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Laughing Lenny Speaks


Steve

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Hi -

In all my years of being a Leonard Cohen fan (since 1979) I've never met another, so I suppose the chances of anyone being interested in this program are slim...

 

However, there was an excellent interview with the great man last night on Front Row (radio 4). You can find it here - click on the Monday Listen Again button for the program for the next seven days.

 

And for those to whom I've revealed entirely too much about myself with this confession - apologies! :o

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Steve, I can see that you can see I'm reading this, so shan't leave without comment. Leonard who??? :o

 

Well, the name rings a vague bell somewhere in my mind. I shall maybe have a listen from your link, but then again maybe not. But I am curious, what will listening tell us about you??? xD

 

Peggy

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lol Peggy - I think I just left myself logged in at this page, so you could have crept away (and probably should...).

 

Don't listen to the program - I just posted it in the unlikely event that someone was a fan. I referred to him as Laughing Lenny on account of his downbeat (some might say comatose) songs. But he's a true genius of a lyricist - one of the few singer songwriters who can genuinely be referred to as a poet, since he was actually a poet before he achieved fame as a singer, and still writes more verse than tunes.

 

Are you saying you've never come across the song 'Suzanne'? Crikey!

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Are you saying you've never come across the song 'Suzanne'? Crikey!

Ooh I hate this! Someone I really, really like sang 'Suzanne' - didn't they (but who was it?)

 

Did he sing on the programme Steve - and if so did he sing 'Hallelujah?' (I came to 'Lenny' via the first Shrek movie - Rufus Wainwright sang Hallelujah on the soundtrack..)

 

You are the second Leonard Cohen fan I know though: back in my youth my two brothers married two sisters. One was a LC fan, the other was more into Jim Reeves... (does that say something about the age gap between them, I wonder?)

 

Obviously I'm much too young to have been a fan though, Steve! :o

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Hi Maz -

At the risk of becoming an over earnest Cohen bore:

 

No-one should ever ever sing Suzanne except Leonard Cohen. It's one of those songs that are unique to the singer, like Nilsson and I can't live (ok, so he didn't write it but...).

 

Actually John Cale sang the Shrek version (far more beautifully than Leonard Cohen I have to admit) - they cited Rufus Wainwright in the interview last night but they're wrong. I have four different versions of that wonderful song (Cohen's, John Cale's, Jeff Buckley's - another great version, and Rufus Wainwright's) and the Shrek version is Cale's.

 

Ok - I've just read the above - there's no risk at all of me becoming a Cohen bore. I passed the finishing line some time ago...

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Hi Jenny -

Good to find another fan! Is Glastonbury called The Big Chill this year? I did have a llook at his latest tour but it's all a bit far away from me - and actually I really hate going to big tour gigs. I'd rather stay at home and listen to the music. But I reckon Glastonbury would be the exception to the rule...

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At the risk of becoming an over earnest Cohen bore:

Everyone deserves their own passion, Steve! xD

 

I wasn't very clear - Rufus Wainwright sang the version on the soundtrack CD, I think - but wasn't on the film soundtrack, if that makes sense! And I agree that Jeff Buckley's version is fantastic!

 

Agree about Nilsson too - sometimes you don't need to have written the song to make it definitively yours. I was surprised to find that Neil Diamond had written 'I'm a Believer'... (back to Shrek again :o )

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You're absolutely right of course Maz - I never really understood why they had a different version on the soundtrack album. I mean - don't you buy the CD expecting to hear what you heard on the film? (excepting of course 'True Stories' by Talking Heads...).

 

We may talk about Neil Diamond and I'm a Believer another time, but Helen always ribs me mercilessly about the fact that the first albums she found in my collection were 'Hot August Night' and 'Love at the Greek'...

 

But wonderful famous songs come from unlikely sources. Kris Kristofferson is one of the finest songwriters around, having written 'Help me make it through the night', 'Me and Bobby Mcgee' and 'For the Good Times' amongst others.

 

Think I'd better stop now!

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hi steve...he may be playing at the big chill...i'm not sure but I know he's playing glastonbury on the sunday night...and strangley Niel Diamond WAS going to be playing too...but he's not now so thats A BIT OF A BUMMER! It seems I have found a musical kindred spirit!!! Do you like Scott walker too by any chance?

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We may talk about Neil Diamond and I'm a Believer another time, but Helen always ribs me mercilessly about the fact that the first albums she found in my collection were 'Hot August Night' and 'Love at the Greek'...

We all have those 'guilty pleasures' in our collection - perhaps that's the idea for another thread though, lest we frighten away any other dormant laughing lenny fans...

Edited by HappyMaz
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Hmm, what's that strange noise I can hear??? I think it might be some anoraks rubbing together! :oxD:(

No, really, whatever pushes your buttons. Its a good job we are all different. I personally like lots of different music, but seldom a whole album.

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My only recollection of LC, is my husband BC (before children) used to sing the songs repeatedly, with a mate, in true drunken fashion, and find them highly amusing....can't remember if I enjoyed them or not as BC usually meant VD (very drunk) for me too!

 

Although I will pass the link on to my husband and his mate - might mean they have to 'nostagically' drink heavily and try to recapture the moment. Thanks for the link...I think!

Edited by Guest
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well, I've downloaded 'realplayer' :o , and am currently enjoying the link. I'm not normally a radio listener so it makes a change to be able to listen whilst typing this message.

 

I've been inspired to start another lounge topic entitled "Our song".

 

 

Peggy

 

p.s. believe it or not Steve, I hadn't heard 'Suzanne' before.

 

but then my husband Dave didn't believe it when I said I hadn't heard of Al Green (before we got back together 12 yrs ago). His song "Let' stay together" is now 'our song'. Previous to this when hubby and I were childhood sweethearts, our song was 'Without You' by Nillson. xD

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Ah yes Peggy, sorry. 'Without You' - not 'I can't live'. I'm the only person I know who sings that song better than Nilsson. Though strangely, it only seems to come out properly when I'm by myself in the shower...

 

Now, if you have a desire to explore Leonard Cohen further, I'd recommend this video on YouTube of his 'Closing Time' from a great album called 'The Future', which came out in the early '90s. At the risk of it sounding like I'm doing an 'Our Tune' I spent a lot of time singing songs from this album wandering round the mulit-layered floors of Southampton General Hospital in 1994 when we were there suddenly and unexpectedly for six weeks with our six month old son as he went through a number of operations*.

 

Might not be your style, but just listen to the beauty of his lyrics.

 

* He's fine now, in case you were wondering!

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Thanks Steve, I like what I've heard so far, but need to listen to the track more to really appreciatte the lyrics. I've put the youtube page in my favourites, then I can listen to some of his other tracks as well.

 

I think we do tend to 'stick with what we know/like' in terms of music/song choice, so it's nice to be introduced to new musicians (new to me, not new in time :o )

 

Thanks.

 

Glad to hear your son is ok, but It's those worrying times as parents that makes the 'being ok now' mean so much more. xD

 

Peggy

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Steve, (and others),

Leonard Cohen was one of my first musical wake-ups. I Positively adored 'Suzanne' and although his voice isn't the best, it's special, and yes, those lyrics are amazing. And I'm thrilled you appeciate Jeff Buckley and his versions - Hallelujah reduces me to tears every time.

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  • 6 months later...
I think we need to point out to everyone, before Alexandra wossname takes it to number one, that we all knew Hallelujah was a piece of genius. Long before it was even a twinkle in Simon Callow's eye...

I think you mean Simon Cowell, Steve :( but then I think you knew that....

 

I think you'll find she's a Burke .......................... :(

But not as big a one as Simon Cowell I fear... :(

 

have too say that Jeff Buckleys version of Hallelujah is my favourite (all seven minutes of it!)

And this version is set to re-enter the charts due to the number of downloads it has been receiving lately!

 

Incidentally, Narnia has actually MET Jeff Buckley :o

Now this is exciting: and could be the subject of a thread all of its own! Who is the most famous person you've ever met? xD

Edited by HappyMaz
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Hi -

In all my years of being a Leonard Cohen fan (since 1979) I've never met another, so I suppose the chances of anyone being interested in this program are slim...

 

Oh! Steve :o You made me cry!!!!!!!!! Quite often when I hear a piece of music or particular song it takes me back to a special memory of one sort or another but I haven't experienced that feeling at the mere mention of someone's name ...until now.

 

I saw the words Leonard Cohen and instantly I was taken back to a really special time I spent in Ireland many, many years ago! The words that just popped into my head when I saw your post were 'and she feeds me tea and oranges that come all the way from China' and those words were 'coming out' of a good old Dansette record player (super duper model no less that stacked the LP's!)

 

Since reading your post I have had the most wonderful, wonderful 'do you remember when' type conversation and that prompted me to phone my cousin in Ireland and she too got all emotional as we reminisced and it's all thanks to your post!!

 

THANK YOU STEVE you have made my night and tomorrow I am off up into the loft to bring down that old dansette record player and all the old LP's xD:(

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Geraldine - I was overwhelmed by your post!!

Music is so evocative isn't it - Geraldine your post was very moving indeed. But that didn't stop me from wondering what you got up to all those years ago in Ireland! :o

 

And I know what you mean about the dansette: I used to have a bright red plastic record player (yes mine stacked LPs too!). Mine was portable so I could troll it back from mum's to dad's house so that I would never be without Donny or the Bay City Rollers or the Drifters. Ooh who needs an iPod?

 

Maz

 

PS Santa if you're listening I do still need an iPod - and I have been good all year... xD

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