Oops

I haven't done anything in a week.

I don't have anything important to say.

...

So my listening habits usually center around one or two bands/artists for a period that lasts between a week and a month, until I move on to something else. Right now that slot has been filled up by Leonard Cohen. (Coincidentally, he put out a record sometime in the past few weeks. I can't remember if this period started before or in response to that.)

For a while all I had listened to was Songs Of Leonard Cohen, which I've had for years but honestly felt it was pretty boring. I found that a lot of the songs seemed to lack decent melodies, or if it did possess one, it'd repeat it enough that the melody's simplicity would start to wear. I liked "Master Song" because the arrangement was moody and threatening enough to hook me, but the arrangements on the rest of the songs left me wanting more. So in essence, a lot of boredom, and I assumed that Cohen was just not going to be my thing (despite that some of my favorite bands derived a lot of inspiration from these albums).



But then at some point I listened Songs Of Love And Hate, and instantly changed my tune. (Which is kind of funny, because the arrangements are MUCH more sparse here than the ones on Songs Of Leonard Cohen that I found a bit lacking.) But this one was much darker and pessimistic and sometimes spiteful--which fits right into my wheelhouse.

"Avalanche" gets the album off to the perfect start. I think I've posted about this song before, and it might be my favorite song the guy has done... so of course, it hasn't been included on any greatest hits compilation I've seen of his. So I guess that means your mileage may vary... or that the song is just too dark and menacing. But this song has this unstoppable momentum to it (most likely due to the fast, rhythmic guitar strumming), as if sooner or later the song will catch up to you and envelop you in grief and misery. (Which, for me, is whenever the strings really kick in.) It's invigorating for me, in a really weird way.



"Famous Blue Raincoat" is much more lethargic and sparse than "Avalanche", but makes up for it with its overwhelmingly haunting atmosphere. I don't know what the lyrics are about, but it sounds as if it is sung by a recently deceased man bitterly/reflectively addressing a former companion. And the backing vocal seems like the sort that'll get stuck in your memory as a soundtrack to your every gloomy moment.



So eventually I went back to Songs Of Leonard Cohen... and of course, it now sounds much better to my ears. It made me begin to question whether or not I ever listened to the album past the first 3 songs, because later on the album opens up to be much more varied than my impression that all the songs just featured simple acoustic strumming and not much else. I mean, it's not like he's trying out 20 different genres of music on one album a la The Beatles or something. But still. The following is one of my favorites, although I would be remiss if I didn't point out that "Suzanne" and "So Long, Marianne" are his most celebrated tracks from this album. They have their moments.



In between these two albums, he released one called Songs From A Room, which I haven't really gotten my teeth into like the other two, except for the excellent "The Partisan," which is apparently a cover but one that fits perfectly in Cohen's oeuvre. He has other albums, too, but I've heard that he sort of re-invented his sound after his first three, so I figure I would save them once I've exhausted his original trilogy.



So right now I'm almost thinking that I can be brought around on anything. Led Zeppelin, Velvet Underground, Bruce Springsteen, I could love them ALL. The only thing needed is the right point of entry.

These past few months have been a good point of entry for desolate and gloomy music to enter into my world.