Leonard Cohen at the CJM

Today's arts excursion was to the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco to see the Leonard Cohen show by Candice Breitz. It has two parts: in the first room you see a group of men in yarmulkes who are singing the backing vocals for Leonard Cohen's album I'm Your Man (1988). From an adjacent room, you can hear the rumble of men's voices singing Leonard's part. After hanging out in the chorus room to remind me that I know all the songs on this album, I went into the other room where one is surrounded by the video images of older men, all in their sixties and seventies, each singing with passion and emotion the songs from that album. The effect is of an acapella chorus. From the first room, one hears faintly the backing vocals. Each man moves as he sings in his own way, flutters his fingers, air drums, taps on a crutch, sways from side to side, whistles the instrumental parts. I stayed to hear the whole album's cycle of songs. Even through I had listened to it many times in the past, I heard the lyrics in a new way.

 

 

I first heard Leonard Cohen's music in 1967 when the song "Suzanne" became a big hit for Noel Harrison. I was nine. It was first released by Judy Collins in 1966, and we had the album it was on, too. Her cover of his song "Dress Rehearsal Rag" on the same record mesmerized me. It was filled with dark emotions that I was too young to understand but the lyrics were evocative anyway.

Since it is now the time of the Olympics figure skating competition, I though we should appreciate this work of genius: Canadian champion skater Gary Beacom skates to "I'm Your Man."