Paul Simon: The Life [Deckle Edge]

I WRITE TO YOU AS AN ARTIST COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO THE APARTHEID SYSTEM IN SOUTH AFRICA. LIKE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OF CONSCIENCE IN THAT COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE STRUGGLE TO END THE SYSTEM, I AM WORKING IN MY FIELD TOWARD ACHIEVING THIS GOAL.

I WENT AS A MUSICIAN, AND I INTERACTED WITH OTHER MUSICIANS. IT'S TRUE THERE IS ANOTHER LEVEL TO THIS STORY, BUT THIS IS A BEGINNING, A SINCERE BEGINNING. I TRIED TO INTRODUCE THIS MUSIC TO PEOPLE WHO NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE. SINCERITY DOESN'T SEEM TO BE HELD IN HIGH REGARD. I'M HERE. I'M LISTENING. I RESPOND THE BEST I CAN. AT LEAST I'M INTO DIALOGUE. I HAVE ALWAYS INTENDED THAT THIS MUSIC BE USED TO SERVE THE AFRICAN PEOPLE.

OPPOSED THOUGH I AM TO UNIVERSALIST HUMANISM, THIS IS A PRETTY DAMN UNIVERSAL RECORD. WITHIN THE DEMOCRATIC BOUNDS OF POP ACCESSIBILITY, ITS BICULTURALISM IS STRIKING, ENGAGING, UNPRECEDENTED--SPRIGHTLY YET SPUNKY, FRESH YET FRIENDLY, SO STRANGE, SO SWEET, SO WILLFUL, SO RADICALLY INCONGRUOUS AND PLAINLY BEAUTIFUL.

I THINK THE PSYCHE COMES UP WITH ALL KINDS OF CONTRIVANCES TO PROTECT WHAT IT THINKS IS VULNERABLE. AND SOMETIMES THOSE CONTRIVANCES ARE THAT YOU STAY IN A STATE OF UNHAPPINESS. OR VICTIMIZATION.

PAUL IS AN INTELLECTUAL OMNIVORE. HE IS INTERESTED IN OR IS CAPABLE OF BEING INTERESTED IN ALMOST ANYTHING. HE IS ALWAYS UP FOR A SERIOUS CONVERSATION AND ALWAYS EAGER TO LEARN ABOUT ALMOST ANYTHING.

HAS TURNED OUT NOT TO BE A CARPETBAGGER, BUT A CONNOISSEUR, AND, AT BEST. AN ALCHEMIST.

HE HAS EARNED PLENTY OF GRAVITAS OVER THE YEARS, BUT HE SEEMS TOO RESTLESS TO SPEND IT, EMBARKING INSTEAD ON A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS IN RHYTHM AND TEXTURE, AND HONING IN HIS LYRICS A SHRUGGING ACCEPTANCE OF AN IMPERFECT WORLD

HE HAS MANAGED TO BECOME NEITHER A WIZENED ORACLE NOR AN OLDIES ACT, AND HIS BEST SONGS CONVEY THE APPEALING SENSATION OF LISTENING TO A GUY WHO IS STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HE'S DOING.

LYRICS ARE PART OF HIS DNA. HE CAN'T HELP HIMSELF. THE ZEITGEIST FLOWS THROUGH HIM IN A WAY THAT IT DOESN'T WITH OTHER PEOPLE, WHICH IS WHY SO MANY OF HIS LYRICS HAVE PENETRATED SO DEEPLY AND STAYED SO LONG.

PAUSING BRIEFLY, SIMON, WHO TOLD AN INTERVIEWER IN THE 1980S THAT HE FOUND IT HARD TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE GOOD TIMES IN HIS LIFE, SHOWED NO RELUCTANCE ADDING, "I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY LIFE.

I’m just an artist because that’s my personality trait, a characteristic of how my brain works. I can’t figure out a lot of things; I’m not a computer scientist. This is who I am. This is what I do. I make up songs, and I try to make them as interesting as possible. Stand back and just let me get on with it.