Hear Leonard Cohen discuss his life and career at a different 'rung of life'

Leonard Cohen's son, Adam, recently said of his father, "Unlike so many from that golden era, from which he comes, he's not a nostalgia act."

"This guy is speaking from his particular vantage point, he's speaking about things that are meaningful to him at his particular rung in life."

In 1988, on a tour stop in Vancouver, Cohen who died this week at 82 spoke about the current rung he was on with CBC Vancouver's Michelle Gibson.

"I feel I have a right to exist," he said. "I've been extremely lucky. Except for, you know, some prolonged bouts withclinical depression. I've had a very, very good time."

At that time, Cohen was coming off a disappointing decade professionally, but one closing on a high note with the release ofhis album, I'm Your Man, which returned him to relevance for many critics.

Here is Cohen in conversation with Gibson, reflecting on his music and his more "pressing interests": women and wine.

Leonard Cohen speaks with CBC Vancouver in 1988

8 years ago

Duration 3:28

Michelle Gibson sits down with Leonard Cohen to speak about his album I'm Your Man and other "pressing matters."