he confronts me with his obsession.

[holydove]

MaryB - well, now I'm beginning to wonder. . . thank you for pointing that out. . .

Crystal, thank you for your supportive comments! I know what you mean; my husband doesn't have an obsession, but some nights he wants to do something other than listening to/watching Leonard Cohen. So on those nights, I either go to another room to listen on my ipod or cd player, or I join him in doing something else, but the "something else" is never listening to another musician, other than Leonard Cohen (the only time I listen to other music is in the morning, & then it's always either classical music (because that's what I love to play on the piano & I know LC loves classical music too!), or native american music (because I love to play native american flutes, &, coincidentally, the sound of those flutes are similar to LC's "handflute"!). And the best "something else" that my husband likes to do is watching episodes of Mad Men, because I know that Leonard likes that show - that's how I found out about it - because Anjani said that Leonard liked it; in fact, that has become the only show we are really interested in watching, at this point; my husband appears to share that "semi-addiction" - I say "appears to" because I'm not sure yet, if he is also "semi-addicted", or if its just that he knows that's the one thing, other than watching/listening to/reading about LC, that he can get me to do, pretty easily.

[Rain]

Well, here's another one of my LC/Canadian experiences which might make another entry for Dr.H Guy's list:

I work in a museum. Yesterday, two women, in town for an equine -related event, came in and after I gave them the opening greetings and told them what was where, I asked where they were from. Lo and behold, they said "Canada" and OF COURSE, I said "What part?" and they said " Montreal".......sooooooooo.....naturally, I said "Oh, I was just up there." (Even though it was April) And OF COURSE, they asked me why I visited there and I told them (like I told the border crossing guard) "To see an art exhibit." And OF COURSE, they asked me "What art exhibit?" and I said "Leonard Cohen" and OF COURSE they said "YOU MEAN YOU DROVE ALL THE WAY TO MONTREAL to see Leonard Cohen's exhibit?!" They were either impressed or thought I was crazy. I thought about telling them about my disorder, but refrained. They said they wished they'd seen the exhibit themselves, so maybe they didn't think I was too disturbed.

Any excuse to talk about LC, I guess, even in the workplace....I'm sure I'm not the only one out there....

--Rain

[bridger15]

Well, here's another one of my LC/Canadian experiences which might make another entry for Dr.H Guy's list:

I work in a museum. Yesterday, two women, in town for an equine -related event, came in and after I gave them the opening greetings and told them what was where, I asked where they were from. Lo and behold, they said "Canada" and OF COURSE, I said "What part?" and they said " Montreal".......sooooooooo.....naturally, I said "Oh, I was just up there." (Even though it was April) And OF COURSE, they asked me why I visited there and I told them (like I told the border crossing guard) "To see an art exhibit." And OF COURSE, they asked me "What art exhibit?" and I said "Leonard Cohen" and OF COURSE they said "YOU MEAN YOU DROVE ALL THE WAY TO MONTREAL to see Leonard Cohen's exhibit?!" They were either impressed or thought I was crazy. I thought about telling them about my disorder, but refrained. They said they wished they'd seen the exhibit themselves, so maybe they didn't think I was too disturbed.

Any excuse to talk about LC, I guess, even in the workplace....I'm sure I'm not the only one out there....

--Rain

Wonderful story, Rain. Thanks for sharing it. I think their attitude is very typical of many Canadians, including this now passionate obsessed Cohenite ex-pat Canadian who might have responded the same way a few years ago. (There is something about this thread started by a Shrink that keeps making me confess to things.)

As long as he's been around, Leonard Cohen has been part of the Canadian landscape, always admired and respected for his ouevres, but never revered totally across Canada . (I suppose that's another good reason to call us, "Dumb Canucks".) And I used to be one of those until he surfaced again after a very long absence and the CBC broadcast the Montreal Jazz Festival tribute for the first time. I watched that on TV when I was back in Toronto packing up for my final transition to LA. I was struck by a thunderbolt and the rest you know from this Forum about my same passion as yours.

And BTW, my Canadian friends back in Toronto all think I am nuts following LC's concerts. And one or two even ask, Leonard who? Sorry to say, not all Canadians get it.
---Arlene

[Cheshire gal]

Hi Arlene,

I can well understand the 'thunderbolt' that hit you when you discovered L.C. That is what happened to me when I first saw the Live in London Concert. I just could not believe that I had not heard of him before. It changed my whole life. I am so much happier to know that there is a person like him out there. So talented, so much fun. I watch that concert and am just so amazed at the whole experience. I would love to see him live. I have all his records and have my son download as much as I can find out there of the earlier recordings.

When I go into my local Barnes and Noble and find his 'book of longing' (they only ever have one on the shelf) I prominently display it for customers to see it.... it is always gone when I check it out a few days later It give me so much pleasure to see that. Thanks for your great work keeping us up to date on Leonards comings and goings.

Marie
Cheshire gal

[bridger15]

Hi Arlene,

I can well understand the 'thunderbolt' that hit you when you discovered L.C. That is what happened to me when I first saw the Live in London Concert. I just could not believe that I had not heard of him before.

Just to clarify: I definitely "knew" about LC since the beginning of his distinction with poetry. I must have seen everything that the CBC broadcast with him over the years. My first real appreciation of his music came with the CBC broadcast of his awesome film, "I Am A Hotel". But, I still wasn't a rabid fan back then. Still just a great admirer. Fast forward...the rest you know.
---Arlene

[mnkyface]

When I go into my local Barnes and Noble and find his 'book of longing' (they only ever have one on the shelf) I prominently display it for customers to see it...

I do this too.

[phillip]

Was reading on the Heck Of A Guy site the link about 'You know if you are a Leonard Cohen Fan if... this bit so applies to me this bit is me thought it was funny

in response to a friend who asks you for wide variety of music, you burn her a CD with tracks from every one of Leonard Cohen’s albums.
In response to that friend’s explanation that by “wide variety of music” she meant a collection of songs representing many different moods, styles, and eras performed by different singers, you replace three of the original tracks on the mix CD with one selection each from Jennifer Warnes’ Famous Blue Raincoat, Sharon Robinson’s Everybody Knows, and Anjani’s Blue Alert albums.

Yes this is me lol

phillip

[schubert]

Ive been a Leonard Cohen fan for 40 years and can still remember the first time I heard him,that one night and all that was going on are forever etched in my memory.Dont think Im obsessive,he is just sooo good!!

[TipperaryAnn]

Schubert,
It would be great if you could describe that first concert in as much detail as you can remember. Many of us only "discovered" Leonard in more recent years - Elvis was definitely King during my youth! Now that we have access to recordings of some of Leonard's concerts of the past a detailed account of one of them from you would be wonderful.

[Undertow]

I decided to quit quitting smoking after reading Leonard Cohen write "You don't smoke? But what's life for?"

That may be somewhat stupid though. I wonder, does Leonard still smoke?

[Puddingdale]

I wonder, does Leonard still smoke?

Hi Undertow!
In several interviews it is said that Leonard quit smoking because he had "lost his taste for it." And that is what he often is quoted to have said.
I do not remember the exact occasion where he gave another version - someone else maybe will:
He couldn't swallow the smoke any more or keep it in, so he went to the doctor. While his throat was examined, Leonard asked something like: "Have I got it?" And the doctor answered: "No, but you are on the royal path." Thus, Leonard decided he better quit.
In the meantime he has sometimes stated he was looking forward to being 80 years old, for then he could start smoking again.
(Well... I think that's a sad statement but I never smoked, so I do not know what it really gives you.) While on the other hand he is happy how good touring is without smoking and heavy drinking.
As usual, we do not know what "our man" really thinks on the subject but it seems that at the moment he does not smoke and his voice, which is recovering more and more, seems proof enough for that.