Popular Problems is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released 22 September 2014. Most of the songs were new, though he did debut "Born In Chains" onstage in 2010 and "My Oh My" was played during a soundcheck the same year. 2010 version of "Born In Chains" differs radically in terms of arrangements and singing compared to the 2014 studio version, and the song itself was first performed as early as 1985, during unofficially recorded soundcheck in Europe; the early version used earlier version of lyrics set to the music which later become song "I Can't Forget", released on Cohen's 1988 record I'm Your Man. Through the years, Cohen referred to the song as "Taken Out of Egypt", reciting it on show in 1988, and humming it to the new melody in 2005 documentary Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man. "A Street" was recited in 2006, during promotion of Cohen's book of poetry Book of Longing. "Nevermind" was released as the poem in 2005 on The Leonard Cohen Files website, and in Book of Longing in 2006.Popular Problems is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released 22 September 2014. Most of the songs were new, though he did debut "Born In Chains" onstage in 2010 and "My Oh My" was played during a soundcheck the same year. 2010 version of "Born In Chains" differs radically in terms of arrangements and singing compared to the 2014 studio version, and the song itself was first performed as early as 1985, during unofficially recorded soundcheck in Europe; the early version used earlier version of lyrics set to the music which later become song "I Can't Forget", released on Cohen's 1988 record I'm Your Man. Through the years, Cohen referred to the song as "Taken Out of Egypt", reciting it on show in 1988, and humming it to the new melody in 2005 documentary Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man. "A Street" was recited in 2006, during promotion of Cohen's book of poetry Book of Longing. "Nevermind" was released as the poem in 2005 on The Leonard Cohen Files website, and in Book of Longing in 2006.false2024-02-27 19:25:06Popular Problems8.720142014-09-232014-09-2336Blues RockFolk RockPopRockSinger-Songwriter1123922219534a53e9be9-61ca-43d8-b30c-8bbb535c9b9965314b12-0e08-43fa-ba33-baaa7b874c153339bbbc-fce1-404d-9789-e0c07ab6db6e/media/data/media5/Music/Leonard Cohen/Popular Problems (2014)/folder.jpgLeonard CohenAlbumArtist/config/metadata/People/L/Leonard Cohen/folder.jpgLeonard CohenArtist/config/metadata/People/L/Leonard Cohen/folder.jpgLeonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.
Cohen pursued a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s, and did not begin a music career until 1966. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974). His 1977 record Death of a Ladies' Man, co-written and produced by Phil Spector, was a move away from Cohen's previous minimalist sound.
In 1979, Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz, East Asian, and Mediterranean influences. Cohen's most famous song, "Hallelujah", was released on his seventh album, Various Positions (1984). I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's turn to synthesized productions. In 1992, Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.
Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, a major hit in Canada and Europe. His eleventh album, Dear Heather, followed in 2004. In 2005, Cohen discovered that his manager had stolen most of his money and sold his publishing rights, prompting a return to touring to recoup his losses. Following a successful string of tours between 2008 and 2013, he released three albums in the final years of his life: Old Ideas (2012), Popular Problems (2014), and You Want It Darker (2016), the last of which was released three weeks before his death. His posthumous, fifteenth, and final studio album Thanks for the Dance, was released in November 2019.
In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him number 103 in their "200 Greatest Singers of All Time" list.