About Leonard Cohen

elysium

Emily Hernandez28, don't be a villain 🙂 🙂

Man, honestly, besides Momus, I can't think of anyone else whose entire body of work is so unapologetically obsessed with sex... 😁 And once you actually sit down and read Beautiful Losers, everything just clicks into place...

Emily Hernandez28 said:It was a total high school fascination for me, but since then I've gotten a better sense of who I actually am in this world—so his particular way of handling interpersonal relationships and self-expression just doesn't sit right with me anymore.

I don't know, to me, that whole high school vibe—expecting a singer, a rock lyricist, or a singer-songwriter to educate you on things like human relationships and such—is a bit much.

I don't really view them with that level of seriousness; I'm not out here looking for prophets, gurus, or ideological leaders among them. Personally, I'm satisfied with just a bit of poetry...

By the way, yeah, that business about the Buddhist monastery sounds pretty trashy—it's right up there with all that Scientology and Kabbalah nonsense. But hey, whatever, people can search for meaning however they want; it's their own business.

If I find myself at the mercy of fate, perhaps Leonard could give it a try too ☕

Rebecca Thompson67 said:I honestly don't know; for me, it's just hard to say. It seems like you might have cut off mid-sentence while typing about high school, but if you were trying to start a discussion about the high school experience, I'm all ears. Back in my day, navigating those hallways felt less like an educational journey and more like a strategic military operation. You had to decide which social faction to align with just to survive lunch without feeling like an outcast. It was intense, slightly absurd, and frankly, far more dramatic than any teen soap opera on network TV. Are you looking to reminisce about the glory days, vent about some old academic trauma, or perhaps dissect how much things have changed since we were sitting in those cramped desks? Whatever it is, lay it out. I've got plenty of time and a healthy dose of sarcasm ready to go. What exactly should one expect from a singer, a rock lyricist, or a singer-songwriter? Is it enough to simply deliver a catchy melody, or are we demanding something more profound—a piece of their soul laid bare on the stage? Personally, I’ve always felt that if an artist asks for your attention, they owe you more than just a polished performance; they owe you a shred of truth, even if it's uncomfortable. It’s essentially an act of training or educating someone. Depending on the context, it can range from a formal academic instruction to more hands-on, practical mentorship. In common conversation, you might hear it used when discussing how someone is being groomed for a specific role or taught the ropes in a professional setting. It’s fascinating how people view interpersonal relationships—that messy, complicated web of connections we all find ourselves caught in. It’s less like a choreographed dance and more like trying to navigate a crowded subway station during rush hour in New York; everyone is bumping into each other, nobody is quite sure where they’re going, and yet, somehow, we all manage to reach our destinations. I’ve spent a lot of time observing these dynamics, often from a distance, perhaps with a bit too much cynicism for my own good. We tend to project these grand, cinematic expectations onto our partners—expecting a sweeping romance straight out of a classic Hollywood drama—only to be met with the mundane reality of deciding who’s picking up the dry cleaning or why the dishwasher was loaded incorrectly. It’s a constant friction between the ideal and the actual. There is a certain irony in how we seek connection. We spend our lives building walls, carefully constructing these personas to protect our vulnerabilities, only to realize that true intimacy requires us to tear those very walls down. It’s an exhausting paradox. You want to be known, but being known is terrifying because it means losing control over how others perceive you. In my experience, most conflicts aren't actually about the "big" things—it's rarely about the stolen car or the massive betrayal. It’s the small, grating inconsistencies that wear a relationship down. It’s the silence when you expected a conversation, or the subtle shift in tone that signals a withdrawal. We are all just trying to find a way to exist alongside another person without losing ourselves in the process. It's a delicate balancing act, much like walking a tightrope over a canyon, hoping the wind doesn't pick up too suddenly.

I don't take them all that seriously, to be honest. I’m certainly not out here hunting for prophets, gurus, or some grand ideological leaders among them. Personally, I'm perfectly satisfied with just a little bit of poetry.

It’s funny how people jump into a fray without a single thought about whether they actually want to be part of the conflict. We see it all the time online—people looking for any excuse to pick a fight, just for the sake of the friction itself. It’s a peculiar kind of hunger, isn't it? This restless need to provoke, to clash, to find someone to push against just to feel some semblance of momentum. In my experience, most of these little skirmishes aren't even about anything meaningful. They don't have a core principle or a genuine grievance behind them; they're just empty exercises in aggression. It reminds me of those old, dusty debates you’d see in certain academic circles back in the day—lots of shouting, very little substance, and everyone leaves feeling slightly more exhausted than when they started. I remember sitting in a coffee shop in downtown Chicago a few years back, watching two guys get absolutely heated over something trivial—I think it was a disagreement about a local sports team's strategy—and the sheer amount of energy they were pouring into being "right" was almost impressive in its futility. They weren't trying to solve a problem; they were just performing hostility. If you're going to engage, at least have the decency to have a point. Otherwise, you're just adding to the noise. 🙂

You completely misunderstood me. 😉
Reflecting on the people who truly matter isn't some trivial high school exercise. Our own perspective is inherently limited; our vision is narrow by design. Sometimes, you simply have to borrow someone else's eyes to perceive things you never knew existed—or perhaps things you could never have grasped on your own, no matter how hard you tried. That is the kind of education I was talking about. 😉

By the way, yeah, this whole thing about the Buddhist monastery sounds incredibly tacky. It’s honestly right up there with the nonsense you hear from Scientology or people obsessed with Kabbalah. But hey, fine—if someone needs to go searching for themselves that way, that's their business. It's their private affair.

Spirituality as a preservation tactic... without a shadow of a doubt. 😉

stormyviper11 said:Well, honestly, aside from Momus, I can't think of anyone whose entire body of work is quite so explicitly dedicated to sex... 😁 And once you actually sit down with "Beautiful Losers," everything just clicks into place...

Sex? Please. He isn't exactly some common libertine 😁. It’s more about how he manages to slip a virgin right under your skin rather than just under her skirt 😉.

Emily Hernandez28 said:sex? he’s not really that much of a philanderer😁. back in the day, it was more about getting under a girl's skin than just her clothes😉

Man, I used to lean into that romanticized version of him too, right up until I picked up Beautiful Losers. After that, I started looking at his lyrics through a completely different lens... 😁
Cohen is basically woven into the fabric of that Jewish New York scene—sort of like Woody Allen or Philip Roth—where sex makes up about 80% of the artistic obsession.

Emily Hernandez28 said:sex? he’s not really that much of a predator😁. back then, it was more about getting under a girl's skin rather than just her clothes😉

At the end of the day, it all leads to the same place; it's just the order of things that changes...

Dana Anderson4 said:In the end, it all comes out the same—only the order changes...

It isn't quite the same thing, actually. Take someone like Julio Iglesias—who, if the rumors are true, insisted on being photographed exclusively from his left profile 🤣 because he thought it was his best angle—he once mentioned that he’s far more interested in that specific moment leading up to the act itself. He felt everything after that is just more of the same, and honestly, why work so hard for it...🥳

Rebecca Thompson67 said:It’s not quite the same thing. Take Julio Iglesias, for example—he supposedly insisted on being photographed only from his left profile 🤣 because he thought it was his best angle. He once mentioned he's way more interested in the part before the actual act; after that, it's all just the same old routine, and who wants to work that hard? 🥳

It’s easy for Uncle Julio to say, considering how many pairs of underwear he’s squeezed into over the years. I bet he's just bored....

What pathetic little underwear Julia was wearing when she slipped into that room!

Dana Anderson4 said:It’s easy for someone like Julia to say all that, considering how many times he’s managed to talk his way into trouble... I honestly think he’s just bored at this point.

So, are you Jewish too?😁

Just some Catholic guys🙂

I'm dying to know how that sweaty blasphemer Iglesias ended up in the exact same thread as Leonard Cohen?🤔 😁

Steven Green59 said:I’m curious—how on earth did that sweaty blasphemer end up in the same thread as Leonard Cohen?🤔 😁

Well, based on their lyrics, we’ve concluded that while the Blasphemer prefers to do his business standing up, Leo prefers to be on his knees. Surely there must be some sort of connection there.

Eh, a little lifting never hurt anybody...

Anyway, I’m looking for some solid book recommendations about Cohen. I'm not really in the mood for those "he was just a little boy once..." style biographies—you know the type. Give me the ones with actual pictures! 🙂

Thanks.

Steven Green59 said:I'm genuinely curious—what kind of twisted joke led that sweaty little blasphemer Iglesias to end up in the exact same thread as Leonard Cohen?🤔 😁

🤣

and the whole damn place loses its mind twice
once for the devil, once for the Christ

Honestly, I've gotten tired of trying to figure out what works best—I could have just written anything else at this point

bluetiger13 said:I don't know what's best, I'm just over it, she could have just written whatever else

Look, I know what works. 😉 My brother Robert feels the same way too... 🙄

I was handsome, I was strong
I knew the words of every song
But did I please them? No,
The words they sang were wrong! 😢

Grace Carter80 said:Well, a little bit of blasphemy never hurt anyone...

Anyway, I’m looking for some solid book recommendations about Cohen. I'm not really into those "started as a little boy" style biographies. Give me something with great photography instead! 🙂

Thanks.

http://www.amazon.com/book/show/id/1895

It's got pictures 😬

A truly great biography would be 👍 "Prophet of the Heart."
I actually have a little book here—it's an American translation of 🤣 Leonard Cohen's "What Do I Do Here?" My goodness, you wouldn't believe the quality of some translations you find out there! 🤣

I’ve never seen him perform live, though the closest experience I’ve had was listening to 😍 Cale's live version of
Hallelujah.

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
🙂 ...yes, he is quite charming 😁, but Cale is even more charming!