Leonard Cohen cures the lyrical banality of our age while giving a robust middle finger to the idea that music is by, for, and about the young. On this point, I am reminded of a lyric from Beverly Kenney’s “I Hate Rock and Roll”: “What is the answer to a teenaged prayer? Frankly speaking, I don’t care, I don’t care.” This cat is 82 years old! “You Want It Darker” is a fantastic album. I would buy it for everyone I know, if I could. Note to self: sell lots of books, so you can. Check out the Pitchfork review.
Here’s a few lyrics to sample the album:
Magnified, sanctified, be thy holy name
Vilified, crucified, in the human frame
A million candles burning for the help that never came
You want it darker
***
There’s a lover in the story
But the story’s still the same
There’s a lullaby for suffering
And a paradox to blame
But it’s written in the scriptures
And it’s not some idle claim
You want it darker
We kill the flame
***
They’re lining up the prisoners
And the guards are taking aim
I struggled with some demons
They were middle class and tame
I didn’t know I had permission to murder and to maim
WTF: “demons–They were middle class and tame.” This line alone offers a lyrical resonance that deeply implicates the experience of class consciousness as such is mistaken for a universal existential crisis, thereby reading some of the cultural crisis beads of our time.
I am just in awe and feel wicked lucky we have yet another Cohen album–blessed are we for the Gods of music.
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