Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker (2016)

FUCKING CHRIST

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/leonard-cohen-dead-at-82-w449792

you want it darker?

He really knew.

oh god

Fuck you, 2016. The actual fucking worst year ever.

ENOUGH

the end of that new yorker interview has been playing in my head more or less since i read it so i'm quoting for what i deeply hope to be truth

“What I mean to say is that you hear the Bat Kol.” The divine voice. “You hear this other deep reality singing to you all the time, and much of the time you can’t decipher it. Even when I was healthy, I was sensitive to the process. At this stage of the game, I hear it saying, ‘Leonard, just get on with the things you have to do.’ It’s very compassionate at this stage. More than at any time of my life, I no longer have that voice that says, ‘You’re fucking up.’ That’s a tremendous blessing, really.”

leonard cohen, full of grace, i cherish your beauty. rip

you wanted it darker

listened to this for the 1st time this morning -- obviously a heavy listen, but I thought it was great. "seemed the better way" was a standout:

I better hold my tongue
I better take my place
Lift this glass of blood
Try to say the grace

'Steer your way' sounds great too, those strings

Entirely possible that this is my album of the year.

I guess what I'm saying is that this is equal and opposite bookend to Blackstar. Happy 2016

Man this record keeps on giving. The followup Thanks For The Dance was also short but excellent - and seemed to totally fly under the critical radar for it's year? It's basically more of You Want It Darker... same band, same production style.

actually i forgot what a crazy lineup 'Thanks' has... guest spots from Beck, Feist, Lanois, Matt Chamberlain, Damien Rice... but not overbearing or obvious in any way - it's all very sensitive to the material.
plus Jennifer Warnes and Sharon Robinson both back on some songs...

plus guys from The Unicorns and Death Cab? it's such an odd collection of people.

I think I may like Thanks for the Dance even more than You Want it Darker. It's very spare and understated, and some of the lines ("as if there ever was a you") occasionally pop up in my head.