The New York Event in our memories
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"For the body of Heather, which slept and slept.
For the body of Bertha, which fell with apples and a flute.
For the body of Lisa, early and late, which smelled of speed and forests.
For the body of Tamara, whose thighs made him a fetishist of thighs.
For the body of Norma, goosefleshed, wet.
For the body of Patricia, which he had still to tame.
For the body of Shell, which was altogether sweet in his memory, which he loved as he walked, the little breasts he wrote about, and her hair which was so black it shone blue.
For all the bodies in and out of bathing suits, clothes, water, going between rooms, lying on grass, taking the print of grass, dancing discipline, leaping over horses, growing in mirrors, felt like treasure, slobbered over, cheated for, all of them, the great ballet line, the cream in them, the sun on them, the oil anointed.
A thousand shadows, a single fire, everything that happened, twisted by telling, served the vision, and when he saw it, he was in the very center of things."
Why not "Dear Heather"? There was a "Sincerely L. Cohen" once upon a time and noboby complained about.
"He began his tour through the heart streets of Montreal. The streets were changing. The Victorian gingerbread was going down everywhere, and on every second corner was the half-covered skeleton of a new, flat office building. The city seemed fierce to go modern, as though it had suddenly been converted to some new theory of hygiene and had learned with horror that it was impossible to scarpe the dirt out of gargoyle crevices and carved grapevines, and therefore was determined to cauterize the whole landscape.
But they were beautiful. They were the only beauty, the last magic. Breavman knew what he knew, that their bodies never died. Everything else was fiction. It was the beauty they carried. He remembered them all, there was nothing lost. To serve them. His mind sang praise as he climbed a street to the mountain. "
For the body of Bertha, which fell with apples and a flute.
For the body of Lisa, early and late, which smelled of speed and forests.
For the body of Tamara, whose thighs made him a fetishist of thighs.
For the body of Norma, goosefleshed, wet.
For the body of Patricia, which he had still to tame.
For the body of Shell, which was altogether sweet in his memory, which he loved as he walked, the little breasts he wrote about, and her hair which was so black it shone blue.
For all the bodies in and out of bathing suits, clothes, water, going between rooms, lying on grass, taking the print of grass, dancing discipline, leaping over horses, growing in mirrors, felt like treasure, slobbered over, cheated for, all of them, the great ballet line, the cream in them, the sun on them, the oil anointed.
A thousand shadows, a single fire, everything that happened, twisted by telling, served the vision, and when he saw it, he was in the very center of things."
Why not "Dear Heather"? There was a "Sincerely L. Cohen" once upon a time and noboby complained about.
"He began his tour through the heart streets of Montreal. The streets were changing. The Victorian gingerbread was going down everywhere, and on every second corner was the half-covered skeleton of a new, flat office building. The city seemed fierce to go modern, as though it had suddenly been converted to some new theory of hygiene and had learned with horror that it was impossible to scarpe the dirt out of gargoyle crevices and carved grapevines, and therefore was determined to cauterize the whole landscape.
But they were beautiful. They were the only beauty, the last magic. Breavman knew what he knew, that their bodies never died. Everything else was fiction. It was the beauty they carried. He remembered them all, there was nothing lost. To serve them. His mind sang praise as he climbed a street to the mountain. "
***
"He can love the shape of human beings, the fine and twisted shapes of the heart. It is good to have among us such men, such balancing monsters of love."
Leonard Cohen
Beautiful Losers
"He can love the shape of human beings, the fine and twisted shapes of the heart. It is good to have among us such men, such balancing monsters of love."
Leonard Cohen
Beautiful Losers
Why ask for it? Do like a teenage boy buying condoms....just pick it up off the rack, take it to the salesperson, avoiding eye contact at all cost, pay for it and then leave....knowing that the end result will be worth all the humiliation and embarrassment.Midnight wrote:Please, please, please rename it.
I really can not go into my favorite record store and ask for "Dear Heather."

I love the title. I think it is very untraditional and gives the album a certain concept and feel. I am also happy that we do not know who this Heather is exactly. The title of this album is sparking conversation already and intrigue into who or what Heather is. I say that it makes the album title a success already. The songs on this album are once again top notch. They are very much in the same way as TNS but are stronger because of more guitar. Cohen's voice is much the same as on TNS as well. I say we are quite lucky to have a new Cohen album so quickly!
Here is to DEAR HEATHER and maybe he signed the letter SINCERELY, L. COHEN? hahaha
-Sean
Here is to DEAR HEATHER and maybe he signed the letter SINCERELY, L. COHEN? hahaha

-Sean
From the picture Heather looks like Leonard's granddaughter or a friend of his daughter's, not a contemporary of his. "Heather" seems like a name that might have been trendy in Westchester for a year. There may have been an abundance of Heathers. It makes me think of a song from Brigadoon "The Heather on the Hill."
I hate the title - it's so unCohenesque. But it's up to LC to decide on HIS song titles and HIS album titles.
He could always ask for our opinions if he wanted them
Is there anywhere on the net I could hear extracts from the album?
He could always ask for our opinions if he wanted them

Is there anywhere on the net I could hear extracts from the album?
"... to make a pale imitation of reality with twenty-six juggled letters"
"... all words are lies because they can only represent one of many levels of being"
Sober noises of morning in a marginal land.
"... all words are lies because they can only represent one of many levels of being"
Sober noises of morning in a marginal land.
- Teratogen
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- Joined: Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:09 pm
- Location: Santa Clarita, California
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it's some very interesting music. it reminded me of ten new songs, mostly, but still had a different feel. i think because of the picture of cohen with the facial hair, the hat, and the mug, it made me feel like i was sitting in a coffee shop listening to a wise old man telling me about love and life. that is something i can't really say has ever happened to me! haha. i must say, from those i spoke to, people really loved the title track, "dear heather," and some disliked "on that day," about 9/11. they said it was 3 years ago and there was no reason to keep writing songs about it, especially for leonard.
i think one of the other differences was that cohen wrote the music this time and not sharon robinson, who wrote the music for ten new songs, so that was probably what caused a different feel. also, the guitar. everyone was so happy to hear a guitar in there again. i think the only guitar on the last album was in "in my secret life," and cohen didn't even play it. i think it was bob metzger.
but all in all it was such a beautiful experience... i have never been around so many people who love leonard cohen as much as i do. it's hard to find cohen fans anywhere where i live! to hear new cohen songs in a room filled with a bunch of cohen fans.... wow, it's the next best thing to seeing him live! the energy was there!
i can't wait until it is complete and is released, as i'm sure most of you are. until then...
jason
i think one of the other differences was that cohen wrote the music this time and not sharon robinson, who wrote the music for ten new songs, so that was probably what caused a different feel. also, the guitar. everyone was so happy to hear a guitar in there again. i think the only guitar on the last album was in "in my secret life," and cohen didn't even play it. i think it was bob metzger.
but all in all it was such a beautiful experience... i have never been around so many people who love leonard cohen as much as i do. it's hard to find cohen fans anywhere where i live! to hear new cohen songs in a room filled with a bunch of cohen fans.... wow, it's the next best thing to seeing him live! the energy was there!
i can't wait until it is complete and is released, as i'm sure most of you are. until then...
jason