Leonard Cohen Streams Popular Problems

Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen is streaming his 13th studio album, Popular Problems, over at The Guardian.

Earlier this month, Cohen told Rolling Stone at an exclusive listening party for Popular Problems that he hasn't yet mastered the craft of songwriting - despite being a recording artist since 1967, "Being a songwriter is like being a nun: you're married to a mystery.

It's not a particularly generous mystery, but other people have that experience with matrimony anyway.

??Cohen is best known as the mind behind the mesmerizing "Hallelujah" His own original version was met with little fanfare, but subsequent covers from John Cale and especially Jeff Buckley became runaway successes.

??According to statistics from the Recording Industry Association of America, "Hallelujah" has sold over five million copies (not including digital sales), and has been recorded in over 200 languages. The track even inspired a book.??

In addition to his music, Cohen is also an accomplished author and poet, earning the esteemed Quebec Literary Competition Prize in his native Canada.

Speaking of awards, he's earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.

??At that ceremony, the late Lou Reed described Cohen as belonging to the "highest and most influential echelon of songwriters.??"

Despite his success, Cohen remains humble, also telling Rolling Stone, "A lot of young writers ask me for advice - mistakenly, because my methods are obscure and not to be replicated."??

Popular Problems is out September 23rd via on Columbia Records.?