Popular Problems is Leonard Cohen's thrilling new studio album,
where he takes us down into the avenues of our dreams and sets a
new tone and speed of hope and despair, grief and joy. Cohen here
is an astonished lover rocking to the human condition as "the
soul unfolds in the chambers of its longing." His legendary basso
resonates as never before with a presence and urgency that arises
from the very the depths of the heart. The clarity and strength
of these nine hypnotic songs will have us singing them over and
over.
Popular Problems is Cohen's 13th studio album, and will be
released just two days after his 80th birthday. In collaboration
with co-writer Patrick Leonard, Popular Problems is a masterpiece
from the ever-fresh imagination of a musical legend whose songs
continue to captivate new listeners and devoted fans. Popular
Problems was produced by Patrick Leonard, mastered at Marcussen
Mastering and was recorded and mixed by Jesse E. String with
additional mixing by Bill Bottrell.
Leonard Cohen is a master songwriter, musician, poet, novelist
and visual artist whose stunning body of original work has
touched the lives of millions with a career spanning six decades.
His explorations of spiritual, interpersonal, romantic and
political themes have impacted countless contemporary
artists and writers. He has sold over 23 million albums,
worldwide and published 12 books, the most recent of which was
2006's 'Book of Longing', a collection of poetry, prose and
drawings, which reached #1 on the Top 10 Hardcover Fiction Books
in Canada.
Cohen's influence on musical and theatrical artists the world
over is inestimable. In fact, when Cohen was inducted into the
Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in March 2008, the revered Lou Reed
singled out Leonard as one of the "highest and most influential
echelon of songwriters." Cohen's songbook has been covered by
hundreds of artists including Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan,
Nina Simone, Johnny Cash, Lou Reed, Tori Amos, Nick Cave, Joan
Baez, Harry Belafonte, Rufus Wainwright and the Civil Wars.
Tribute albums have been released in Cohen's honor in France,
Norway, Canada, Spain, Swedish, Czech Republic, South Africa and
the United States. In 2008 Cohen's "Hallelujah" became the
fastest-selling digital single in European history when three
separate versions of the song appeared simultaneously on the UK
singles chart - Cohen's own original , a version from
Jeff Buckley and another from X Factor winner Alexandra Burke.
Additionally, Leonard's songs have been frequently selected to
illustrate the emotion of motion pictures and television programs
and have been heard in Watchmen, The Passion of The Christ,
Natural Born Killers, The Wonder Boys, Pump Up The Volume,
Secretary, The West Wing, The O.C. and many others.
Leonard Cohen has been honored as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement
Award Recipient (2010), inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of
Fame (2008), the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame (2006), the Canadian
Songwriters Hall of Fame (2006) and the Songwriters Hall Of Fame
(2010). He has received the prestigious Principe de Asturias
Prize the highest literary award in Spain (Spain, 2011) as well
as the Glenn Gould Prize, awarded to an individual for a unique
lifetime contribution that has enriched the human condition
through the arts (Canada, 2011). The Canadian native has earned
his country's highest civilian honors - Officer of the Order of
Canada (1991), Companion to the Order of Canada (2003), Grand
Officer of the National Order of Quebec (2008).