What I'm listening to right now

Yesterday I downloaded the soundtrack to that new documentary about Leonard Cohen.

I'm a total freak for Leonard Cohen songs, so I'm maybe not the most critical audience for this kind of thing. Let's just say it's been in pretty heavy rotation for a couple of days here at my desk. Just a quick cruise through my iTunes file finds 80-some recordings of songs by LC that are performed by folks other than him. And about the same number of him singing his own songs. A little more than that, I guess, if you count multiple versions of the same song.

If I had to pick a favorite from this new release, I think it would be Teddy Thompson's performance of "The Future." Or maybe Rufus Wainwright's "Chelsea Hotel No. 2." Martha Wainwright kicks out pretty righteous versions of "Tower of Song*" and "The Traitor." Onetime Cohen backup singer Perla Batalla sings a couple, and Kate & Anna McGarrigle, and Nick Cave, and Mr. Cohen himself does "Tower of Song" with U2. Plus a bunch more.

Oh, and Laurie Anderson closes out the set with "The Guests." Highly highly excellent.

*link to "video of MW doing ToS on David Letterman. Bonus LC video of "First We Take Manhattan."