When I woke up this morning, it was to the Leonard Cohen ballad “Suzanne.” No, not on my stereo, but stuck inexplicably in my head. Perhaps “inexplicably” isn’t the right word — the song is just a thing of beauty, lyrically descriptive, mood-setting and without flaw. It just gets in there sometimes, you know? Then, just now, while on a coffee run I listened to a street performer sing “Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye.” KISMET! That means it’s a Leonard Cohen day….and me without my black turtleneck.

Here’s a clip of Leonard Cohen performing “Suzanne” from the isle of Wight Festival in 1970.

Having never seen Cohen perform live, I am really looking forward to his upcoming tour…and, of course, hoping he announces some US dates.

From the official Leonard Cohen site:

Immediately following his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel tonight, Leonard Cohen announced his world tour, marking a return to the live arena after 15 years. He is scheduled to open in Toronto on June 6 and 7, the city that gave birth to his career as a recording and literary artist, and then play Europe in the remainder of June, July, August and early September.

Tour dates will be found after the jump: (more…)

I’m not big on competition in music, or enshrining artists’ feet in concrete, or bidding on eBay for locks of so and so’s hair - it just seems to defeat the purposes of free-reign creativity. And while I don’t think that rock ‘n’ roll ever needed a Hall of Fame, its nomination process and subsequent ballyhooing ceremony nevertheless persists every year with new inductees. I almost always marvel at the rad collaborations they acquire though, and almost cried when Elvis Costello was inducted a few years ago, so never mind me. For those interested, this year’s inductees include (get ready to feel old…):

Afrika Bambaataa, Beastie Boys, Chic, Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five, Madonna, John Mellencamp, Donna Summer and The Ventures.

The official press release hits the wire on December 13th. We’d like to thank the Foundation for reminding us that we are no longer eligible to fight for our individual rights to party, and that living in a material world is indeed a thing of the past.