Leonard Cohen, AKA … – The Nicknames

Sobriquets, Aliases, Bynames, Cognomens, Appellations, Alternative Names, and Monickers Denoting Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen is a nickname magnet.

Apparently, for a journalist to make his bones as a pop music critic, he or she must endow Leonard Cohen with a nickname – and not just any nickname.

The prototypic template is a descriptive phrase of two to six words referencing some quality held to be representative of Leonard Cohen with preference given to those redolent of gloom, despair, and despondency.

Moreover, the most valued nicknames are those highly ranked in the areas of Most Esoteric, Least Comprehensible, and, especially, Most Awkward.

Unable to find a definitive list of Leonard’s nicknames, I’ve set up this perpetually incomplete catalog of aliases here at Heck Of A Guy. (This list was originally located at my other web site, LeonardCohenSearch)

The references in the footnotes are presented only as examples of these appellations in use; there is no claim that any of these excerpts represents the origin of a given nickname.

While I have not compiled a statistical analysis, my observation is that the most common use of these names is as part of phrases such as “is known as,” “has been called,” and “has been labeled.” Even when they are used alone, these names are typically set off by quotation marks.

Their usage, in short, is rarely casual and often the writer or speaker is consciously using one or another of these titles to make a point, as in this review of Songs of Leonard Cohen, “He [Leonard Cohen] didn’t earn the nickname “the master of erotic despair” for nothing.”

To put things in perspective, the earliest reference to that terms is a reference to an ad in a National Lampoon published over 30 years ago. (My personal suspicion – unsupported by anything other than my whimsy – is that reference is from a Lampoon parody that has been recalled as an ad.)

I have arbitrarily excluded the single-word nicknames, “Len,” “Lennie,” “Leo,” and other diminutives from the list for reasons that seem to me intuitively obvious yet cumbersome to articulate in print. I have, in an equally arbitrary manner, included (and counted as separate entries) nicknames that are so similar that one likely evolved as an derivative the other (e.g., “Master Of Erotic Despair” and “Master Of Romantic Despair”).

The Nicknames

Lord Byron Of Rock ‘n’ Roll¹
Bard Of The Boudoir²
Ladies’ Man³
Grandson Of The Prince Of Grammarians⁴
Master Of Erotic Despair⁵
Master Of Romantic Despair⁶
High Priest Of Pathos⁷
Poet Laureate Of Pessimism⁸
Grocer Of Despair⁹
Prophet of Despair¹⁰
Poet Laureate Of Commitophobes ¹¹
Bard Of Bedsits¹²
Dr. Kevorkian Of Song¹³
Beautiful Creep¹⁴
Godfather Of Gloom¹⁵
Prince Of Bummers¹⁶
Troubadour Of Travail¹⁷
Laughing Len¹⁸
Laughing Lennie¹⁹
Captain Mandrax²⁰
Poet of Rock and Roll²¹
Master of the Egg Salad Sandwich²²
Poet of the Holy Sinners²³
Poet Of Existential Despair²⁴
Jikan, Jikan The Useless Monk, Silent One²⁵
Poet Of Bedsit Angst²⁶
Gloom Merchant²⁷
Bourgeois Individualist Poet²⁸
Grand Master of Melancholia²⁹
Durable Hipster, ³⁰
Legendary Ladies Man³¹
Existential Comedian³²
Spin Doctor For The Apocalypse³³
Grizzled Prophet³⁴
Damaged Priest³⁵
Hippie Icon³⁶
Apocalyptic Lounge Lizard³⁷
Jeremiah Of Tin Pan Alley³⁸
Amiable Gangster³⁹
Poetic Playboy⁴⁰
Emotional Imperialist⁴¹
Restless Pilgrim⁴²
Patron Saint Of Angst⁴³
Smiling Dada Of Despair⁴⁴
Montreal Mensch⁴⁵
Prince of Pain⁴⁶
Crown Prince of Pain⁴⁷
Joking Troubadour of Gloom and Troubadour of Gloom⁴⁸
Master Of Sexy Melancholy⁴⁹
High Priest Of Solitude⁵⁰
Disappearing Mr. Mysterioso.⁵¹
Master Of Misery⁵²
Maestro Of Melancholy⁵³
Poet Of Love⁵⁴
Patron Saint Of Disappointment⁵⁵
Prince of Precision⁵⁶
Poet Of Pleasure And Pain⁵⁷
Bard of Our Great Depression⁵⁸
Godfather Of Miserablism⁵⁹
Coolest White Man On The Planet⁶⁰
Poet Of Swinging Suicides⁶¹
Master Of Duende⁶²
Bleak Baritone ⁶³
Troubadour Of Love⁶⁴
Cat In The Hat⁶⁵
Prince Of Anguish⁶⁶
King Of Cool⁶⁷
Mel Torme of the Terminally Downbeat⁶⁸
Prince of Prurience and Loss⁶⁹
International Man⁷⁰
Culture Man⁷¹
Architect Of Angst⁷²
Prince Of Pessimism⁷³
Poet Of Anguish⁷⁴
God In The Black Suit⁷⁵
World’s Only Interesting Canadian⁷⁶

_____________________

Leonard Cohen Unplugged By Pico Iyer. Originally published in Buzz, Los Angeles, April 1998: The ‘Lord Byron of rock ‘n’ roll,” as he is too often called, has always been a man of surprises [↩]
At 71, Leonard Cohen Finds His Voice Anew By Richard Harrington, Washington Post, July 14, 2006: … the 71-year-old pop icon and bard of the boudoir hasn’t toured in a dozen years [↩]
Leonard Cohen – The Ladies Man In Concert Bootleg Album Title, Date: 1993-05-21; Also, The Return Of A Ladies’ Man by Judith Fitzgerald, originally published in The Globe and Mail, September 25, 2000: The Return Of A Ladies’ Man [Title] [↩]
Lunar Refractions: Longing for Perfect Porn Aristocrats and Other Delights by Alta L. Price in 3 Quarks Daily blog, June 12, 2006: Well, to echo the rampant name-calling that follows him everywhere, the Ladies’ Man, the Grocer of Despair, grandson of the Prince of Grammarians, has just published a new old book, titled Book of Longing, … [↩]
Re: Master of Erotic Despair from alt.music.leonard-cohen. 2000/01/28: Michael S. Connaghan wrote: Nearly thirty years ago I purchased my first Leonard Cohen album. I had seen an ad in the National Lampoon that billed L.C. as the Master of Erotic Despair and I was intrigued. [↩]
In Anjani Thomas, Leonard Cohen Finds a New Voice by Alan Light, New York Times, May 21, 2006: Leonard Cohen is not known for being prolific. In a recording career approaching its 40th year, this master of romantic despair has released a mere 11 studio albums. [↩]
‘I never discuss my mistresses or my tailors’ by Nick Paton Walsh, October 14, 2001: Leonard Cohen is the high priest of pathos. [↩]
Leonard Cohen, busted by Seth A at B12 Solipsism, September 6, 2005: In the course of a long interview by phone from his home in Los Angeles, the man sometimes called the poet laureate of pessimism sounded almost bemused. [↩]
Derived from lyrics of “Field Commander Cohen;” Hydra – Walking in Leonard Cohen’s footsteps by grhomeboy, Homeboy Media News October 8, 2006: On a dismal rainy afternoon in April 1960, after spending three months in a boarding house on Hampstead High Street completing a manuscript, the 25-year-old “grocer of despair” found himself wandering bleakly around London’s East End, his spirits further depleted by raging toothache. [↩]
Zen Robes Retired As Singer Turns 65 by Juan Rodriguez, The Montreal Gazette, September 18, 1999: “He once read an ad in National Lampoon titled Leonard Cohen: The Prophet of Despair. “I laughed my head off,” he told me years ago, “because I thought it was the Lampoon spoofing me. Then I saw the same ad in Rolling Stone, and I wasn’t laughing any more.” [↩]
Zen Robes Retired As Singer Turns 65 by Juan Rodriguez, The Montreal Gazette, September 18, 1999: Yet Cohen is an acquired taste. His voice is a mournful monotone, his songs dirge-like. “Only an extremely inattentive listener would willingly follow Suzanne to her place by the river after hearing Cohen’s song,” sniped The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. While Europeans, with poetry in the blood, embrace him as a hero (and bona-fide pop star), Americans have marginalized him: “songs to slit your wrists by.” He’s been dubbed “Beautiful Creep” and “the Dr. Kevorkian of song,” “the poet of pessimism” and “bard of bedsits,” “the prince of bummers,” and “the poet laureate of commitophobes.” Leonard Cohen: Several Lifetimes Already By Pico Iyer. Shambhala Sun: The man who has been the poet laureate of commitophobes, who has never found in his 63 years a woman he can marry or a home he won’t desert [↩]
Zen Robes Retired As Singer Turns 65 by Juan Rodriguez, The Montreal Gazette, September 18, 1999: Yet Cohen is an acquired taste. His voice is a mournful monotone, his songs dirge-like. “Only an extremely inattentive listener would willingly follow Suzanne to her place by the river after hearing Cohen’s song,” sniped The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. While Europeans, with poetry in the blood, embrace him as a hero (and bona-fide pop star), Americans have marginalized him: “songs to slit your wrists by.” He’s been dubbed “Beautiful Creep” and “the Dr. Kevorkian of song,” “the poet of pessimism” and “bard of bedsits,” “the prince of bummers,” and “the poet laureate of commitophobes.” Cohen, Leonard MusicWeb Encyclopaedia of Popular Music: A gloomy poet who became the bard of bedsits. [↩]
Zen Robes Retired As Singer Turns 65 by Juan Rodriguez, The Montreal Gazette, September 18, 1999: Yet Cohen is an acquired taste. His voice is a mournful monotone, his songs dirge-like. “Only an extremely inattentive listener would willingly follow Suzanne to her place by the river after hearing Cohen’s song,” sniped The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. While Europeans, with poetry in the blood, embrace him as a hero (and bona-fide pop star), Americans have marginalized him: “songs to slit your wrists by.” He’s been dubbed “Beautiful Creep” and “the Dr. Kevorkian of song,” “the poet of pessimism” and “bard of bedsits,” “the prince of bummers,” and “the poet laureate of commitophobes.” Exile on Main Street by Brett Grainger, Elm Street, Canada. November 2001: It’s gotten him a bit of a reputation along the way. “Prince of bummers,” “poet of pessimism,” “troubadour of travail,” “the Dr. Kevorkian of song” – journalists can’t seem to get enough of the cliché of the dark knight, the tortured soul spinning his suffering into gold. [↩]
Zen Robes Retired As Singer Turns 65 by Juan Rodriguez, The Montreal Gazette, September 18, 1999: Yet Cohen is an acquired taste. His voice is a mournful monotone, his songs dirge-like. “Only an extremely inattentive listener would willingly follow Suzanne to her place by the river after hearing Cohen’s song,” sniped The Rolling Stone History of Rock and Roll. While Europeans, with poetry in the blood, embrace him as a hero (and bona-fide pop star), Americans have marginalized him: “songs to slit your wrists by.” He’s been dubbed “Beautiful Creep” and “the Dr. Kevorkian of song,” “the poet of pessimism” and “bard of bedsits,” “the prince of bummers,” and “the poet laureate of commitophobes.” Reward for a Ladies’ Man by Jamie Lee, The Ottawa Citizen. December 14, 2007: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finds a place for the ‘beautiful creep’
Beautiful Creep By Richard Goldstein. Village Voice, December 28, 1967: “My songs are strangely romantic,” he admits, “but so are the kids. I somehow feel that I’ve always waited for this generation.” He pulls out a letter from a young girl who wonders over his unremitting despair. He frightens her because she senses that he has achieved an understanding of life, but he is sad despite it. She prays that the comprehension he seeks will not bring her such misery. She prays for him, and for herself, that he is really blind. And she ends by calling Leonard Cohen a “beautiful creep.” Real tears form in the corners of his eyes, but modestly they do not flow. He sighs for real. “That’s what I am – a beautiful creep.” He excuses himself and you grab for the letter when he is gone. That too is real. [↩]
We love Leonard Cohen The Independent, 20 May 2004: The most gifted songwriters of our time are paying tribute to the Godfather of Gloom this weekend. Fiona Sturges celebrates his enduring appeal. [↩]
Zen, Lawsuits, and Poetry By Phoebe Hoban, New York Magazine, May 14, 2006: With his deadpan delivery and dark lyrics, Leonard Cohen could be called the creator of his own musical genre: song noir. Even his friend Leon Wieseltier once memorably dubbed him “the Prince of Bummers.” [↩]
Exile on Main Street by Brett Grainger, Elm Street, Canada. November 2001: It’s gotten him a bit of a reputation along the way. “Prince of bummers,” “poet of pessimism,” “troubadour of travail,” “the Dr. Kevorkian of song” – journalists can’t seem to get enough of the cliché of the dark knight, the tortured soul spinning his suffering into gold. [↩]
Leonard Cohen and the Death of Cool By David Sprague. Originally published in Your Flesh magazine, 1992: [Leonard Cohen speaking] I was reading the reviews of this in England, and there they were calling me Laughing Len and saying they oughta sell razor blades with this record) [↩]
Rock’s Backpages Audio, February 1988: Laughing Lennie talks to Mat Snow about songwriting, meditiation and religion, the collapse of literary culture, and the misperception of him as a Gloom Merchant [↩]
The Fiction Of Leonard Cohen by T.F. Rigelhof, Originally published in Paragraph: Canadian Fiction Review, Volume 19, No. 4, Spring 1998, pp. 2-5: He’d never played with professional musicians and was so heavily into tranquillizers that he’d picked up the nickname Captain Mandrax. [↩]
The Return of Leonard Cohen by Mick Brown, Sounds, July 1976: The poster outside the Colston Hall, Bristol announced the appearance that evening of “The Poet of Rock and Roll“ [↩]
Contributed by Anjani via email, 20 March 2008 [↩]
Leonard Cohen: Poet of the Holy Sinners By Jay Michaelson. Jewish Daily Forward. Apr 20, 2007: Leonard Cohen: Poet of the Holy Sinners [Title] [↩]
This Is The Album Introducing Leonard Cohen to the World by Barron Laycock, Amazon Reviews – Songs of Leonard Cohen, June 10, 2000: He known as the “poet of existential despair“, a man of soaring visages and terrible nightmares, all put to beautiful and classic melodies. [↩]
“Jikan The Useless Monk” is a self-reference Leonard Cohen uses in “The Book of Longing” poems, combining his given Dharma name of “Jikan” (Silent One) with his own descriptive phrase, “The Useless Monk” [↩]
Cohen’s Way by Mat Snow. The Guardian, 1988. There’s a new comic touch to the poet of bedsit angst [↩]
Rock’s Backpages Audio, February 1988: Laughing Lennie talks to Mat Snow about songwriting, meditiation [sic] and religion, the collapse of literary culture, and the misperception of him as a Gloom Merchant [↩]
Leonard Cohen’s Nervous Breakthrough By Mark Rowland. Musician, July 1988: So I went down there [Cuba] and immediately found myself accurately described as a “Bourgeois Individualist Poet.” I said, “That’s right. Suits me to a tee.” [↩]
Cohen Regrets By Alastair Pirrie. New Musical Express, March 10, 1973: Leonard Cohen, Grand Master of Melancholia, slipped quietly in and out of London last month [↩]
Ten or More Questions I Should Have Asked Leonard Cohen by Ira B. Nadel. 2 July 1993: [Nadel: All of the following adjectives have been used to describe you; are any correct?
bard of the bedsits
apocalyptic lounge lizard
durable hipster
Jeremiah of Tin Pan Alley
legendary ladies man
amiable gangster
existential comedian
poetic playboy
spin doctor for the Apocalypse
emotional imperialist
grizzled prophet
restless pilgrim
damaged priest
the Godfather of Gloom
hippie icon
patron saint of angst
the prince of bummers[Cohen] “All of them.” [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
Ibid [↩]
An Epic Display From Smiling Dada Of Despair By Barry Egan. Independent. June 15 2008: An Epic Display From The Smiling Dada Of Despair [Title] [↩]
An Epic Display From Smiling Dada Of Despair By Barry Egan. Independent. June 15, 2008: Watching the Montreal mensch on stage at the Royal Kilmainham Hospital on Friday night, you could also add wise man, Zen-prophet, soothsayer, visionary, seer, bard, guru, godhead, high priest, soul-counsellor, troubadour, non-manic street preacher, chronicler of pain, Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and holy man to that list. [↩]
Cohen fans shrug off credit crunch By Jeremy Miles. Daily Echo. Nov 12 2008: He may be dismissed by some as the Prince of Pain, a droning bed-sit troubadour who produces little more than music to slash your wrists to. But singer-songwriter, poet, novelist and one-time Buddhist monk Cohen is so much more than that. [↩]
We Love Leonard Cohen By Fiona Sturges. The Independent. May 20, 2004: The irony is that, while Cohen remains the crown prince of pain, he has found much to be happy about in his twilight years. [↩]
The Joking Troubadour of Gloom By Tim Rostron. The Telegraph. April 26, 1993: The Joking Troubadour of Gloom [Title] and The troubadour of gloom continues: “I think those descriptions of me are quite inappropriate to the gravity of the predicament that faces us all. [↩]
The Joking Troubadour of Gloom By Tim Rostron. The Telegraph. April 26, 1993: Leonard Cohen, that master of sexy melancholy, is giving two sell-out concerts in London next month. And, he tells Tim Rostron, he is feeling fairly cheerful. [↩]
Snapshots of Leonard Cohen By Peter Goddard. Toronto Star. February 11, 2001: When last heard from, the high priest of solitude was dividing his time between a Zen Buddhist retreat on Mount Baldy near Los Angeles and downtown L.A. itself, where – depending on whom you talk to – he may be resuming his career. [↩]
Snapshots of Leonard Cohen By Peter Goddard. Toronto Star. February 11, 2001: This Disappearing Mr. Mysterios bit has long been business-as-usual for Cohen. [↩]
First Night: Leonard Cohen, Opera House, Manchester By David Pollock. The Independent. 18 June 2008: A happy return for the master of misery [Subtitle]. [↩]
The Determinator Details, July, 1993: Leonard Cohen, the maestro of melancholy, answers questions on love, obsession, and despair [Subtitle]. [↩]
Book Review: Caged Author Cohen Off Key by Bonnie Sumner. Sunday Star Times.18 January 2009: Hallelujah that he’s known as the Poet of Love then, … [↩]
Death of a Ladies’ Man by Michael Fountain. Blood for Ink. January 2009: … if this is the Dark Night of the Soul come back for a visit (and yes, it stinks after three days) then this is the night (you win, Doris) for the patron saint of disappointment, Leonard Cohen: [↩]
Green Grass, Sunshine, Wine and Leonard Cohen by Lyn Geisel. Melbourne Live. 25 January 2009: The Prince of precision, Leonard Cohen, graced the Rochford winery in the Yarra Valley …. Note: This is probably an error on the part of the blogger. “Prince of Precision” is the description Cohen has typically used in introducing Rafael Gayol, the percussionist during the Leonard Cohen World Tour. [↩]
Poet Of Pleasure And Pain Leaves ‘em Swooning by Simon Houpt. Globe and Mail. February 20, 2009: Poet Of Pleasure And Pain Leaves ‘em Swooning [Title] [↩]
The Bard of Our Great Depression by Gary Weiss. Gary-Weiss.com. 26 February 2009: The Bard of Our Great Depression [Title] [↩]
First Night: Leonard Cohen, Opera House, Manchester by David Pollock. The Independent. June 18, 2008: Yes, Cohen – the godfather of miserablism – looks happy to be with us. [↩]
An Interview with John Sakamoto by Drew Dernavich. The New Yorker. June 20, 2008: … I got to sit down with Leonard Cohen. I remember someone describing him as “the coolest white man on the planet,” and I wouldn’t disagree.. [↩]
Leonard Cohen – If This Is Depression Let’s All Have Some by David Hepworth. The Word. 19 July 2008: The notion that Leonard Cohen has always had a reputation as the poet of swinging suicides is now so deeply embedded in people’s heads… [↩]
Leonard Cohen, That’s How the Light Gets In by Susan Browne. Red Room. April 15, 2009: I saw Leonard Cohen last night, master of duende. [↩]
Leonard Cohen’s Money Troubles Benefit Fans of Bleak Baritone by Daniel Taub. Bloomberg.com. April 13, 2009: Leonard Cohen’s Money Troubles Benefit Fans of Bleak Baritone [Title] [↩]
Leonard Cohen, Troubadour of Love by Patricia Zohn. Huffington Post. May 17, 2009: Leonard Cohen, Troubadour of Love [Title] [↩]
Leonard Cohen Is The Cat In The Hat by DrHGuy. Heck Of A Guy. April 27, 2008: Leonard Cohen Is The Cat In The Hat [Title]. Note: I typically would not include a Cohen nickname from my own blog in this list. In this case, however, I feel it is justified because since then the “Cat In The Hat” appellation has been applied to Cohen in at least a couple of other pieces, including one for the The Sunday Times and Leonard Cohen Works For A Living “Written for The Huffington Post” and, as far as I know, my post was the first to use this alias in connection with Cohen. [↩]
An Intimate Conversation with…Leonard Cohen by Elena Pita. Magazine, Sunday Supplement to El Mundo. September 26, 2001: Perhaps he cannot speak of optimism — this one they call the prince of anguish and the king of cool — but yes, he has gained a certain amiability in his years of practice. [↩]
An Intimate Conversation with…Leonard Cohen by Elena Pita. Magazine, Sunday Supplement to El Mundo. September 26, 2001: Perhaps he cannot speak of optimism — this one they call the prince of anguish and the king of cool — but yes, he has gained a certain amiability in his years of practice. [↩]
Keys to the Rain: The Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia by Oliver Trager. p. 227, 2004: The Mel Torme of the terminally downbeat, Leonard Cohen (born September 21, 1934, Montreal Quebec) was an underground hero during the 1960s and 1970s and is a poet and songwriter whose work should be regarded as highly as Bob Dylan’s but isn’t. [↩]
The Prince of Prurience and Loss by John Leland. GQ. November, 2001. The Prince of Prurience and Loss [Title] [↩]
Leonard Cohen: Several Lifetimes Already by Pico Iyer. Shambhala Sun. September 1998. “Roshi knows me for who I am,” Cohen had said, “and he doesn’t want me to be any other. ‘International Man,’ ‘Culture Man,’ he calls me … [↩]
Leonard Cohen: Several Lifetimes Already by Pico Iyer. Shambhala Sun. September 1998. “Roshi knows me for who I am,” Cohen had said, “and he doesn’t want me to be any other. ‘International Man,’ ‘Culture Man,’ he calls me … [↩]
Tower of Song by Gary Singh. Metroactive. November 11, 2009: For decades, critics have pilloried him with sobriquets like, “the godfather of gloom,” the “poet of pessimism” or the “architect of angst.” [↩]
Leonard Cohen: He’s Grammy’s Man by Joshua Ostroff. Spinner. January 29, 2010: Cohen, known by some as the prince of pessimism, came by his musical darkness naturally. [↩]
An Intimate Conversation with…Leonard Cohen by Elena Pita. Magazine, Sunday Supplement to El Mundo. September 26, 2001: At 67, the poet of anguish returns to songwriting with Ten New Songs, a lovely and tranquil CD that goes on sale October 8. [↩]
Concert at The Montreux Jazz Festival Montreux, Switzerland, July 8, 2008 by Christof Graf. Leonard Cohen Files. 2008: Leonard Cohen. The “God in the black suit”, as he was called by the Swiss press, and ’20 Minutes’ called him twice “Gott im schwarzen Anzug”, God in the black suit. [↩]
The World’s Only Interesting Canadian by Stephen Foster. Stephen Foster’s Blog. August 9, 2010. The World’s Only Interesting Canadian [Title] [↩]