Reasons to be cheerful. Profiles and interviews with Leonard Cohen are always a good read, though it does annoy me slightly when the interviewer is surprised at how funny he is. Isn’t it obvious from his music? From the subtle dry humour to the out and out absurdity of life, he’s a natural comedian. Anyway, here’s a quote:
“The most beautiful thing that I ever saw was a woman,� he says. “There are things that are second and third – the moon and sunsets, great mountains and lakes – but first, a woman. I never thought much about it, but I knew that could make me breathless and frightened and nervous. I know beauty comes with that kind of power and it comes with desire, and we spend much of our lives trying to deal with that.�
via Hg
It is weird how people seem to miss the humour in his work. A lot of it is pretty wry and occasionally (the solo in Tower of Song that appears to be played on a Casiotone keyboard by a distracted chimp, for instance) it’s downright hilarious. But people just continue not to see the joke. Reading the article you linked to, everything the author said about Cohen’s manner was exactly what I would have expected on the basis of his work, yet he thought it was surprising. Do you and I really have such a different take on his stuff to most people? Or is it just that most people know him only by (misleading) reputation and haven’t really listened to the songs at all?
I think maybe he gained that reputation early on and will never shake it off. First impressions and all that. He could wear baggy trousers and a red nose and sing “If you’re happy and you know it” constantly for the rest of his days and he’d still be seen as a miserabilist. Whereas, in fact, he’s witty, successful, revered and an enduring hit with the ladies – you’ve got to think he’s probably reasonably happy at least some of the time.