The Spring of Leonard Cohen
There's a crack in everything, that's how the Leonard Cohen reference gets in
Leonard Cohen is as timeless as drunken confessions and hopeless romantics. It would be hard to find someone, except devout contrarians, who would disagree with Cohen’s rank as one of the most legendary singer-songwriters of all time. His legacy as both a performer and a songwriter is one that rivals the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Johnny Cash.
In just the past few weeks, we have seen at least a handful of Leonard Cohen's references infused in the creative fabric of highly anticipated albums and buzz-worthy television.
It would be naive to chalk this up as coincidence- it is indicative of the spirit of our time and the hardships of our generation. Collectively, it feels like we’ve experienced a decade's worth of anguish, ardor, and trials just from our involuntary involvement in living through the last few years. The heartache from these years has left us with ample emotion- enough to fill a volume or two of poetry and prose, or at least enough to need a strong drink. Few artists are as increasingly relevant as Leonard Cohen- every day it feels like we are inching closer to the full fulfillment of Cohen’s prophetic track The Future.
We’ve compiled a list below of the recent Leonard Cohen references and uses. All these albums and shows are exceptional and the use of Cohen has furthered our appreciation of them. Be warned of spoilers for Succession and Ted Lasso below.
Lana Del Rey, “Kitsugi”
“Kintsugi” vein of connection is from Cohen’s “Anthem” "there is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in” which is referenced by Lana Del Rey's “That’s how the light shines in/That’s how the light shines in/That’s how the light gets in”
Lana Del Rey occupies a similar style to Cohen with her heart-wrenching lyricism and cinematic vocals. Lana Del Rey has frequently referenced Leonard Cohen throughout her discography and considers herself to be a “kindred spirit” of his.
Succession, 4x02 “Rehearsal”, “Famous Blue Raincoat”
In the most recent episode of Succession, eldest Roy sibling (and candidate for president polling at 1%) Connor insists on going to a Karaoke Bar after a disastrous rehearsal dinner that resulted in his fiancee running out.
Connor, considering the always energy-boosting Desperado by The Eagles, settles on Cohen’s Famous Blue Raincoat. This karaoke session on Succession serves as a potent embodiment of Connor, who’s the most overlooked and underestimated of the Roy siblings. Roman Roy reviews Connor’s performance however as “Guantanamo-level shit”
boygenius, “Leonard Cohen”
Boygenius, the supergroup comprising Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus includes this eponymous track on their recent album the record.
Like Lana Del Rey, boygenius references Cohen’s Anthem with Dacus singing “Leonard Cohen once said, "There's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in/And I am not an old man having an existential crisis/ At a Buddhist monastery writing horny poetry.”
The three singer-songwriters have shown reverence for the great songwriters of prior generations on more than one occasion including Paul Simon on the most recent album, and the recent reference to Cohen creates another link between their own music and the music that helped inspire it, albeit snarkily.
Ted Lasso, 4x03 “4-5-1”, “Everybody Knows”
Ted Lasso sports a commendable soundtrack featuring songs like Radiohead’s haunting Karma Police and The Rolling Stone’s electric She’s a Rainbow.
The most recent episode of Ted Lasso ends with Cohen’s foreboding and unsettling Everybody Knows. The track kicks off when Trent Crimm, a journalist writing a book on the Richmond Football Club, comes across one of the team’s star players, Colin, kissing another man. Everybody knows under synth croons of societal decay, strife, and fixed odds. Ted has had the grueling task of coaching a historically lackluster team, in a sport he’s never coached while standing witness to his own divorce. What this song means for the rest of Ted Lasso when it states “Everybody knows the good guys lost” can only leave us hoping for a rosier fate.
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