Lana Del Rey covers Leonard Cohen in her latest video, Chelsea Hotel No 2

They say two wrongs don’t make a right. But sometimes, three rights don’t make a right either. Or do they? I’m still undecided. Lana Del Rey has released her latest video, a cover of Leonard Cohen’s 1974 “Chelsea Hotel No 2.” The instrumental beauty, which has long been rumoured to have been written about Cohen’s onetime tryst with Janis Joplin, is sung in typical Lana Del Rey form: sexy, languid, sedated. The video, a hazy montage of vintage-style shots of New York’s famed Chelsea Hotel, recalls a little bit of Andy Warhol’s 1966 cult flick, Chelsea Girls.

Given my longtime affinities for Cohen, Warhol and more recently, Del Rey, you’d think I’d love this new blended morsel, however, something’s holding me back. Perhaps it’s too simple a cover? Cohen deserves more than that? From someone who really appreciates him? Who says she doesn’t? So many questions…

While Warhol’s styles have been handily re-appropriated by so many over the years, Cohen’s may deserve a bit more tender loving and seasoned care. By who? I have no other suggestions at the moment but I do sing it really well in the shower.

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