PAUL SIMON POLL RESULTS THREAD AND DISCUSSION

i don't think my mom listens to any music. wait, she likes nat king cole because he enunciates so clearly that she can understand what he's saying.

speaking of the Live in Central Park thing, this has always bugged me: how could the city possibly have openly accepted money from drug dealers (per Simon's line from the stage re: "the guys passing around loose joints are donating half of their money to the city tonight")? isn't that, like, blatantly illegal? or is it just lol 70s NY

xp

(i wonder if ILM could sustain a billy joel ballot poll

You could probably poll the 2-disc comp from '85 that "everyone" owns.

Dr Casino I would happily and unabashedly vote in a Billy Joel poll if one were to be offered.

ugh can we keep the piano man away from this thread plz

xpost Yeah Greatest Hits 1 & 11 is the most pollworthy.

sorry Shakey

2-9 suck though.

2-10! Damnit.

speaking of the Live in Central Park thing, this has always bugged me: how could the city possibly have openly accepted money from drug dealers (per Simon's line from the stage re: "the guys passing around loose joints are donating half of their money to the city tonight")? isn't that, like, blatantly illegal? or is it just lol 70s NY

xp

― the sir edmund hillary of sitting through pauly shore films (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, March 20, 2012 12:47 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

shakey

Yeah, I kinda wanna do it as full-steam-ahead ballot poll, but I already have one spoken for in the queue and not sure the numbers are there to make it worthwhile. Hmm. Anyway, back to Simon!

a radio-button poll might be a good indicator

if not, it'll just be a party of two poll again, Doc <3

speaking of the Live in Central Park thing, this has always bugged me: how could the city possibly have openly accepted money from drug dealers (per Simon's line from the stage re: "the guys passing around loose joints are donating half of their money to the city tonight")? isn't that, like, blatantly illegal? or is it just lol 70s NY

um, lol joek?

is it? Simon appears to be serious, he prefaces it with that "people who don't get recognition for doing good deeds" iirc

shakey

shakey

it's just such a weird thing to say - it goes beyond "lol weed! we all love weed right?" (which would not be an unusual sentiment for a performer to express from the stage) to this awkward "drug dealers are people too!"/civic minded thing. it's always stuck out to me as odd.

paul simon has what some might call a dry wit, Shakey.

^

I couldn't even imagine Rhymin' Simon being all like "HELLLO Manhattan! lol weed! We all love weed, right?"

a radio-button poll might be a good indicator

if not, it'll just be a party of two poll again, Doc <3

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, March 20, 2012 12:52 PM Bookmark

hahahah sad but true

There was this one I guess Billy Joel: The Complete Hits Collection, disc 1

very surprised by the extent of preference for the solo paul simon vs. S&G from some of the most ardent posters itt. have always loved both, though my preference does tilt towards the latter due to childhood indoctrination. is this an age-related thing? do you have to be over 40 to have strong feelings abt S&G?

well, some dude put lots of S&G on his ballot.

paul simon has what some might call a dry wit, Shakey.

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, March 20, 2012 12:56 PM (43 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes for example how he's all seriousface in the "you can call me al" video

under 40 here

I couldn't even imagine Rhymin' Simon being all like "HELLLO Manhattan! lol weed! We all love weed, right?"

okay irl lol

I admit my confusion may have been compounded as a child by asking my (very straightedge) parents what it meant and them giving me a very literal, face-value interpretation.

xp

i think that video was my first encounter with paul simon and i was enchanted. i thought he was the funniest ever.

xxp

aww Shakey
that's pretty cute

i would probably participate in a joel poll, but i don't know that he's got more than 5 songs i'd be super excited to vote for, if that

I mean, I own every Simon album except the One Trick Pony soundtrack and YTO but have zero curiosity about the S&G catalog.

btw I'm surprised by the popularity of that Central Park record. Was it a big deal growing up? I know PBS played that thing for the next twenty years.

the thing is that solo paul simon is better than simon & garfunkel.

fiddlesticks

To me, "Born at the Right Time" is about having a conscience bringing a baby into the world ("The planet groans/Every time it registers another birth") balanced out by the actual beauty and miracle of an actual baby. There's never a right time to add another person to an overpopulated world, and never a wrong time, either. Plus, that great chorus and those descriptions like "I see them in the airport lounges upon their mother's breast/They follow me with open eyes, their uninvited guest"). Favorite version is the 1991Live in Central Park jam.

"Rene and Georgette" (big fan, but not on my ballot) works kinda like Randy Newman's "In Germany Before The War" (or Van Sant's Elephant as far as making tiny details resonate in the context of unspoken big historic events.

H&B the song will make the top 20 (not my #1), and I was surprised at "Train" placing low because to me that's the clear No. 2 on that album (but Rene trumped!).

my S&G bias is about being a casual fan more than anything else. i didn't know much beyond "Mrs. Robinson" and "You Can Call Me Al" until around college age probably and don't a ton beyond best-of stuff even know.

To me, "Born at the Right Time" is about having a conscience bringing a baby into the world ("The planet groans/Every time it registers another birth") balanced out by the actual beauty and miracle of an actual baby. There's never a right time to add another person to an overpopulated world, and never a wrong time, either. Plus, that great chorus and those descriptions like "I see them in the airport lounges upon their mother's breast/They follow me with open eyes, their uninvited guest").

otm otm otm

paul simon writes all the best songs about kids

^^^ yes

On another note I'm listening to the latest album again and am struck by how wondrous and surprising his guitar playing continues to be.

yeah so beautiful or so what is a gem. i perfunctorily threw a couple songs on my ballot low down but all of it sounds great to me.

S&G is 25% of my ballot. Not by design -- I don't make much differentiation in my mind between S&G and solo Simon.

I voted my ringtone #1 in this poll. I think it will place, haha.

I voted for 3 S&G songs, but this poll would be more informative to me if there were fewer S&G songs placing, b/c those are songs that everybody knows & it doesn't seem there's lots more to be said about them, & anyway they're music for squares which kept me for years from listening to solo Simon too, & I've gotten over those dumb feelings now but I dunno, "Feeling Groovy" still makes me feel lame.

Yeah S&G were about 25% of my ballot

The S&G hate here is making me wish I didn't vote. Some serious bullshit being slung all over the place.

omg i am kind of kidding! i don't know the s&g catalog very well; it is not as appealing to me as paul simon's solo catalog (almost nothing is); some s&g songs are wack.

LOTSA HARMONIES UP IN THIS THING, HUH GUYS? *grin*

I wouldn't take it too hard.

horseshoe's just kicking dirt <3

VG i very much appreciate your take on "Scarborough Fair" btw

aw yay! thanks!

Hey! S&G hate needs to be balanced against the doe-eyed love that's causing them to pack these results.

is the S&G hate just garfunk hate?! we should poll art after paul. dude has got some jams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb4acvJpktc

"Rene and Georgette" (big fan, but not on my ballot) works kinda like Randy Newman's "In Germany Before The War" (or Van Sant's Elephant as far as making tiny details resonate in the context of unspoken big historic events.

that makes sense, but i've always taken the title as a red herring. the song seems to have nothing directly to do with the artist, his wife or the war. in my mind, it's about a network of things: the mid-20th century immigrant experience in new york, city life itself, the beauty of ordinary things when you are young and they are new - and also age, nostalgia, remembrance, the way a past hidden away inside you can suddenly swell out unexpectedly to carry you away. to some extent, i think of it as paul simon's saccharine-free take on "when i'm 64": a sentimental but understated song about the shared things that sustain us as we age.

i like to think it's about a different rene and georgette magritte. people who happen to share only a name with that famous couple. and who have a dog named "after the war".