Leonard Cohen - The Best Of

Leonard Cohen – The Best Of

Columbia, 1975
Acquired: Half Price Books, Used, 2013
Price: $3

I feel mega guilty admitting that the first reason I wanted this was because it’s the cover Ween parodied on their sophomore LP The Pod. And I wished I owned The Pod on vinyl. And then the distant second reason for picking this up was merely because I love Leonard Cohen and I needed to make sure I at least had “Suzanne” and “So Long, Marianne” on vinyl. And of course I already have both of those songs because I have Songs of Leonard Cohen but even though four songs from this best of are on that record (I can only assume because it is a great record), there are eight I didn’t have and I’m the sort of rube who’d rather listen to a best of when I’m just looking to put something on for the wife and I to listen to while making dinner. Which is what I just did! Chicken Tikka Masasla on the menu tonight. I swear, I’m surprised whoever the underboss is that runs Indian food restaurants nationwide and make obscene amounts of cash charging $14 for a dish that costs like $4 to make per serving hasn’t cracked down on Cook’s Illustrated for publishing a more than serviceable recipe. Or maybe $14 Chicken Tikka Masala is the price we pay for all those awful years of British colonization. But HEY. I’m an AMERICAN. I had NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT SHIT. Anyway, this record is great. Because fucking duh. On the back Cohen writes a little blurb about each song, and I REALLY like it when bands do that and tell you like, where the song was written, who it’s about, all those juicy details that a lot of songwriters things lends their song a sense of mystery if it’s left cryptic. Fuck that. Unsurprisingly, most of these songs are about ladies Mr. Cohen has banged. Good for him. Seriously, if you want my Chicken Tikka Masala recipe I’ll give it to you. It’s surprisingly easy, and though I think the Garam Masala I got at the Wedge has too much cinnamon in it, it’s still really really tasty and tastes even better the next day on your lunch break.