Proper Stories: Emilíana Torrini's Favourite Albums | Page 13 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

12. Leonard CohenThe Best Of Leonard Cohen

I remember when I first heard ‘Suzanne’, "And she feeds you tea and oranges/ That come all the way from China". I was only a child and I just thought, "Wow! Oranges from China!" And they’re lying by the river and she’s a little bit crazy, and I had my own story and interpretation of that whole lyric because I didn’t quite get it, I just remember I really wished I was her, eating these oranges from China and being all exotic and dancing naked around Leonard Cohen! Cohen, when I was about nine or 10, was going to be my husband! The first record of his I ever heard was ‘I’m Your Man’ from the eighties, and I thought he was amazing. He was honestly a big part of changing my life.

Selected in other Baker’s Dozens: Susanna, Mick Harvey, Echo & The Bunnymen
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