The Prince of Bummers - Happy Valentines Day

 

Just in time for Valentines Day - a post heralding the Troubador of Lost Love. This is someone who has comforted me in dark times and led me to the light of possibilites.

I have been a fan of Leonard Cohen since undergrad school (the number of years ago is .... well  let's not go there...). He has been called "The Grocer of Despair" (which is a lyric in one of his early songs BTW), "The Dirty Old Man" (even when he was not really that old), "The Poet Laureate of Despair" and the more recent title of "Prince of Bummers" which I especially enjoy. His music has been called "Music to Slit Your Wrists To" and to a young art student, it was all poetry and philosophy. Needless to say, I have all of his albums as well as all of his books of poetry and even his novel, "Beautiful Losers" which I read a few times.

So when I read in the Sunday NY Times that he is also the "King of Pop" with a #1 hit on the charts, I had to pause and reflect. I am proud of him - his uncompromising croaking of love and despair has hit a universal nerve. I do not begrudge him his well-deserved acclaim but I am sort of ambivalent about it at the same time. I hate sharing my sacred discoveries. So now, once discovered by the mass culture, will his exclusivity evaporate as the general hordes try to claim him as one of their own?

Sing on Leonard. Happy Valentines Day.

But there is an upside - more information that ever is available about Leonard. And one of my newest discoveries is a blog 1 Heck Of A Guy which offers as much trivia about him as you could possibly want. Check it out.