The Lord of Song
Shelagh Rogers will be interviewing Leonard Cohen on Sounds Like Canada on Tuesday at 10 AM. Lenny doesn't do a lot of radio interviews, so it might be worth it to tune in. He's being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame on Sunday. The tickets for that shindig are of course sold out, but the CBC will be broadcasting it on Monday at 11 AM (8 PM on Radio Two). And if you have cable, as I hear some do, you can watch the ceremony at 9 that night. kd Lang and Willie Nelson will be performing, among others.
The songs being inducted are "Bird on a Wire," "Everybody Knows," and "Hallelujah." I understand the appeal of "Bird," but I have to say that it's not one of my favourite Cohen songs. That's the problem with this kind of award. You have to award the songs (or movies, or books, or what have you) that have the most mass appeal, but, in most cases, they're songs that are nobody's favourites. I'm sure there's somebody out there whose favourite Cohen song is "Don't Go Home With Your Hard On," but somehow I don't think it would cut it (sorry, I had too much performance anxiety to think up a nice tumid pun there).
Or, an even less appropriate choice, "Dress Rehearsal Rag":
Now Santa Claus comes forward, that's a razor in his mit
And he puts on his dark glasses and he shows you where to hit
And then the cameras pan, the stand in stunt man
Dress rehearsal rag
I think I need to listen to "Bird on a Wire" now.
The songs being inducted are "Bird on a Wire," "Everybody Knows," and "Hallelujah." I understand the appeal of "Bird," but I have to say that it's not one of my favourite Cohen songs. That's the problem with this kind of award. You have to award the songs (or movies, or books, or what have you) that have the most mass appeal, but, in most cases, they're songs that are nobody's favourites. I'm sure there's somebody out there whose favourite Cohen song is "Don't Go Home With Your Hard On," but somehow I don't think it would cut it (sorry, I had too much performance anxiety to think up a nice tumid pun there).
Or, an even less appropriate choice, "Dress Rehearsal Rag":
Now Santa Claus comes forward, that's a razor in his mit
And he puts on his dark glasses and he shows you where to hit
And then the cameras pan, the stand in stunt man
Dress rehearsal rag
I think I need to listen to "Bird on a Wire" now.