What's new

Leonard Cohen has passed away

strativarius

Inveterate gnashnab & snoutband
Sometimes one is just in the mood for dark

I heard this track (Everybody Knows) on the radio three or four years ago and I liked it so much I went out and bought the CD ('I'm your Man'). I was so glad I did, it's got so many great songs on it and some great instrumental solos and passages. It rekindled my appreciation of his work. All in all a brilliant production IMO.
 

oneonewasaracecar

Gold Meritorious Patron
I must admit I liked Cohen in the early seventies and bought one of his poetry books and his record album "Songs of love and hate".
I went off him since I read he was connected to MKULTRA mind control" some time back.

I just found this link.

http://www.globaltruth.net/leonard-cohens-secret-life-mkultra-cultural-engineering/

I'm hoping that if you want to continue this discussion, you can do it on another thread apart from this memorial thread. Please be mindful that there are people on this board who knew the deceased.
 

Glenda

Crusader
I'm hoping that if you want to continue this discussion, you can do it on another thread apart from this memorial thread. Please be mindful that there are people on this board who knew the deceased.

Thank you. Though I did not have the pleasure of meeting Leonard, there are those close to me that are very close to him. With respect, I will say no more.

R.I.P. Mr. Leonard Cohen. And thank you. :rose:
 

Hatshepsut

Crusader
I think one can have an opinion, like for example 'his stuff isn't to my taste' or words to that effect, and that's perfectly fine, but unless one can actually play the guitar or write poetry I don't believe one has the right to judge the quality of another's work in those fields.

His guitar playing might sound elementary to you, but speaking as someone who can play the guitar a little, his work is far more nuanced than you perhaps might be aware of.

Just my humble opinion.

I liked the great songwriters of the 60s and 70s. I wanted to be one. I kept notebooks with the lyrics of Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Web, Burt Bacharach, Sondheim, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and Richard Harris etc . It was a sad era, not very PC to be joyous. The dead were still coming back from Vietnam. I remember watching the sitcoms and films and thinking, how dark, and what a sad undertone everything had. Easy Rider, Klute, Five Easy Pieces, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, A Star is Born. Even the Woody Allen comedies celebrated the morose. I think I remember Leonard Cohen saying he remained depressed after experimenting with the psychedelics scene. Some people never go 'back' to the way they were born afterwards. Maybe Canadians in the French literary scene were like that in Montreal!
Yesterday, I was marveling at how many of his songs contained metaphors inspired by the devout Catholics.

I couldn't read notes. I told myself it was all about getting somebody to FEEL sumthin.

Leonard was a troubadour toting his love songs from town to town. :yes:

https://www.britannica.com/art/troubadour-lyric-artist

http://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/French/FromDawnToDawn.htm
 
Last edited:

I told you I was trouble

Suspended animation
I heard this track (Everybody Knows) on the radio three or four years ago and I liked it so much I went out and bought the CD ('I'm your Man'). I was so glad I did, it's got so many great songs on it and some great instrumental solos and passages. It rekindled my appreciation of his work. All in all a brilliant production IMO.


I agree, it's a brilliant CD ... there's a DVD too (from the same tour which, as you would know, started in London) the tracks are in the same sequence and one of my dogs went berserk with joy one evening quite a few years ago when I played it, she knows the CD from the many, many car rides I've taken her on and she loves it ... when I put the DVD on she woke up, jumped up and kept staring at the TV in astonishment and then at me ("Ma! Look, look ... listen, it's our special music").

He communicated something that has certainly impinged on this beautiful dog.


:happydance:



 

strativarius

Inveterate gnashnab & snoutband
I must admit I liked Cohen in the early seventies and bought one of his poetry books and his record album "Songs of love and hate".
I went off him since I read he was connected to MKULTRA mind control" some time back.

I just found this link.

http://www.globaltruth.net/leonard-cohens-secret-life-mkultra-cultural-engineering/

As was said earlier in this thread, this is not the place to be doing a hatchet job on Cohen's character.

Please take your pathological science elsewhere.
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
Since leonard passed away, I did many searchs to get info about some stuff I didn't knew or misunderstood about him, his path..Geez..he is quite a character.
Someone who has known him gave a full hour interview about the man and his spiritual path last week.

Despite very attached to his jewish roots, traditions and culture, he crossed several spiritual valleys and let such deep stream flow through his mind, soul, heart..and learned from those many experiences. He became a real master of the christian bible and got into intensive learning of buddhist studies with a japanese zen monk (in seclusion at the mount baldy monsatery in LA). (that time of his life was devoted to learn from the old master, to get better knowledge of himself and life...)
He would say later, that he mostly realized that the main questions of life remains unansewered..so one must learn to cope with it. :confused2: (Inf act..this not knowing and uncertainty is a cause of suffering, fear, and anxiety...) Since his childhood (a melancholic refugee mother and a dad who died whe Leonard was a kid...) hie lived with a ''depressive'' background in his thoughts, in his mind..He was a broken..but all his life his tried to overcome it and sing for others others who too are broken...

This had been reported recently about his chronic depression:

Cohen’s work in fact, has done far more than sustain him in his twilight of a music career that has endured for half a century. He has enjoyed a spectacular third act that defies the laws of showbiz physics. By the time he entered his seventies, Cohen had retreated from the spotlight, and was living a quiet life in Los Angeles, with his children, Adam and Lorca, close by. His chronic depression had miraculously lifted, and he seemed in no hurry to do anything. * see below his realizaton after his years at the onastery.


One thing he said and is obvious with Leonard Cohen is he has truly been a truth seeker...and he kept away of falling into any dogmatic belief...he kept his spirituality wide opened to any experience and would say that his favorite figure was Jesus:

'' 'm very fond of Jesus Christ. He may be the most beautiful guy who walked the face of this earth. ''

He also said he has no ''spiritual path...''

This is quite something for a jew .

About his Zen monk seclusion of 4-5 years, he would say he did a first attempt and couldn't make it..too much difficult. He left and went back to women... lol (poor man...His whole life was mostly about woman beauty contemplation and to enjoy it...:biggrin:)
Then he did a second attempt...and it was the right one!


At the monastery, Cohen cooked, cleaned, and sat. Sitting meditation, known as Za-Zen, aims to tame monkey mind, frenetic thinking, by studying the self to forget the self. It worked for the songster. But it took three decades of instruction and the mellowing of old age to put the musician in a neutral, monkish state of mind.

“When you stop thinking about yourself all the time, a certain sense of repose overtakes you, ”he said.
“It happened to me by imperceptible degrees and I could not really believe it.”


and he would never give up on buddhist practice of meditation while he never abandonned a sort of belief (or sense) there is a Lord...(withouh any certitude on that) so he sang it...

Here are a few songs I listened lately and love..may be you will enjoy! One is about healing..It played on the radio, a long night this last week when I was particularly agitated fighting my own demons......Beautifull songs! was like when daddy would caress our back with his large and warm hand , to make us babygirls relax till we would fall asleep....any fear gone.......


Come healing

[video]https://youtu.be/MUB1O2cT2gM[/video]

Lullaby

[video]https://youtu.be/VlwVu9_IvjM[/video]

Because Leonard Cohen was not ''only'' dark and
In the event you need it, it may comfort you..:coolwink:

:coolwink:
 

afaceinthecrowd

Gold Meritorious Patron
Yes Mimsey I know of it!
I am glad though you are aware of it :coolwink:
Quebec is known to be the last bastion of the french language (way more than France) - a tiny little french ''ghetto'' there, in a sea of Anglo-saxon :unsure: (I wonder how long time it will survive....)

It is known they are detested by the many canadians in the west of Canada for their difference and culture despite being known by WW travellers for being the warmest welcoming people. (they attempted a few times to split from canada and go independant to preserve their nation and they didn't surrender to the english canadian culture) It is said they are more americans than canadians.:coolwink:
Leonard Cohen was a Lover of of his home and of french culture too.

Some of those guys (in Quebec and east-Canada) and the french in Louisianna (to vanish there too) are the same people who had survived deportation and ethnic genocide.
Cajuns .
The french are the one who help americans patriots to fight the Brit to get their independancy and that proved decisive in the ultimate victory
Purple Rain ever mentionned (about Boston) the destruction of a shipment of tea at the Boston Tea Party in a confrontation with patriots and loyalists.

Those guys in Quebec and the Cajuns are the remnants of the Acadians, the original french settlers in Canada.

From Wikipedia...The Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles (French-speakers from Acadia in what are now The Maritimes of Eastern Canada). Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population and have exerted an enormous impact on the state's culture.[3]

While Lower Louisiana had been settled by French colonists since the late 17th century, the Cajuns trace their roots to the influx of Acadian settlers after the Great Expulsion from their homeland during the French and British hostilities prior to the Seven Years' War (1756 to 1763). The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia and the other Maritime provinces, plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine. Since their establishment in Louisiana, the Cajuns have developed their own dialect, Cajun French, and developed a vibrant culture including folkways, music, and cuisine.


I've got some good Cajun friends and spent some time in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana (heart of Cajun Country)...Damn, can them Folks work, cook, drink and party!:melodramatic::happydance::eyeroll: :coolwink:
 
Last edited:

phenomanon

Canyon
Those guys in Quebec and the Cajuns are the remnants of the Acadians, the original french settlers in Canada.

From Wikipedia...The Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles (French-speakers from Acadia in what are now The Maritimes of Eastern Canada). Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population and have exerted an enormous impact on the state's culture.[3]

While Lower Louisiana had been settled by French colonists since the late 17th century, the Cajuns trace their roots to the influx of Acadian settlers after the Great Expulsion from their homeland during the French and British hostilities prior to the Seven Years' War (1756 to 1763). The Acadia region to which modern Cajuns trace their origin consisted largely of what are now Nova Scotia and the other Maritime provinces, plus parts of eastern Quebec and northern Maine. Since their establishment in Louisiana, the Cajuns have developed their own dialect, Cajun French, and developed a vibrant culture including folkways, music, and cuisine.


I've got some good Cajun friends and spent some time in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana (heart of Cajun Country)...Damn, can them Folks work, cook, drink and party!:melodramatic::happydance::eyeroll: :coolwink:

My best old girlfriend, Millie, is Cajun. She is related to every Hebert in the Parrish of New Iberia. I have visited her and John there and eaten the Cajun food. Crawfish E'touffe, and Jambalaya, etc until it didn't even burn my gut anymore. LOL. They speak a language that is neither French, nor Spanish, nor English, but something of their own. Millie was/is an Arcadian.
I was living in Shreveport, La. when I decided to move to Phoenix in 1952 in order to explore the world of DMSMH.:omg:
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
I've got some good Cajun friends and spent some time in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana (heart of Cajun Country)...Damn, can them Folks work, cook, drink and party!:melodramatic::happydance::eyeroll: :coolwink:

My best old girlfriend, Millie, is Cajun. She is related to every Hebert in the Parrish of New Iberia. I have visited her and John there and eaten the Cajun food. Crawfish E'touffe, and Jambalaya, etc until it didn't even burn my gut anymore. LOL. They speak a language that is neither French, nor Spanish, nor English, but something of their own. Millie was/is an Arcadian.
I was living in Shreveport, La. when I decided to move to Phoenix in 1952 in order to explore the world of DMSMH.:omg:

there's quite a mix of ethnics groups and culture there :biggrin:

From Wikipedia:

History

Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, from different cultures. By historic times, the Chitimacha and Atakapa inhabited the area and were the American Indians encountered by Spanish and French explorers and settlers. The tribes' numbers were drastically reduced as a result of exposure to European diseases to which they had no immunity.

French, Spanish, enslaved Africans, and French-Canadians from Acadia expelled after the Seven Years' War won by Great Britain, had all entered the area by the end of the 18th century. As the population became mostly Cajun, the primary language was French for years. In the mid- to late 19th century, they were joined by European Americans; immigrants from Italy, recruited to work on the plantations, as well as Jewish immigrants from Germany and eastern Europe,[why?] who tended to settle in towns and become merchants.


The actual acadian land is different from the old land , thus not exactly Quebec, it is , since the XVIII century, more maritime provinces - East of Quebec - + Louisianna . But a lot of deported acadians (wether in France, Great Britain , USA) or Maritimes) have moved back to Quebec. Many remained established in maine, massachusset, Louisianne and Vermount )


tumblr_m7o8c3xX3V1rpdglno1_400.gif



I could understand the french\english spoken by the acadians in Louisianna
But I don't have a clue of what others (cajuns) are speaking...:duh:

It's like creole..a it became a distinct language

One famous acadian singer is Marie-jo Thériault (Acadia is not Quebec - it had became the french canadian refugee to escape, out of Quebec , the genocide, breaking of families and expulsion)

On famous acadian singer - Marie-Jo Thério, sings an Acadian tale, taken out of the great upheaval of french-canadians by British and the tragic of the broken families is : Evangeline: A tale of Acadie

The tale (despite not covering the true horror of the brutal inhumanity of massive removing of the acadians from their land by killing them burning their houses, churches, burning their barns, food stock to starve them and expulse them...) is mostly the romance of Evangeling loosing her love.
Marie-Joe Théro performs the best rendering of it
(you can observe it's not the language spoken in Louisianna - acadians speak a mix of french\english)

I hope you enjoy, and may it provides a little understandingof the french canadian history in north america and how they'd have to fight with courage to survive English oppression and assimilation. While they've too ben part of the American nation. They are still, to this day, assimilated with english speaking migration policies in Canada...while trying to survive as a nation and culture. They always remained true friends with Americans, especially north states.

[video]https://youtu.be/r0t04TVrzS0[/video]

51jx32vXquL._SX373_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


Now back to Leonard Cohen, Leonard Cohen was the most french canadian of any 2nd generation english speaking migrant you could have encountered. His life had been deeply influenced by the french catholic culture (he was going out with many french artists in artists groups) and values as well as personnality traits often found in french culture. So many of his songs are about love, sensuality, existential quest, religion\spirituality and social concerns...


But Cohen's main dedication of a lifetime is so well expressed in Evangeline's tale and deeply branded in acadians and french canadians's nations heart - those who he lived among...

You lived with the sole desire
of comforting and healing

those who suffered
more than yourself
 
Last edited:

Little David

Gold Meritorious Patron
The choir from Killard House, Donaghadee, singing Hallelujah led by Kaylee.

[video]https://youtu.be/RvUMDp-snTI[/video]
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
Beautiful rendering. The small girl is very talented and passionate.
and they all seems so concentrate and proud!

(This version Makes a nice Christmas song )
 

ThetanExterior

Gold Meritorious Patron
I'm currently reading his biography: "I'm Your Man". Here is some information about his involvement in Scientology that I don't think has appeared in this thread:

He met Suzanne Elrod in the New York Org. She became the mother of his two children.

He had a certificate confirming him as "Senior Dianetic Grade IV Release".

He left Scientology because "disenchantment had set in, as well as anger that the organisation had begun to exploit his name".
 
Top