In the Merry, Merry Month of May
May 20th, 2007 by 
Rory Harper
The demise of Jerry Falwell this week has caused me to once again fleetingly meditate on one of my favorite subjects — Teletubbies.
No, just kidding. I meant to type — Death.
There were a couple of years, not so long ago, when I was barely hanging on by my fingernails. And I have fingernails so short as to be almost non-existent.
My old friend Brian Robertson turned me on to Leonard Cohen then, because he knew exactly what I was going through, and it was the best he could do for me.
Cohen’s big hit, in 1969, was ‘Suzanne’. As he aged, his voice deepened until it now sounds something like God would sound like, if he actually, you know, existed.
Leonard helped me make it through some infinitely long nights.
His stuff is generally dark and sorrowful, though there are some startling exceptions. Love underlies all of it. His music reminds you that you’re not alone when it gets as bleak as Arctic midnight.
Clicking the pic takes you to a live performance of his classic ‘Who By Fire’. I personally find Sonny Rollins’s sax soloes a bit over-the-top, but others love them.
If you’ve never been so close to the edge that all you can see is velvet black emptiness, all this may seem silly or pretentious to you. But if you have been there, or are there, I highly recommend Cohen’s music to you. You might want to start with ‘More Best of Leonard Cohen‘.
My life is pretty good these days. But there is no light without darkness.
And vice-versa, of course.
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If you’d like to see Leonard when he’s feeling whimsical, check out: ‘First We Take Manhattan‘.
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Posted in Music, Pop. Culture, Religion, Rory | 
4 Comments »
May 20th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Rory,
Have you ever listened to Dory Previn? All fans of Leonard will probably love her work too. She’s schizophrenic and she talks back to the voices.
Stuart
May 20th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Stuart – Wow. I haven’t thought about Dory Previn for about three decades. I have only the vaguest recollection of having one of her albums, way back then, but I don’t remember which one, or anything about it.
But I remember that I liked her music. I probably just had the album named ‘Dory Previn’, which woul be more likely to cause the echo in my brain.
I’m gonna hunt some down this week and see if it holds up for me.
Thanks!
Also, gang — I was planning to do a second post tonight, and I even know what it is, but it’s been a busy and good day and the goodness ate through my time for writing. Will post tomorrow. Hugs to all.
May 21st, 2007 at 12:32 am
Busy and good days should be embraced for their crunchy goodness.
May 21st, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Rory,
When I discovered her back in the early 70s I bought everything she had out on vinyl. The CD reissues I have are Mythical Kings & Iguanas paired with Reflections in a Mud Puddle and Mary C. Brown paired with On My Way To Where.
While I was living in Salt Lake City in the mid 70s going to the University of Utah I was friends with Phil Davis who played Moog synthesizer on a couple of her albums.
Stuart