Red Mosquito

Ten is probably either democracy or The Faith

I picked it up on my lunch break today -- looking forward to giving it a good listen.

This is good. For a master poet he seems a little overly reliant on flame/blame/game/name-type rhymes, but the instrumentation is more natural than anything since "Recent Songs" and the voice has a shit-ton of gravitas. I think "Treaty" and "On the Level" are my favorite songs. "You looked at me like I was young/It took my breath away" -- that line kills me.

I'm also pleased with the diminished presence of the female backing singers -- they aren't as bad as the cheap keyboards, but too often they only serve to bury that golden voice.

How does LC's catalog shake down for you, Trag? Personal favorites?

I'M YOUR MAN
THE FUTURE
SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN
SONGS OF LOVE AND HATE
NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY
TEN NEW SONGS
RECENT SONGS
SONGS FROM A ROOM
VARIOUS POSITIONS
DEATH OF A LADIES' MAN


I'm not really familiar enough with the more recent ones to rank them. But I love listening to both live albums he released in the last few years.

I couldn't agree more about the recent live albums (I only have "Live in London" and "Songs From the Road" but I assume the others are on the same level). If you prefer his older, wiser voice, those albums will be a great way to reabsorb some of his old songs into your repertoire.

Really, I like all of his albums, except for perhaps "Death of a Ladies' Man" (and "Dear Heather" on certain days). My personal picks are probably "Songs of Love and Hate," "New Skin For the Old Ceremony," and "Ten New Songs" (if you like his most recent offerings, this would be a great one to go for next), and I also have a greater-than-average fondness for "Recent Songs," which I consider to be the hidden gem of his career. But based on your other favorites, I'd say go for "Ten New Songs" and "Live in London." Me, I'm going to give the new one another spin.

His Facebook is reporting that he passed away.

So sad. What an awful fucking week.

Rolling stone reporting too

Fuck off 2016

I know he was old but he still sounded so vibrant.

Wait, what?! Fucking seriously?!

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

When another popular celebrity died earlier this year, someone on RM posted about how "popular culture" as we think of it is approximately 50-60 years old, so that we can start to expect gigantic, beloved stars to start dying at an ever-increasing rate as the years move forward. It sounds like a McP post to me, but I can't be sure.