Hey Ms. DJ!

Last night marked my return to the turntables - well, the laptop and CD players, but that doesn't have such a good ring to it. Besides, I recently started a collection of vinyl, so the former will be more accurate in no time. Anyway, I presented two shamelessly fun sets of rock and dancable 80's at The Couch last night and had so much fun I nearly begged them tohave me back next month. Okay, I'll wait for the invite.

The night before I went to a preview screening of the new Leonard Cohen biopic: I'm Your Man. I loved it and will own it on DVD. Only because of Mr. Cohen himself. What a wonderfully candid, lucid, and humble man. The segments featuring Leonard himself were some of the most inspiring pieces of interview I've ever watched. He's lucid, entertaining, candid, and so humble. Interspersed were images of his childhood, his art, his lyrics and poetry in his own handwriting.

And interviews with other artists like Bono and Rufus Wainwright. I could have done without some of those. Some people just like to hear themselves talk, as if paying tribute to another talent will somehow increase their own. Ick.

The whole film was centered around a tribute concert that took place in Sydney. Put on by the Canadian Embassy (I think), it featured performances by Rufus, Martha Wainwright, Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave, Beth Orton, Antony (from Antony and the Johnsons), and others. While a couple of the performaces were good, a couple were downright insulting. Reading the lyrics off a sheet just off camera? What kind of tribute is that?

But for the pieces of Cohen himself, the film is worth seeing, owning, and watching again and again with friends and some wine.