Leonard Cohen delivers in Tel Aviv

My first introduction to the music of Leonard Cohen was in 1991. I was a DJ at my high school radio station which sat comfortably at the left of the dial. Big props to WPOB 88.5! I came across I’m Your Fan in 1991, a compilation of Cohen covers by the likes of R.E.M., The Pixies, James, Nick Cave and The House of Love. I was taken by both The Pixies cover of “I Can’t Forget” and James cover of “So Long, Marianne” and immediately sought out Leonard Cohen’s music. To be honest, it wasn’t for me. Simply not loud enough. I loved the melody, but I don’t think I was mature enough for the lyrics. It was only years later during my dark years of college while listening in the lonely, cold hours of the night did I truly learn to appreciate the poetry of Leonard Cohen.

Hallelujah. Now that’s a song I’ve heard hundreds and hundreds of times. Whether it be the original Cohen version or one of the numerous covers by Jeff Buckley, John Cale, Rufus Wainwright and even American Idol participant Jason Castro (horrid IMHO). Let’s just say that the emotional resonance of the song has long warn off. While it is arguably once of the greatest song of the past 30 years, for a long time now, it’s just been another song to me. However last night during Cohen’s performance as 50,000 Israelis sang along with him and he took his hat to chest and closed his eyes to take in the moment I couldn’t help but get enveloped by the strong emotions that clearly everyone in the stadium was feeling. I’ve seen hundreds of concerts in my day and it’s hard to say that I have experienced such a powerful moment during a musical performance. Cohen’s performance of Hallelujah completely transcended what I anticipated to be the pinnacle of cheese. He managed to achieve an intimacy in his performance that I didn’t think was possible in a stadium of 50,000 people.

I’m not sure what Mr. Cohen is like when he is not performing, but on stage he was full of class. During his 3 hour plus performance, Cohen often removed his signature fedora during solos by his band and granted them his full attention as a signature of both respect and awe. Clearly enamored by the incredible backing band he introduced them more than once and even brought his crew on the stage at the end to thank them and all involved with the tour.

As he was just about to step off the stage after his third encore Cohen recited Birkat Cohanim (the priestly blessing) which clearly moved the audience.

“They shall place My name upon the children of Israel, and I Myself shall bless them.”

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Come shit on us Ian Brown! We love it!

In the great tradition of artists such as Roger Waters and Erykah Badu, once again Israeli producers will be inviting a musician who will come perform in Israel, take our money and then ignorantly criticize our policies (granted, some of our policies suck, but we don’t need no education from performers who know close to [...]

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Blue and White homegrown Israeli Grindhouse flick

Oh yeah. YouTube is full of gems. Long lost rock videos, cool concert footage, comedy routines, etc. But nothing, NOTHING compares to this incredible movie trailer I came across today. NOTHING. This is what the internet was made for. AN AMERICAN HIPPIE IN ISRAEL. Apparently seen by a few people in a few late night [...]

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Tzofia: Year One

She may not have manifested any powers yet, but Batman did just fine without any. Thanks for making this Ziva!

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How to make a good friend extremely jealous in one small step.

Appear in the video for Supernatural Superserious, the new R.E.M. single from their upcoming album, Accelerate. That’s my friend Jamye with her fist in the air at the 1:42 mark.

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Coen Brothers to tackle Chabon’s “Yiddish Policeman’s Union”

Oh Yes. The Coen Brothers, the masters of modern movie Noir are set to direct Michael Chabon’s latest novel, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Set in an alternative universe where the Jews lost the War of Independence and set up shop in Sitka,Alaska, the novel is about Meyer Landsman, an alcoholic homicide detective who investigates the [...]

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Sacha Baron Cohen cast as Abbie Hoffman in new Spielberg flick

The Times of London is reporting that Steven Spielberg has cast Sacha Baron Cohen in his upcoming “Chicago Seven” movie as Abbie Hoffman. Who else were you expecting him to play? Bobby Seale? (Yes, I know that Seale was removed from the trial). Wow. I can’t think of anyone more perfect for the role of [...]

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Remembering Whale Boy

I was at Second City in Chicago the night Chris Farley got the call that he was going to be a new cast member on Saturday Night Live. Maybe. Or perhaps they were just mentioning it to the audience and he had found out earlier. My memory is a little fuzzy. It was seventeen years [...]

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This ain’t viral marketing!

The good folks of funnyordie.com have put up a nice little promo for Walk Hard. It features a nice fight between Judd Apatow and Craig Robinson. Take a look at Craig Robinson‘s shirt. Guess he picked it up earlier this year on his visit. As you see the shenanigans unfold in this video you’ll see [...]

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More children’s music that does not suck…

One of the things I’ve been most looking forward to as a father is introducing my daughter to music. There are few things I love more than rocking out. My life is dominated by song these days. We are really into transitioning Tzofie with music. There is a good morning song (very loosely based on [...]

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