Is there anyone out there other than me who thinks Leonard Cohen is brilliant? My friends all hate him....?

Question

No, I disagree, I actually find him inspiring, not depressing! Am I mad ??!!!

Answer 1

Ahhh....Leonard Cohen...Music to slash your wrists by!.....All you would need is for him to duet with Morrisey from the Smith's & you would throw yourself off the nearest bridge!!!!!!

Answer 2

Yes.....he is a generational pop star! the 60's generation!

Biography by Bruce Eder
One of the most fascinating and enigmatic — if not the most successful — singer/songwriters of the late '60s, Leonard Cohen has retained an audience across four decades of music-making interrupted by various digressions into personal and creative exploration, all of which have only added to the mystique surrounding him. Second only to Bob Dylan (and perhaps Paul Simon), he commands the attention of critics and younger musicians more firmly than any other musical figure from the 1960s who is still working at the outset of the 21st century, which is all the more remarkable an achievement for someone who didn't even aspire to a musical career until he was in his thirties. Cohen was born in 1934, a year before Elvis Presley or Ronnie Hawkins, and his background — personal, social, and intellectual — couldn't have been more different from those of any rock stars of any generation; nor can he be easily compared even with any members of the generation of folksingers who came of age in the 1960s. Though he knew some country music and played it a bit as a boy, he didn't start performing on even a semi-regular basis, much less recording, until after he had already written several books — and as an established novelist and poet, his literary accomplishments far exceed those of Bob Dylan or most anyone else who one cares to mention in music, at least this side of operatic librettists such as Hugo Von Hoffmanstahl or Stefan Zweig, figures from another musical and cultural world.He was born Leonard Norman Cohen into a middle-class Jewish family in the Montreal suburb of Westmount. His father, a clothing merchant (who also held a degree in engineering), died in 1943, when Cohen was nine years old. It was his mother who encouraged Cohen as a writer, especially of poetry, during his childhood. This fit in with the progressive intellectual environment in which he was raised, which allowed him free inquiry into a vast range of pursuits. His relationship to music was more tentative — he took up the guitar at age 13, initially as a way to impress a girl, but was good enough to play country & western songs at local cafes, and he subsequently formed a group called the Buckskin Boys. At 17, he enrolled in McGill University as an English major — by this time, he was writing poetry in earnest and became part of the university's tiny underground "bohemian" community. Cohen only earned average grades, but was a good enough writer to earn the McNaughton Prize in creative writing by the time he graduated in 1955 — a year later, the ink barely dry on his degree, he published his first book of poetry, Let Us Compare Mythologies (1956), which got great reviews but didn't sell especially well.

Answer 3

I've been a lover of Leonard's work since I heard two tracks in one of those 'listening booths' back in 1970 - the songs being 'Master Song' and 'Stranger Song'

I was in my teens then......this was what we called 'bedsitter 'music. I NEVER thought of him as depressing - perhaps that's because I always loved words, so I actually listened to what was coming out of the speakers.

Ever since then, I've looked forward to the 'next Leonard Cohen' album - sure, once or twice I've been a little disappointed, but never for very long. I've often said that 'Stranger Song' should be the story of MY life - it feels that way sometimes!

Way back when his first album was released, there in the notes on the back cover, it says,
'These songs speak to us all. Those with ears will hear.'
Right on!

Answer 4

I love Leonard Cohen. His songs and singing are so emotional and raw.

When I was a kid I hated him and called him ex-lax leonard because of his slow singing style. Years later I found myself remembering him and began obsessively listening to "Songs of Love and Hate". My favorites are Avalanche, Famous Blue Raincoat and Hallelujah. There's a new movie coming out go here for information about it:

http://www.leonardcohenimyourman.com/

Answer 5

Leonard Cohen is brilliant. Thats how it goes, Everybody knows...

Answer 6

Wasn't there a couple of his songs on the "Natural Born Killers" soundtrack? Or, am I nuts? I liked those songs, regardless:) I'm not too familiar with his work, so I'm not the best to answer this. I've heard he's progressed quite a bit over the years.

Answer 7

You like Leonard Cohen ! You have no friends !

Where's the question ???

Answer 8

He's one of those artists whose work people judge just on one song. His is 'Suzanne'. Janis Ian's would be 'At Seventeen'.

People have this erroneous view that he is a depressing singer. From listening to a couple of his albums he is actually quite witty and writes beautiful love songs. I think he's brilliant.

Answer 9

He is a musical genius only slightly beneath Bob Dylan in my opinion. The only way I discovered him though was from the Natural Born Killers soundtrack. I don't understand his lack of popularity.

Answer 10

Cohen is great, nothing like a blast of his jolly music to cheer you up when things are a bit grim.