conversation with musician Paul Simon. Simon is the recipient of the first
annual Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Simon also discusses
his upcoming CD
The Essential Paul Simon and performs Slip Sliding
Away
The occasion of this interview is Simon's being first recipient of the Gershwin
Award. As Simon explains it this is given for musical achievement which is like
Gershwin's. Simon defines this as multicultural, sophisticated music , of harmonic
complexity which integrates popular and high culture elements elegantly.
The interview is a friendly if not particularly exciting one. There is no question
about Art Garfunkel. There is a certain tone of regret in it, as apparently
the past ten years have not been the most wonderful for Simon in terms of popularity.
Rose asks him about the creative process in regard to song- writing. And Simon
says that initially it is as if a person has a certain well of melodies and
music which they can bring out. But then a different process is required. Perhaps
he is referring to the difference between his earlier most popular song- writing
period and what has come later. I may be wrong but it seems to me that the songs
people have most loved of Simon were those like ' A Bridge over Troubled Waters'
'Sounds of Silence' 'Mrs. Robinson' which came in the earlier Garfunkel phase
of his career. And this though much is made in the interview of the success
of 'Graceland' which came in the middle years.
Simon talks about his being influenced by various kinds of musical traditions,
including Jamaican and South African music.
Simon laments what has become of the Music business, and suggests that considering
the way people IPOD listen to music now putting out a new track with twelve
- songs on it might simply be irrelevant.
There is a sense of 'Sic transit gloria mundi' in the interview.
And so it appropriately closes with Simon singing 'Slip- Sliding Away' though
paradoxically in a very passionate, involved way.