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WOW.
I NEVER DREAMED THAT THE NOTORIOUSLY RECLUSIVE MR. COHENLEGENDARY
SINGER-SONGWRITER, POET, AND NOVELISTWOULD SHOW UP FOR
IDOL CHATTER. BUT WITH LEONARD COHEN: IM YOUR MAN, THE CONCERT
FILM SLASH DOCUMENTARY SET TO OPEN, HERE YOU ARE. SO WHAT DO YOU THINK OF
THIS FILM THAT PRESENTS BONO ALL BUT DECLARING YOU GOD HIMSELF?
I
think I need to a keep a distance. Its a little embarrassing. (chuckles)
WHAT
MADE YOU DECIDE TO DO IT?
I
was approached by [director] Lian Lunson and shes very beautiful
AND,
OF COURSE, YOUVE OFT BEEN DEEMED A LADIES MAN [COHENS
MANY GIRLFRIENDS HAVE INCLUDED REBECCA DE MORNAY AND JONI MITCHELL].
Well,
I think anybody would respond to the kind of radiant presence Lian presents.
SO
YOU RESPONDED.
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Her
radiant presence did not meet with much opposition from me. (chuckles) But
she also presented herself as a serious workerit felt like having
an invitation to do something that was not, uh, altogether shameful.
ABSOLUTELY
NOT. WHAT IS SHAMEFUL IS THE FACT THAT YOUVE BEEN FORCED INTO A HUGE
LAWSUIT, BECAUSE YOUR FORMER MANAGER BILKED YOU OUT OF ALMOST TEN MILLION
DOLLARS.
Ive
been used as a cautionary tale. Its enough to put a dent in ones
mood, isnt it? I pay very little attention to business: I mean, I didnt
know where the bank was. Id never been to the bank. (chuckles) So over
the course of my career Ive lost a great deal of my assets just by
.well,
I didnt listen to my mother and thats why all this happened. When
I left Montreal and moved to New York my mother said, Be careful, Leonard,
those people are not like us. And Mother was right! But the lawsuit
did confine me to barracks, so to speak; I dont want to produce a response
like Every cloud has a silver lining, but it has, coincidentally
or deliberately, produced a lot of good work.
YEP,
YOUVE GOT A BOOK OF POETRY AND TWO ALBUMS OUT OR ON THEIR WAY. AND THATS
GREAT NEWS FOR THE MOVIES, BECAUSE EVER SINCE ALTMANS MCCABE AND
MRS. MILLER FOREVER MARRIED YOUR SONGS TO ITS VISUALS YOUVE REMAINED
QUIETLY HOT IN THE CINEMA: OLIVER STONE USED YOU IN NATURAL BORN KILLERS,
YOUR BIRD ON A WIRE INSPIRED A GOLDIE HAWN MOVIE, AND SHREK
HELPED MAKE HALLELUJAH ONE OF YOUR GREATEST HITS.
My
songs have been in a lot of movies. Though not enough. (laughs)
BACK
TO YOUR MOTHERIN IM YOUR MAN YOU TALK ABOUT
HOW SHE WOULDNT HAVE APPROVED OF YOU REVEALING THE IDENTIFY OF THE GIRL
IN YOUR SONG, CHELSEA HOTEL #2. TURNS OUT IT WAS JANIS JOPLIN GIVING
YOU HEAD ON AN UNMADE BED IN THAT SONG. HOW WOULD MOM FEEL ABOUT
THE MOVIE?
Shed
be very pleased, because she never believed a living could be made out of
songwriting. Even after I was doing well I remember I took her to a lovely
meal and when the bill came I felt her tapping my knee, trying to slip me
some money under the table. (chuckles)
BUT,
DESPITE THE CROOKS, YOU HAVE MADE A LIVING.
And
Ive been able to follow a principle that I established a long time ago
which was I dont want to work for pay, but I want to be paid for
my work. Thats very rare and Im aware of it.
YES,
AND NOW, AT AGE 71, YOUR CLASSICS LIKE SUZANNE, ANTHEM, AND
HALLELUJAH HAVE GIVEN YOU HALLOWED CULT STATUS AMONG ALL AGESSO
MUCH SO THAT ITS ALMOST AS IF YOURE THE TONY BENNETT OF HIPSTER
ROCK.
That
sounds good! On a rare trip to New York once I went to the Russian Tea Room
and Tony Bennett was sitting in another booth and he looked so good.
WELL,
YOURE BOTH FAMOUSLY NATTY DRESSERS.
Hes
nattier. So if I can be a shabby, smaller version, thats fine.
OH,
COME ON: MAYBE YOURE ONLY CULT SIZE, BUT YOURE STILL A ROCK
STAR.
You
know that great scene in Spinal Tap where they get the scale of Stonehenge
wrong? Well, you can legitimately call me a rock star, but its in that
scaled down wayIm like the tiny Stonehenge of rock stardom.
©
2015 Brantley Bardin. All Rights Reserved.
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