leonardcohenforum.com

I was lent a Leonard Cohen record at the age of sixteen - some thirty years ago. I loved it . I have been a fan ever since. Thanks to this site and the recent concerts I realise that I am not alone, however over the years I have yet to meet anyone else who agrees with my musical taste.
Those who have heard of him say that he is depressing or even dare to suggest that he hasn't got a golden voice!
When I told my family I was going to try to get a ticket for Manchester opera house they felt it would be just me and Leonard who actually would turn up on the night.
Being a Leonard Cohen fan has not been an easy over the years.You can't for example just put on a cd an expect the rest of the family to stay in the room whilst it is on without complaining.
Have I just been unlucky in not coming across like minded people in everyday life or has anyone else found the same as me?

I don't know about your part of the world, but here in Quebec I never felt alone in my love for LC. My sister and all my friends love him and have loved him for years.
Like you I started listening to LC as a teenager in the 70's but it seemed too me that everybody I was hanging out with had at least one of his albums.

Unfortunately I can't say as much for the people I work with. Out of 15, I would say there's only 2 or 3 that know and listen to him. I guess it's because you choose your friends (maybe loving LC is a subconscious condition I put for being a friend ) and not often your collegues. Or maybe I should just look for another job.

FOXWOOD wrote:Have I just been unlucky in not coming across like minded people in everyday life or has anyone else found the same as me?

Whatever. You are out of the wood now.

FOXWOOD wrote:Have I just been unlucky in not coming across like minded people in everyday life or has anyone else found the same as me?

I guess everything changed with the internet. Many people did comment here on the forum they had the same experience as you, particularly before the websites. Welcome

I was never a knocked out Lenny Cohen fan in my youth. Maybe I wouldn't put in the effort that I thought would be needed for someone with such a "heavy" reputation.
I once read a newspaper report that he had died and I told all my friends. I lost a lot of credibility when it turned out the report was wrong!
So, over the years I have only had a vague awareness of his stuff.
Recently however, someone on the BBC radio 4 mentioned him as her favourite song-writer/ performer, and that she had wanted to join his female backing group back in the 60's.
This whetted my curiosity and I started to collect all the music I could find. I'm now an avid fan and regret the years I spent in ignorance of this marvellous artist.

Do not be misled you have never been alone although i myself am amazed at the rush to buy tickets for the Brussels venues. In less than one week both the concerts were sold out (approx 12,000 seats) which is quite considerable here and which LC had never sold before. His concerts in Belgium have always occurred in theatres of about 2000 – 2500 seats. But I guess this large audience is at long last what he deserves.
As a long time fan I was first deeply impressed by ’Recent songs’ which grew on me and played on my emotions in 79 and 80. It certainly expresses feelings beyond my ability of expressions. Then I discovered the old materials such as ‘Songs of love and hate’ which left me with a kind of admiration and melancholy.
In ‘Various Positions’ LC’s voice appears more mature, more golden? Sounded nice although when his golden voice later appeared tangled up with irony and derision on ‘I’m your man’ I just considered it a masterpiece, I should say yet another masterpiece. After’The Future’ we had to wait for too long to discover ‘10 new songs’ which at a preliminary did not impress me much but as time passed by some songs like By the rivers dark’ and ‘Alexandra leaving’ grw a lot on meand now I admire almost the entire work. DH sounds different and elegant and it’s the artist’s duty to create and innovate isn’t it?

FOXWOOD wrote:IHave I just been unlucky in not coming across like minded people in everyday life or has anyone else found the same as me?

In the early seventies I had a few friends who also were fans. In later years a friend or colleague would comment that they liked "Suzanne" or so but I have never come across people for whom LC was the favourite singer/song writer like he is for me. That is fine with me, because conversations would become rather boring at some point.

As for family: I took them to a recent concert, and they thought it was great. Still no "real" fans, though...

Here in Newfoundland, I have never felt alone in my love for Leonard Cohen. I have been a fan since my childhood in the 60s. My older sister introduced me; an older neighbour introduced her. My parents appreciated him--they knew his poetry before he became a singer. My children heard Leonard Cohen music in the womb and were fed it with their mother's milk. My daughter exchanged Leonard Cohen items with her grade 5 teacher. At the age of 12 or so, she and her friend (whose mother also played Leonard Cohen's music all the time) composed alternate lyrics to "Humbled in Love". For my children, Leonard Cohen's songs were the equivalent of the hymns I grew up hearing my grandmothers sing.

Thanks to Vicky Hynes, for the past 8 years we fans in St John's (and there are many of us) get together every December for Feast of Cohen, where we are treated to the most beautiful cover versions of Cohen that can be heard anywhere, rendered by a stellar cast of various musicians and singers (usually featuring the fabulous Jenny Gear), with new ones every year, who love his music as deeply as I do. That concert is as much a part of our Christmas tradtion as the Christmas turkey: my daughters, son, nieces, brother, sister, friends and husband wouldn't miss it.

I feel truly blessed.

Anne

Lucky you Anne – your celebration sounds wonderful!

PS I like your LC Hanging Woman illustration on the other thread, and the concept of a Tarot deck inspired by LC songs.

Thank you, imaginary friend. You should consider coming down for Feast of Cohen some December. It really warms up the winter. You would have to buy advance tickets--it always sells out.
(Thanks for your comments re: the Tarot cards. I took the picture down becuase it felt weird having it there with nobody commenting...)
Anne

I know that feeling! Sometimes I see a post of mine hanging there (ha ha) for ages – I call it a 'kiss-of-death' post...

I responded to your image on the Upside Down thread today.

anneporter wrote: My daughter exchanged Leonard Cohen items with her grade 5 teacher. At the age of 12 or so, she and her friend (whose mother also played Leonard Cohen's music all the time) composed alternate lyrics to "Humbled in Love".

How neat!

Your Feast sounds really great too!

Darling,
Yes, Vicky's Feast of Cohen amazes me every year.
Anne

A friend at work introduced me to the work of Mr. Cohen just a few months ago. I'd only known him as the songwriter of the over-covered Hallelujah, and not much else. Almost instantly, I wondered how I had lived almost 30 years of life without hearing these words and music. He makes other music seem frivilous.

A friend of mine broke up with her boyfriend a few months ago and was quite distraught. I told her that she lived without him before he came along and that she would live again after his departure. But, then I thought of it in the context of my recent exposure to Mr. Cohen. There are some things and persons we are exposed to in life that forever change us, and after being introduced, we can never lock the door on them. Think of chocolate, or coffee, or red wine...or whatever your food indulgence is; the taste will call you to return forever.

Personally, I've had some troubles with my girlfriend lately. Almost at the acme of frustration, I picked up Death of a Ladies' Man and wore it out on some long drives. The lyric from Paper Thin Hotel, "a heavy burden lifted from my soul, I learned that love was out of my control" had that very effect on me. When music can deliver you from a malaise or turn on a light that you thought was burned out, it's more than a song, it's an answered prayer.

Thank you Mr. Cohen.