Watch Car Seat Headrest Cover Leonard Cohen’s “Field Commander Cohen”
Image via YouTube Music Video Car Seat Headrest
Car Seat Headrest honored Leonard Cohen this weekend by performing an epic medley that combined his “Field Commander Cohen” with The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” and the band’s own “Cosmic Hero.”
It began with Will Toledo alone for “Field Commander Cohen,” Cohen’s military-themed self-reflection monologue from his 1974 album New Skin For The Old Ceremony. Cohen was a master of despondency; his voice had a natural edge of gloom. Yet Toledo somehow makes his cover even more morose than the original.
Over an extended “Oh my love” outro, the rest of the band enters and the song gradually shifts into “Cosmic Hero.” Before the sixth verse, they slip in a bit of “Sweet Jane,” with yells that are a far cry from Cohen’s style.
Watch the performance above, and find Paste’s obituary for Cohen here.