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A (Good Clean Wholesome) Fun Friday

Filed under: GCW Fun | By DrHGuy | February 29, 2008 at 2:39 pm

As always there are a batch of new posts at the Good Clean Wholesome Fun tumblelog,1 that may pique ones interest.2



Footnotes


  1. GoodCleanWholesome Fun is the quick-witted, energetic, happy go lucky younger tumblelog sibling of DrHGuy’s jocose but prolix, sometimes abstruse Heck of a Guy blog. For details, see Try Some GoodCleanWholesomeFun ~back~
  2. As usual, the links in this list go directly to the single item described. All these entries as well as the posts that preceded them and any posts added since this list was compiled can be accessed in a single sequence at GoodCleanWholesome Fun ~back~

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Public Official A - A Comic Morality Play In The Illinois Style

Filed under: Local | By DrHGuy | February 28, 2008 at 8:31 am

 

 

Judge reveals Blagojevich is ‘Public Official A’
Rezko allegedly sought donations for governor

-Headline from February 26, 2008 Chicago Tribune


The Illinois Scandal Du Jour (But At Least It’s Good Theater)


It may be necessary to reside within the boundaries of the State of Illinois to fully appreciate the nuances of the latest entertainment being offered by the gubernatorial repertory company, starring Governor Blagojevich (on the far left in the graphic) and his fundraiser, Antoin “Tony” Rezko (on the right in the graphic), but significant enjoyment can be garnered as long as one knows the basic story line.


Happily, the plot is is succinctly summarized in CliffsNotes style by the first two paragraphs of the Tribune story, which are excerpted below:

Laying to rest the latest parlor game of Illinois politics, a federal judge on Monday made it crystal clear that “A” stands for Rod Blagojevich in the public corruption case against the governor’s indicted fundraiser, Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

A ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Amy St. Eve dispensed with an array of pseudonyms that had cloaked the identities of several people who allegedly benefited from Rezko’s financial schemes, including Blagojevich. He had previously been referred to in court documents only as Public Official A.


Notes On The Mismatch Between Symbolism In Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter and The Heck of a Guy Satiric Graphic Referencing Public Official A

Before I’m indicted by the Symbol Squad, I admit that the the scarlet “A” that Hester Prynne is condemned to wear for her adultery, as evidenced by the birth of her child out of wedlock, and the “A” in “Public Official A” are hardly parallel. Hester, after all, is revealed to be angelic (which also begins with an “A” - get it?) while it’s beginning to look as though Governor Blogojevich (AKA Blago) may be revealed as - well, not so angelic. At best, he has been absolutely oblivious (yes, “absolutely oblivious” is a long way to go for that “A,” but I want to get this posted before the court case and appeals are completed).

If Blago fits a character in Hawthorne’s tale, it would be Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the outwardly pious minister who impregnates Hester and refuses to acknowledge his responsibility, forcing her not only raise their child without help but also face the censure of the church and community alone.

And, I suspect even Mr. Rezko would agree that he is ill cast as Pearl, the infant daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale.

Let’s see, that means the prosecutor would be either or both Reverend Mr. John Wilson, the senior clergyman who advocates harsh punishment for those who have sinned as Hester has or Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, who was thought to be lost at sea but returns and becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of the miscreant who cuckolded him. Maybe the judge is one of those guys. Or not.

Well, the point is that getting all the representations straight is difficult just to work out; it would be a bitch to illustrate.

So, I’ve learned to deal with it and trust that the gracious and generous reader will do so as well.


Re “Hinky Dink” Kenna and “Bathhouse John” Coughlin

The nicknames alone probably supply sufficient inforrmation to get the joke, but these were intriguing characters. Should the reader be so intrigued, a short, accurate, and readable description of these two politicians can be found at the Encyclopedia of Chicago web site. A much longer and much more enjoyable version is available at the oddly named but fact- and fun-filled Weird and Haunted Chicago site.

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Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen Together In New York Again

Filed under: Leonard Cohen, Music | By DrHGuy | February 27, 2008 at 9:47 am

Lou To Laud Lenny At Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction



A hustle here and a hustle there
New York City is the place where they said
Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side
I said hey Joe, take a walk on the wild side

      - Lou Reed, Take A Walk on The Wild Side

Yesterday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released the list of the artists who will induct this year’s new members on March 10 in New York.

For those of us who think of the 2008 group of honorees as “Leonard Cohen et al,” the important name on the list is Lou Reed, who met Cohen a few years ago under different circumstances in the same town.


The Other Guys

Those introducing et al follow:

    Introducing

  • Madonna: Justin Timberlake
  • Little Walter: Ben Harper
  • John Mellencamp: Billy Joel
  • Ventures: John Fogerty
  • Dave Clark Five: Tom Hanks

After reviewing that roster, I have the Cohen-Reed duo, even in their current moderately mellowed phase, as 8 to 5 favorites in the Toughest Guys In The Room competition1 and 20 to 1 favorites for Way Cool prize.


Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, and Nico - The First Time In New York

There are at least a couple of different stories floating around the Internet about how Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed met, and straightening that out necessitates (delightfully) bringing Nico into the picture. This excerpt from “Leonard Cohen” by Scott Cohen in his book, Yakety Yak (1994), summarizes the action in Cohen’s own words:

In 1966 I borrowed some money from a friend in Montreal and came down to the great empire, America, to try to make my way. I had written a few books and I couldn’t make a living. I played in a country band and I loved country music and I had a few songs I thought were country songs and I was on my way ultimately to Nashville but I got ambushed in New York by the folk renaissance — and got my first public appearance at the Newport Folk Festival. In New York I found this huge explosion of things and I was interested in this enlightened community being promoted in the east side of New York and I would go down there but I couldn’t locate it. I walked into a club called the Dome and I saw someone singing there who looked like she inhabited a Nazi poster; it was Nico, the perfect Aryan ice queen. And there was a very handsome young man playing for her; he turned out to be Jackson Browne. I just stood there and said forget the new society, this is the woman I’ve been looking for. I followed her all around New York. She led me to Max’s Kansas City. I met Lou Reed there and he said something very kind to me which made me feel at home. I had no particular clout in that scene. I was just a guy who was a little older than the other guys, just sniffing around like everybody else. I was very lonely and mostly interested in finding a girl. Lou came over and introduced himself and said, “I love your book.” I never knew anybody knew my books because they only sold a few thousand copies in America. We were sitting at a table and some guy was bugging me, in a polite sort of way, and I was responding in a polite sort of way, and Lou Reed said to me, “Hey, man, you don’t have to be nice to this guy. You don’t have to be nice to anybody. You’re the man who wrote ‘Beautiful Losers.’” Nico eventually told me, “Look, I like young boys. You’re just too old for me.


Bonus: Lou Reed and Julie Christensen Cover Leonard Cohen

Lou Reed and Julie Christensen sing Cohen Joan of Arc
(From Came So Far for Beauty tribute concert - Dublin October 2006)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5D_8Y8uAgc


Footnotes


  1. Without Madonna in the mix, Cohen and Reed would be favored at 50 to 1 ~back~

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SOS: Same Old Snow

Filed under: Local | By DrHGuy | February 26, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Yet Another Snowfall

So, it’s not really the “same” snow, but I couldn’t come up with a clever play on an acronym that would fit something on the lines of “Yet Another Darn Snow” or “What Is This -The 19th Snowfall This Winter?”

And, I can’t deny that, even the 9th or 19th time around, the snow makes the woods darn pretty.1


Oak Tree - Back Lawn (Click on graphic to view larger image)



Side Lawn



Back Lawn Woods



Pines - Back Lawn (Click on graphic to view larger image)


Footnotes


  1. I do want it on the record, however, that spring has its own charms. ~back~

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Red-tailed Hawk Lands In Lord of Leisure Photo Gallery

Filed under: Lord of Leisure Photo Gallery | By DrHGuy | February 25, 2008 at 8:47 pm

The Lord of Leisure1 Photo Gallery


red tailed hawk

Red-tailed Hawk



Lord of Leisure writes:

Animal (bird) photography is not my forte. It requires too much patience.

But, I do have a long lens and a bedroom window that affords a view of the woods behind our house. In addition, we also have bird feeders that the lovely and talented Hippie With Tiara keeps filled.

Consequently, raptors are regular winter visitors in our neck of the woods. I’ve captured shots of three hungry birds of prey that have come to keep an eye on the bird feeders in hopes of a meal.

Today’s exemplar is the Red-tailed Hawk, commonly seen perched along roadsides. These are not really bird hunters but they would be attracted to squirrels or other varmints that would hang out near the feeders.



Footnotes


  1. Lord of Leisure was previously known in these posts as Mr. Science. Both Lord of Leisure and Mr Science spend most of their time disguised as Neil Ellis, mild-mannered, retired teacher at a great suburban school system, who can identify a bird by its call, complete the New York Times Friday Crossword in ink, and snap a heck of a photo. ~back~

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On Track For A Saturday Morning

Filed under: Local | By DrHGuy | February 23, 2008 at 10:24 am


The opossum that lives in the rocks beneath the fountain apparently checked out the area just outside my office door last night.


Our back lawn is a high density traffic area. None of these tracks were made by biped mammals - unless the deer are showing off.


This one was adding to the tracks this morning.


As were these.

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Two Leonard Cohen Memories

Filed under: Leonard Cohen | By DrHGuy | February 22, 2008 at 2:24 pm

Some time ago, the Heck of a Guy blog featured two posts, each of which compared two videos of Leonard Cohen performing the same song in different circumstances:

  1. Suzanne With Original Lyrics Vs Suzanne With Ad Lib Lyrics1

  2. Whither Thou Goest With Band Members Vs Whither Thou Goest Duet With Anjani


Memories: The Song

The belated third set in this impromptu series of comparisons is composed of two videos, each based on Cohen’s “Memories,” a song that first appeared on Death of a Ladies’ Man, the Phil Spector produced album released in 1977. A second version of “Memories” with many of Spector’s trademark Wall of Sound features, such as the harmonizing, eliminated, was included on the 2001 release of the “Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979″ album. This second iteration is also notable for its addition of a saxophone solo by Paul Ostermayer.



The Memories Video From I Am A Hotel: Background

The first video, which I’m cleverly calling Memories from I Am A Hotel, was produced as part of the short movie, “I Am A Hotel.” Scripted, directed, and scored by Leonard Cohen (with a co-writer credit given to Mark Shekter) and choreographed by Ann Ditchburn, “I Am A Hotel” consists exclusively of five loosely associated videos, each based on a Cohen song:

  • The Guests
  • Memories
  • The Gypsy’s Wife
  • Chelsea Hotel #2
  • Suzanne

Memories stands out not only as the least popular of the group but also as the only non-acoustic piece in the sequence.

The lyrics of the songs are the only dialog in the movie with the video vignettes linked to each other by the recurrent appearance of Cohen’s character, a resident in the titular hotel, in each segment. The strengths and flaws of “I Am A Hotel” may be characterized by the observation that it is the kind of film that wins first prize at the Festival International de Television de Montreux.2

Within “I Am A Hotel,” the Memories video depicts a high school prom held at the hotel’s ballroom. Cohen not only appears as a resident of the hotel but also as the singer-bandleader providing live music for the dance from an elevated stage.


The Memories Video From ZDF-TV Rockpop Special: Background

The second video, Memories from ZDF-TV Rockpop Special, has a less complex history and requires little explanation. This version was taped as part of Leonard Cohen’s October 31, 1979 performance of a set at the ZDF-TV Studio in München, Deutschland for later broadcast.3


The Verdict On Memories

In the spirit of full disclosure, I feel obligated to confess that I like the video of Leonard Cohen performing Memories for the ZDF-TV Rockpop Special - a lot. Heck, I even sorta, kinda like the Memories video from “I Am A Hotel,” although not as much.

“Confession” is the appropriate term in this instance. Both the song, Memories, and the first album in which it appeared have been the targets of negative commentary, if not outright contempt, from most fans of Leonard Cohen, the public in general, and music critics, This comment from Thomas D. Ryan “American Hit Network” writing on the Amazon page for Death of a Ladies’ Man, is reasonably representative:

To add injury to the insulting production, the lurid topics of most of this album’s lyrics are as dated as coke spoon necklaces. Cohen carries on in the pre-Aids era of mid-seventies decadence without ever managing to transcend his insipid surroundings. He sounds like he’s lost on the dance floor, trying to seduce whomever ambles by. “Memories” is almost beyond ridiculous. The arrangement is as decadent as anything ever mustered by the Roman Empire, all to service Cohen’s obsession with seeing his partners’ naked body.

The second version of Memories doesn’t fare much better. Ryan Kearney, writing a generally favorable review of the “Field Commander Cohen: Tour of 1979″ album in Pitchfork, could have been writing the official critical judgment on the track when he opines

There are a few other missteps. For instance, the one cut from Death of a Ladies’ Man, “Memories,” is infinitely more grating than the studio version. Forgoing any sense of tact, Cohen gives the song a full doo-wop makeover, coating the song– a sexual fantasy set at a grade-school dance– with irony.

And, leading the chorus of discontent and disgust is one Mr. Leonard Cohen, who famously explained to the July 8, 1994 BBC Radio 1 audience, My most bizarre experience with a producer was with Phil Spector, with whom I worked in 1977 or 78, and we produced that grotesque album called Death of a Ladies’ Man.4

To be fair, he did seem to mean “grotesque” in the best possible way, and, in an interview some years later, he has called the album “semi-virtuous.”5

Similarly, Cohen stops short of outright condemnation in his comments from Leonard Cohen Obscured… A Haunting by Spector by Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone, January 26, 1978: “When I heard the final mix, I thought he [Spector] had taken the guts out of the record, and I sent him a telegram to that effect,” Cohen recalls. “I asked him to go back in the studio. I could have delayed its release. But I couldn’t have forced Phil back in the studio, and it might have taken another year. I view it now as an experiment that failed. But even within the failure there are moments. I think the album has real energizing capacities.”

As for the Memories track itself, these excerpts from Cohen’s concert tour introductions of that song are self-explanatory:

  • This is a song I wrote a couple of years ago with the great genius of darkest Hollywood:Phil Spector.And it’s a song based on my extremely boring and pathetic life at Westmont High School in Montreal. It’s called Memories.(München 31/10/79)
  • It brings me from the exulted and sublime considerations of these musicians and technicians to an extremely banal experience which I have put into a song frozen like a fly in amber and somewhat less important. But this is a song into which I’ve placed my most banal adolescent recollections and I think this song will probably live forever. It’s called Memories. (London 06/12/79)
  • In this song we placed all our most irrelevant and banal adolescent recollections. (San Francisco 1985)
  • Unfortunately, for my last song, I must offend your deepest sensibilities with an entirely irrelevant and vulgar ditty that I wrote some time ago with another Jew in Hollywood, where there are many. This is a song in which I have placed my most irrelevant and banal adolescent recollections. (Tel Aviv 24/11/80)
  • Long time ago, in my distant middle age, I sat down with Phil Spector on a mahogany piano bench and collaborated with him, one of the most dismal periods of my entire creative life. I wrote a song into which I have placed my most banal adolescent recollections. A song of profound and abiding irrelevance, which will probably last forever. Oh, how I long for the day when upon these shabby balustrades of the “Concertgebouw”, you will erase one of the lesser names of Wagner, of Stravinsky and in its place, in bright and shiny gold letters, inscribe the name…(laughs). Forgive me great gods of music. I am but a tiny worm groveling in the bright illumination of your memories. That reminds me the name of the tune, it’s called “Memories.” (Amsterdam 30/10/80)
  • The next song is one of my least significant songs. In it I have placed as though it were data in a tiny time capsule which is fired at a distant star and actually dissolves in the colder reaches of Space, far before its ultimate destination……In this tiny song I have placed all the irrelevant material concerning my extremely dismal adolescence. It is a song called “Memories,” (Bonn 03/12/79)

Happily, my training and experience in the fields of English literature and psychiatry enable me to proceed, unburdened by the errant beliefs artists may maintain about what they think they think. If they want to know what they think, they can make an appointment with me like everybody else.

When Leonard Cohen derides Memories, he isn’t apologizing for the song; if that were the case, he wouldn’t have included Memories in the sets he played at his concerts in 1979, 1980, and 1985.6 If Leonard Cohen is apologizing for anything, it’s for his enjoyment of a performance that is a spoof.

I suspect a significant factor in my fondness for the ZDF-TV Rockpop Special version of Memories is that I harbor a special affection for instances of Leonard Cohen having fun.7

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, it’s show time.


Viewing The Memories Video From I Am A Hotel


Videoclip de Memories, del disco Death of a Ladies’ Man8 (1977)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USWLHcRIdBU


There is little I can add in the way of analysis that would be helpful although, if necessary, I can talk the talk or, more accurately but less pithily, write the writing for flicks of this genre:




Flashes of color against an otherwise washed out palette of grays and off-whites .. both accost and alert the viewer to … vigor and balletic grace of the bellhop and the maid juxtapose … awkward, constrained meanderings of the inexperienced youth on the dance floor … their explicit, celebratory mimicry of sexual congress contrasts …self-mocking superfluity of exploding fireworks … unrequited longings … motions of the young dancers acting out … the singer-songwriter has called his “most irrelevant and banal adolescent recollections” … Cohen’s spontaneous and unsettling appearances as the hotel guest … tacit, uneasy compromises … conflict with social mores … simultaneously evokes and ridicules our primal psychosexual drives … existential … yada yada yada.



You get the idea. Too artsy, too fartsy for my taste but hey, as the American Bandstand kids would point out, the song has a beat and - apparently - you can dance to it (at least after a few years of professional training), the brassy sax solo grabs me in an indecent way, and Leonard as the sunglasses-clad implacable singer coupled with Leonard as the leering hotel guest encouraging the bellhop and maid toward the (titter) climax is as creepy-nasty-exciting as ones first illicit sexual liaison with someone a lot more experienced and adventuresome in bed.

Now for some fun …


Viewing The Memories Video From ZDF-TV Rockpop Special



Leonard Cohen - Memories München, Deutschland (ZDF-TV Studio) October 31, 1979

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzy2y_ZtnBA


OK, if you don’t know that this is a funny video after viewing it, I probably can’t persuade you. Nonetheless, I do recognize my humanitarian obligations and that I owe it to you as a fellow inhabitant of this planet to at least attempt to rescue you from your tragic misperception of this presentation. I cannot ignore your plight and claim to aspire to Heck of a Guyhood.



First, the above set of screenshots featuring the singer and sax player from the Rockpop Special on top and those from the “I Am A Hotel” video below them is only a visual cue that the goal of the former, as is appropriate to a TV show called “Rockpop Special,” is no more and no less than entertainment, AKA fun, AKA let the good times roll. There are no deep insights to be gained, no universal truths to be revealed, and - thank goodness - no moral to be learned.

Also, I’m not the only one who finds the song funny. When Stylus Magazine compiled their Top Ten Funniest Leonard Cohen Songs, the #7 slot was occupied by -yep, you guessed it - “Memories” (the version from Death of a Ladies Man):

Death of a Ladies Man remains a criminally overlooked record, perhaps because merely listening to it actually feels like some sort of crime. Whether Phil Spector held a gun to Leonard’s head during the recording process or not is irrelevant; the music on display is clearly the result of two deranged drunks past their prime, lost in the wilderness and seeking salvation in… erm, booze and floozies. “Memories” is the ultimate old man’s leer—a swaying Weimar beerhall anthem of absurd horns and soaring chorus making epic poetry out of “won’t you let me see / Won’t you let me see / Your naked body.”



May it please the court, the above series of still shots from the Rockpop Special video is evidence I am presenting to indicate that Mr. Cohen, on or about the 31st day of October, 1979 did, at the ZDF-TV Studio in München, Deutschland, with intent and forethought, conspire to and commit personal enjoyment during the performance of the song known as Memories.

Part of the joke in Cohen’s performance of “Memories” is the absolute deadpan delivery which mocks the seriousness of the Frankie Avalon style of singing about teenaged love. Note that Mr. Cohen starts strong with his face firmly expressionless, but when he starts the first refrain of the key line, “Your naked body,” he can’t fight off the grin. In the video, he turns away at the point he gives up altogether the effort to restrain his smile.

J’accuse!



And What About Frankie?

Frankie Lane, he was singing Jezebel
I pinned an Iron Cross to my lapel
[From lyrics of Leonard Cohen's Memories]

Of course, the singer referenced in the lyrics9 isn’t Frankie Avalon; it’s Frankie Laine, whom, conveniently for us, Leonard Cohen has described in his song introduction during his 1985 San Francisco concert:

One foot note : there is a singer mentioned in the first line of the first verse, the singer Frankie Laine. He’s to be remembered for his stellar rendition of “Jezebel”. Also for his sense of interpretation of “Swamp Girl”. That song has the memorable refrain, “That’s where my swamp girl lies”. Many’s the time these words come rushing to my mind. There’s another song of his :”Black Lace” : “Lady beware, every time that you wear lace, black lace”. Very good song. There is a better known : “Mule Train”, with the authentic cracking of bull hide whips. Mule train. So the Frankie Laine referred to in the very first two words of this song is the very Frankie Laine, the very Frankie Laine whose liver I have to describe. 10

C’mon, doesn’t that intro strike you as a tad humorous, a bit amusing, perhaps just a step past the border into comedy territory?

Regardless, I have a bonus to offer.



Frankie Laine - Jezebel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v2jpDOORTg



Moreover, Leonard Cohen, Stylus Magazine, and I aren’t the only ones having fun. Check out the female vocalists, Jennifer Warnes (viewer’s left) and Sharon Robinson (viewer’s right), or, as I prefer to think of them in this specific performance, heirs to the grand tradition of the Vandellas, Pips, Miracles, Supremes, … and all the other backup singers who executed choreographed dance moves while singing every “shooby doop.” “shooby do ahh,” “shang-a-lang,” and “doo wop” in exactly the right place.

Left to Right: Jennifer Warnes: Famous Blue Raincoat and Sharon Robinson: Ten New Songs



Keep in mind that this is the Jennifer Warnes who did her own “Famous Blue Raincoat” album of Cohen songs and the Sharon Robinson who has co-written a batch of songs with Cohen, including all the tracks on the “Ten New Songs” album. Singing “shoo-wa” and dancing in unison is not their usual m.o. Nope, that’s just “having fun.”

Finally, did you listen to Cohen’s words at the very end of the song, after the last “naked body” on the lyrics sheet - “her divine, her immaculate, … .” That, my friend, is what you call your hyperbole in the service of humor.


Is Memories Being Remembered?

The most heartening news for those, such as me, who get off on Memories11 is that there is a sign or two of it being rehabbed. I found Came So Far For Beauty, a report on the Cohen Tribute Concert in Sydney Australia, by accident:

After 190 minutes on stage and 34 songs, closing out the night - and the whole tour - came the third song for the evening from the ‘grotesque’ Phil Spector produced album. Maybe Phil is finally forgiven? Again the stage was filled with the whole cast and the band launched into Memories. There was some great interplay between Jarvis Cocker and Beth Orton, who had lots of fun reprising their interplay from earlier in the night, Jarvis rounding out the first verse with the plaintive “won’t you let me see your naked body”, Beth unequivocally answering in the negative in the next verse and Nick Cave, always a good choice to sing about naked women, doing the last verse dueting with Antony, who was rather drowned out in the melange. Lots of “woah, woah, woes” emanated from the backing gang before they marched off stage left.

Hope - for Memories and for seeing ones partner’s naked body - springs eternal.



Footnotes


  1. AKA “I’m the man who wrote Suzanne.” The ad lib lyrics were the singer-songwriter’s response to forgetting the original lyrics ~back~
  2. To clarify, not only is “I Am A Hotel” the kind of film to win first prize at the Festival International de Television de Montreux, it did win first prize at the Festival International de Television de Montreux. Diamonds In The Mine, provides more details about “I Am a Hotel,” quoting Jim Devlin, who wries in Every Style of Passion,
    Getting the project off the ground and onto the screen ran into severe problems when the original backers, C Channel Pay-TV, went bust six days before shooting began. CBC came to the rescue and the rest is graphic imagery. The stars were Toller Cranston, the skater, in his first acting role and Anne Ditchburn who was also responsible for the choreography. It was set in the luxurious Victorian splendour of the King Edward Hotel in Toronto. Guests there over the years have included Candice Bergen, Rudolph Valentino, The Beatles, Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling and Liciano Pavarotti. Filming lasted two weeks in May 1983 under the direction of Allan Nicholls, an associate of Robert Altman, with additional scenes directed by Don Allan. The producers were Leonard’s long-time friends Barrie Wexler and Moses Znaimer, and it was the first production by their new Blue Memorial Video company, so-called in honour of Leonard’s late musician friend David Blue (born Cohen, no relation), who had died the previous year and to whose memory the film is dedicated.

    ~back~

  3. According to the YouTube notes, the band at that taping included “Leonard Cohen - vocals, acoustic guitar, blues harp, Sharon Robinson - vocals, Jennifer Warnes - vocals, Mitch Watkins - guitars, Roscoe Beck - bass, Raffi Hakopian - violin, John Bilezikjian - oud, mandolin, Paul Ostermeyer - wind, Bill Ginn - keyboards, Steve Meador - drums.” Leonard Cohen Live lists the the complete set taped that day as follows: “1. Bird On The Wire, 2. The Guests, 3. So Long, Marianne, 4. The Window, 5. Famous Blue Raincoat, 6. Passin’ Through, 7. Memories, 8. The Guests (2), 9. Suzanne, -. The Partisan.” That same source notes that “tracks #1-2 were broadcasted on ZDF-TV ‘Rock-Pop,’ November 10, 1979″ and “tracks #3-9 were broadcasted on ZDF-TV ‘Rock-Pop Special,’ December 2, 1979.” ~back~
  4. My favorite Leonard Cohen quote about his experience with Spector is from Leonard Cohen Obscured… A Haunting by Spector by Stephen Holden in Rolling Stone, January 26, 1978, “Phil couldn’t resist annihilating me. I don’t think he can tolerate any other shadows in his own darkness.” ~back~
  5. Beautiful loser, beautiful comeback.