"But I can't sing..."
Cohen's NYC lawyer:
"None of you boys can sing. If I wanna hear singing, I'll go to the Met (Opera)."
Poetry and singing collided in Cohen's hauntingly beautiful music from my last years at school (1967/8). Neil Young's After The Goldrush also made a big impression on me in 1970. Guess who's at Glastonbury Festival this year? Neil Young, along with Ray Davies (The Kinks), Madness, Status Quo, Tom Jones, Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), with Bruce Springsteen headlining on Saturday night - all old-timers. Even Ben Taylor, son of the great James Taylor, is on this year's line-up.
My son's last days at school this month - who will he remember? The Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand, Jack Johnson, Ben Folds, Paulo Nutini? One thing seems apparent: a career in rock'n'roll can last a long, long time these days, but only if you get to the very top.
* The first Glastonbury Festival was held in 1970, the day after Jimi Hendrix died.
