leonard cohen

Published: Village Magazine, September 2005

The lonesome death of Hank Williams

This year does not mark the fiftieth anniversary of the lonesome death of Hank Williams. That was over two years ago, on New Year’s Day 2003. Nor is this the centenary of his birth – that milestone won’t be reached until September 17th 2023. A glossy, overpriced compilation of his greatest hits is not in stores now. And it doesn’t include underwhelming “new” tracks, or feature inane liner-notes penned by the director of some lame biopic. Read the rest of this entry »

Now in Vienna there are ten pretty women…

…Which, you’d have to say, is a poor showing for a city of that size. But I jest. Tomorrow is the birthday of the great Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. I used to read Lorca all the time when I was a teenager. He remains, alongside Rimbaud, one of the few non-English language poets whose work has really meant a lot to me. After the jump, something you may or may not know that he wrote, brilliantly translated into English by a man who may or may not have been a bit of a dick at 29. Read the rest of this entry »

Published: Village Magazine, September 2005

The lonesome death of Hank Williams

This year does not mark the fiftieth anniversary of the lonesome death of Hank Williams. That was over two years ago, on New Year’s Day 2003. Nor is this the centenary of his birth – that milestone won’t be reached until September 17th 2023. A glossy, overpriced compilation of his greatest hits is not in stores now. And it doesn’t include underwhelming “new” tracks, or feature inane liner-notes penned by the director of some lame biopic. Read the rest of this entry »

LEONARD COHEN, AGED 29: KIND OF A DICK

Halleujah, there’s hope for us all yet… Just watched this very interesting 1964 documentary about Leonard Cohen. The 29-year-old poet, novelist and (soon-to-be) songwriter captured is at once prodigiously talented, toe-curlingly pretentious and, well, I hate to admit it but… kind of an idiot. Read the rest of this entry »

YOUR CHEATIN’ HEART (1952)

“I don’t fool myself, I know the game I’m in. When I wrote about Hank Williams ‘A hundred floors above me in the tower of song’, it’s not some kind of inverse modesty. I know where Hank Williams stands in the history of popular song. Your Cheatin’ Heart, songs like that, are sublime… I feel myself a very minor writer by comparison.” – Leonard Cohen