Canadian icon Leonard Cohen released his 13th studio album, Popular Problems, on September 22nd, the day after he turned 80 years old.
Cohen, one of the country’s most beloved artists, has received almost every honour possible – he has been inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, he is a Companion in the Order of Canada (one of the highest recognitions), and he has won countless awards including several Junos. In addition to his work in music he is also a published poet and author, and has appeared in a number of television and film projects. He has spent the last several years touring around Canada, the US, and Europe.
Cohen’s latest album, Popular Problems, has received some mixed reviews however the positive ones have been glowing – critics have called the album “a masterpiece” and “a quiet triumph.” It was released early in France (on September 19th) and then worldwide on September 22nd. It can be purchased through iTunes here.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone just days before the album’s release as well as his 80th birthday, Cohen talked about getting older and whether he’s slowing down. “There’s a lot of things that you can do that you couldn’t do when you were younger. You depend on a certain resilience that is not yours to command, but which is present. And if you can sense this resilience or sense this capacity to continue, it means a lot more at this age than it did when I was 30, when I took it for granted.”
Photo: Leonard Cohen
