I cop to knowing little about Leonard Cohen, but I am aware that many musicians consider him hugely influential. My first real exposure to the singer-songwriter came in 1991 when I’m Your Fan, a tribute disc, was released. R.E.M., The Pixies, James, Nick Cave, and others contributed their takes on the Cohen catalogue. As a college radio DJ, I spun the artists I liked from the effort, but didn’t dig much deeper.

Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” wasn’t covered on I’m Your Fan. Pure conjecture, but perhaps its absence is explained by this: Concrete Blonde had already turned in a quintessential take for the 1990 soundtrack to Pump Up The Volume (the Christian Slater-starrer also featured the Cohen original). As these things sometimes go though, I didn’t really embrace “Everybody Knows” until the arrival of the band’s 1994 odds-and-sods collection, Still In Hollywood. Assigned the task of reviewing the disc for the station, I was captivated by the bruised beauty of Johnette Napolitano’s vocals on their version. Hear here:

In March, Cohen was welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Lou Reed. Among the many noteworthy passages of Reed’s induction speech, I found this apropos: “Cohen’s the kind of rock star who’s happy to go unnoticed. It may take time to recognize him, but when you do, my god, you can’t forget him.”

Purchase Concrete Blonde’s cover of “Everybody Knows” via iTunes, Amazon.