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Leonard Cohen

Montreal's pride and joy! Leonard Cohen, poet, writer and composer, grew up in the Westmount district of the french-canadian capital to become one of the most respected singer/songwriters of all-time! He first garnered some attention for his promising novellas and poems, but it's the music that would have him skyrocket to international stardom. Today, Cohen's legacy is undeniable, artists from all over the world have admitted to being influenced by his particularly insightful lyrics and the dark yet fragile tone of his work. I am not the type of person who will listen to lyrics with much attention (which explains why I have so much instrumental music in my collection), but for Cohen I've made an exception and I've often found myself completely absorbed in what the man was saying to the point of practically forgetting about the music (and that's saying a lot in my case - but then again, who could resist the artist's soft baritone without having a heart of stone?). Fortunately, the music is also quite beautiful and completes Cohen's powerful poetry.

I'll always remember my first taste of Cohen's work. Everyone in their lifetime has had a teacher who has had a profound impact on their lives. Mine was a substitute english teacher during my high school years. Although he was there only for a few weeks, I will never forget how much he has brought into my life. Unafraid to tackle sensitive subjects, I remember him confronting a skinhead in the classroom about racism without ever patronizing him. He encouraged us to throw away our books and try learning in a different way, new and exciting ways which were meant to help us realize that it didn't always have to be academic to sink into our memories. Homework would often be to watch that week's episode of The Simpsons which we would then analyze in a subsequent class! How great is that!? But that wasn't all! I'll never forget the time he had us listen and analyze the lyrics to Leonard Cohen's famous Suzanne after having played it to a completely silent classroom. Everyone was mesmerized, even if many of the francophone students didn't understand everything. This was the first time someone forced me to actually think of what was being said in a song and this single event opened my eyes so much that I never listened to music the same way since then. Wherever you are M. Substitute, I would like to express my most heartfelt of gratitude to you for this short-lived period of my life (boy I sure feel like Lisa Simpson in that famous episode where she is also deeply affected by her substitute teacher - hmm! two Simpsons references in a Leonard Cohen article!).

Being the metal/alternative music freak I was back then, I didn't go out and immediately buy anything by Cohen, but once in a while, when his music popped up sporadically in my life, I always felt the same deep respect for his work I did the very first time I heard it. Throughout the years that followed however, I mostly got to hear the famous "best of" album which past roommates and even my ex-wife owned and I even felt a bit of distance with Cohen's later releases which had much more to do with his lyrical prowess than the music. It was only in 2007, with the beautiful hardcover re-releases of Cohen's first three albums that I decided to go out and purchase his music. I absolutely love these reissues which have obviously been made with much love and care. I personally can't wait for the others to come out as well.

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