New (and Old) Leonard Cohen Tributes

A supergroup has a not-so-super new tune, plus a few others, including Joni masterpieces.

The “supergroup” called boygenius with Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus—okay, it’s not exactly Stevie Winwood, Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker—is out with a widely-hailed album that includes a painfully slight song titled “Leonard Cohen.” Not much to it, and that’s not explained merely by its amazingly short length (these days) at 1:42. But that—along with surprise appearance of sad sack Connor doing ”Famous Blue Raincoat” karaoke on Succession last night—put me in mind to post some other song tributes to Leo, see below, and one for Gene Clark, as well as my own collection of Cohen songs here. The usual political cartoons at bottom and my urging that you subscribe if you have not while it’s still free. But first, in reply to Con and boygenius, two versions of Leonard doing “Famous Blue Raincoat.”

Oh, boygenius.

Sharon Van Etten, “Leonard”

Joni Mitchell on a visit with Leonard to his parents’ house in Montreal:

And Joni’s “A Case of You,” another of her five greatest songs, allegedly at least halfway about Leonard.

Amanda Shires, “A Song for Leonard Cohen”

And from the great songwriter James McMurtry, “You’d a Thought (Leonard Cohen Must Die)”

“I Can’t Listen to Gene Clark Anymore,” Melissa Nadler with Sharon Van Etten

Cartoons of the Day