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November 19, 2008
Retrohump: Still Sighing
What's the statute of limitation on Retrohump? I know we had a Leonard Cohen post last March, when "the original Montreal hipster" was (finally) inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Who cares? I'm sure he's much prouder to be in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, of which he has been a member since 1991.
Since we're on the subject, it's worth filing away for future Retrohump posts that the CMHoF will have one hell of an induction run sometime around 2025, more than making up for the lean years of today that have seen Bryan Adams and Triumph garner invites.
There are a number of unfunny music jokes where Bryan Adams is the unwilling punchline. My favorite comes from the pages of Spin, circa 1999. The non-specified issue contained a flow chart to help answer the question, "What rock and roll star are you?" Answering "no" to the first question, "Do you rock?", apparently meant that you were... alright, you get it.
Cohen is likewise in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (as are Paul Anka and Suzie McNeil, the latter best known south of the border for her work on INXS: Rockstar). Cohen is also a Companion of the Order of Canada, the highest honor bestowed upon only the finest civilian classes of Canuck and Nordique. Margaret Atwood is one. As is nearly every ex-politician in Canadian history (this is a mathematically inaccurate claim). Not Wayne Gretzky, though. Really? What's a guy got to do?
Back to Cohen. The last time Retrohump focused on arguably the coolest Polish Jew ever, the post's author turned a blind eye to this writer's personal favorite Cohen track, even though it's the centerpiece of Songs of Leonard Cohen. "So Long, Marianne" is the song that, in my imagined, alternate life, I use to romantically serenade a potential ex-girlfriend. Time to right that wrong (at least the song-posting aspect of it).
Leonard Cohen - "So Long, Marianne" (from something that looks like "3sat Pop Rock Special")
And from what looks like might be a similar television program, only this time Japanese in origin:
Leonard Cohen - "Bird on a Wire"
Monsieur Cohen's influence is vast indeed - Bonnie "Prince" Billy ought to pay back rent every time he takes the stage - but who are the Man's greatest agencies? Allmusic.com lists "Bob Dylan", which is about as unexpected as naming "water" your most important beverage. Yeats and Whitman are listed as early influences on his poetry; again, not too insightful there. Yet I may have stumbled upon a single track that bore the fruit on Cohen: a French-Canadian traditional, "V'la l'bon vent". The song tells the tale of a prince that shoots and kills a white duck that belonged to a peasant girl. The prince offers monetary compensation, but the pauper turns him down, citing, "What use to us is lots of money?/We send all our girls to the convent/And all the boys to the army." Even allowing for my now-depleted French skills, I'm not sure if you could name a better Leonard Cohan lyric than that! Not convinced? Wait until the slight percussion kicks in on the chorus.... there it is.
V'la l'bon vent
Posted by Randall Monty at November 19, 2008 06:01 PM
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Comments
On next look, either these clips are from the same broadcast, or Leonard Cohen really likes that jacket.
Posted by: Randall Monty at November 20, 2008 08:49 AM
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