Paul Simon (the musician, not the politician) special on PBS now

[dmann]

Looks like it is going to be great!

DM

[$tevie]

Unfortunately I missed the first 45 minutes. I'm enjoying the heck out of it now though.

[lafinfil]

I've been watching it the last hour and I have come to the conclusion that even though it is
a very nice tribute to his song writing abilities and even though I enjoy the music of of many of the guests
there is a certain something that Simon brings to his own material that is not easily duplicated
by others covering his material.

That said it's still quite enjoyable and if you enjoy Simons work, it's enjoyable and worth the time to watch but he does his
own material better than anyone else - which is not always true of many singer / songwriters
There is a earnestness that he just exudes (i.e. the Dixie Chicks singing "The Boxer" - not convincing.)

On the other hand the clips are great - Paul sing Mrs Robinson at Yankee Stadium. The SNL stuff (and Lorne Michaels)
and the Sesame Street stuff and even Roy & Dale cover ....

now go enjoy it anyways

: -)

[lafinfil]

Ok -Alison Krauss singing "Graceland" with Jerry Douglas on dobro may have just swayed me.

[dmann]

I knew I could count on you two!

Interesting take 'fil. I actually really enjoyed the cover of "The Boxer" (it was Shawn Colvin and Alison Krause BTW) but I completely agree that there is something about the Paul Simon-ness of his songs that just can't be duplicated.

I have a few PS albums that have sat dormant for WAY too long- time to bring them back into heavy rotation on my iPod and CD player!

DM

[lafinfil]

>
> it was Shawn Colvin and Alison Krause BTW
>

oops - my mistake (half watching while I'm working)

Paul just came on with Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Diamonds ... )

Artie just hit the stage - It will be interesting to see how it finishes up

[dmann]

I know I've told this story here before, but when I was in college I was part of the campus group that produced all the concerts that performed at the arena. I'm talking some big ticket names- U2 and REM (both before I got onto the committee), but I got to work shows for Bob Dylan, Whitney Houston (blech), the Goo Goo Dolls etc.

The best show we did was Paul Simon's Born at the Right time. Not only did he invite all of us (about 20 students and 2 advisors) to sit down and enjoy the 2 hr. sound check he gave all of us "crew" t-shirts, signed our backstage passes, invited us to eat dinner with him and his 20 piece orchestra AND he so enjoyed the cooking of the woman we hired to prepare his meals that he took her with him to his next 3 performances.

To say that he is a class act is an understatement.

DM

[Rain]

comes on again in 30 minutes

[jimbrady]

Who (and why) was the solo pianist during the credits? Glenn Gould? Elliott Gould?

EDIT: BTW, Garfunkel still has some pipes--sounds like he's cared better for his lungs than many pop-stars his junior.

[$tevie]

Philip Glass. Evidently he and Paul Simon have collaborated with each other, although I did not know that until tonight.