Is this why Los Lobos disappeared? Because they complained when Paul Simon stole music from them?

Ouch! That is really sad. I liked their version of La Bamba.

A Jew stealing from a minority culture and profiting from it? Say it ain't so.

Ugh, that snarky Stereogum “reporting”.

Jews are very dirty.

During his Graceland tour he did a show in Toronto and I was working the backstage. He was a prick. Actually had bodyguards flank him and push people out of the way as he walked.

I worked somewhere he was giving a talk and performance, and all i know is he has extreme anxiety and had to take 2 Ativan before he could go out in front of the audience. He was *very* subdued.

There is nothing in the article about Simon making Los Lobos disappear. He stole a song from them and didn’t give credit. I think they’re one of those bands that had a big hit with a general audience and never replicated it, but they still have a smaller loyal following.

The Peruvians still claim to this day he stole the song “El Condor Pasa” from them. They’re still pissed.

I’ve been saying for years that he was a cunt.

To give LL credit, Simon has done absolutely nothing else in the 30 years since Graceland. A genius songwriter would likely have written a song or two in that time.

Not so long ago I read a book on the folk-rock bands of the 60s. Simon and Garfunkel had recorded an acoustic version of Sounds of Silence which did nothing and they went their separate ways, with Simon going to England/Europe. A few months later the engineer took the track and got some session musicians to add the jangly electric guitar, drums etc, and the record company re-released it and it shot up the charts. They located Paul Simon and said 'get back here, you've got a hit record'. So, he and Garfunkel go on Bandstand or some show to perform it and Simon goes up to the guitar player beforehand and says 'I need to show you how to play this guitar part'. The guy tells him 'No, it's fine, I know how to do it'. 'No' Simon insists, 'I have to show you how I played it on the single'. 'It's OK Paul' replied the guitarist, 'I'm the guy who played it on the record'.

Why don't they sue or is there a statue of limitations?

I want more Paul Simon is a dick stories, please.

Los Lobos likely can't afford a court case. Simon definitely can.

R7 Simon probably didn't ruin Los Lobos, but I was wondering if the mere fact that he was questioned about stealing a song might have further hurt their career.

R12 Because Paul Simon is million times more famous, he's bigger, stronger and much, much, much more wealthy.

R13 I want a "Paul Simon is a dick" media scandal, kind of like Cosby.

R14 You nailed it.

R5 I believe it. Little Paulie has crafted a very nice image for himself, hasn't he?

R11 And I bet that guitarist pointing out Paul's mistake made Paul very, very angry, instead of being embarrassed that he didn't even remember the guy.

The thing is R18 Paul Simon didn't even know who had played it on the electrified version, that's why he made a fool of himself in front of the band at the TV show taping because he'd had nothing to do with it but was acting like he had. It had all been done without his knowledge by the engineer, who wondered how it would sound with guitar and drums months after it was first recorded and so took it on himself to get the musicians in. So Simon was trying to pretend that he'd devised and recorded the guitar part to the guy who had actually done it. Going by the story in the book, the rest of the band were laughing at him because they all knew that the guy he was trying to give a tutorial to had been the originator, not Paul Simon..

I listened to Paul Simon on Alec Baldwin's podcast. He's really self-important and humorless. Just altogether unpleasant.

That said, I do think this is one of the most exquisite, beautiful/sad songs I ever heard.

(Only this live version. The studio version is an overproduced mess- which makes me believe the above Sounds of Silence story)

R19 Oh, okay, I see what you're saying. Sorry for the misunderstanding. So lil Paul has been stealing credit from people for years and years and getting away with it.

Scum rises faster than cream, doesn't it?

Okay Simon! Brace yourself! I posted this question along with a link to the article on Quora! How does that taste? You are over with my little sticky-fingered little friend!

Seriously, though? This all should be common knowledge. It really should be.

"And I dreamed I was lyin'....."

What other songs did he steal or plagiarize?

R20 Yep, Paul Simon sounds like the perfect friend for someone like Alec Baldwin.

Art's "Still writing, Paul?" quip seems even more cunty now after reading this.

Simon and Garfunkel were truly great, in my opinion, but everything Paul Simon has done solo is crap. That thin, reedy voice and the self-regard that shines through whatever that shrimp does, ugh. For some reason, hearing him talk about this stupid song on some talk show is what made me hate him. He took the title from a photograph he saw of the couple, and it's such a long and pointless title for a song that I thought, "This man is completely self-indulgent."

R25 According to May Pang Lennon and Simon were at each other's throats during their collaboration. At one point Simon reportedly said, "He may be John Lennon but I'm Paul Simon." (Not an unreasonable assertion.) And I guess Lennon complained that Garfunkel was "star gazing" him the entire time.

I just read Simon's authorized biography and even though the writer is trying to paint him in a kind light, he comes across as cold and arrogant. Talent can't be denied - so many of his early songs have stood the test of time.

"Kiko and the Lavender Moon" is my favourite Los Lobos song, just beautiful.

R28 Many people have described Paul Simon as cold and arrogant.

And, yeah, that is a beautiful song. Los Lobos were a very talented band.

Paul Simon's smug cuntery knows no bounds. This story makes me furious as I am a big Los Lobos fan. They are still plugging away!

No, it doesn't R30

"Many, many years ago I walked into Manny's Music in Manhattan just after they'd opened for business in the morning. I was looking for a new 12 string guitar and there was Simon playing the exact instrument I was considering. I thought it no big deal at the time (I'd not realized I was in the presence of deity) and asked him what he thought of that particular instrument. He turned toward me and his look was one of outrage and incredulity. I was much younger then and said something like "Oh excuse me. I forgot to genuflect." Maybe he was working on a song in his head or something, and I'd spoiled his concentration, but his reaction seemed rather harsh."

"His manager called out some girl claiming she took a picture when the girl did not even know it was Paul Simon who came up to her group that she was taking pics of. The girl tried to show Simon and that manager her camera and she was dismissed after the nasty accusation. The girl did not even go to Simon‘s concert and could care less about getting a photo. There is an inflated self-worth of both Mr Simon and his manager that registers as misogyny given that there was ZERO APOLOGY. I‘m sure Carrie Fisher was mistreated in her marriage if Mr Simon does not have the balls to stand up for women who are falsely accused of taking photos of somebody who does not even look like Paul Simon. He has no voice. Art Garfunkel is AMAZING though!"

This article also includes the Los Lobos story.

"If you believe what you read, Paul Simon hasn't always been a nice guy. Glenn Berger, an engineer and producer at A&R Recording Studios, writes in his book "Never Say No To A Rock Star" that the singer is a "pr*ck" who "didn’t seem to care much about other human beings."

Berger recalls one instance when Simon was recording his solo music after the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel. The iconic singer allegedly told the producer "I used to have a partner named Art Garfunkel, and this would mean so much to me if I could just show . . . that it was, it was all me!"

Los Lobos had their biggest commercial success after they worked with Paul Simon, so your bizarre theory fails OP.

They also toured a lot through the late 80s and 90s. They opened for U2 on I think The Joshua Tree Tour, which was about as big a gig as you could get at the time.

"Another memory Berger has of the Simon was a run in he had with Karen Carpenter. After getting an early listen to Carpenter's disco album, her first solo work without her brother Richard, Simon called it "awful" "in a voice that combined derision, snobbishness, concern, and alarm.

While Berger admits Simon was right, he feels "his insensitivity was stunning" considering Carpenter was clearly suffering from anorexia. She didn't release the album and died "within a few short years."

R33 I didn't mean to condescend to Los Lobos, I'm sorry if it came out that way. I was truly shocked that Simon would stoop so low as to screw over an act that did not have the clout that Simon had and has.

I'm really glad Los Lobos are still going strong. They are a great band. What a terrible experience they had.

His best friend is Lorne Michaels. And that says everything. Thanks for the Los Lobos links. I'm enjoying everything and will buy some.

Oh, forgot to add, Paul Simon's long been known to be a dick. There was also that bizarre dual arrest with Edie Brickell a few years ago.

[quote] Carpenter's disco album, her first solo work without her brother Richard, Simon called it "awful" "in a voice that combined derision, snobbishness, concern, and alarm.

R34, that's very disturbing, since Karen was depressed about this for years, and even discussed it with Phil Ramone the night before she died. There were some very good songs on the album.

Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War. Odd song released 35 years ago. Revived for the last tour.

R37 Carrie Fisher said something along the lines of what Paul Simon wants in a woman is for her to be an "intellectual geisha". He likes smart women but he wants them at home and to be subservient.

When I heard that the old and rickety Paul Simon attempted to beat up his wife who is 20 years his junior I did a Google search and, sure enough, Brickell was planning to perform again.

Yes, R36, that definitely says something about Simon. Paul Simon is also good pals with Chevy Chase.

R28 Love that song (and video).

R36/R41 I don't think Lorne Michaels is as bad as Simon or at least Michaels has mellowed a lot with age unlike Simon.

I think it has to do with having to work closely with comedians who for a long time now have been much younger than him.

Well, let's all try and take some comfort that he looks like a half dead piece of mangled road kill now.

“The Dangling Conversation” is so awful and pretentious. I usually see it referred to derisively, I’m surprised someone loves it and thinks it’s sad.

Sounds Of Silence is a pretty great album, but Simon’s lyrics can often be so precious that I often wonder if they’re supposed to be funny, like self parody or something. I take it they’re not.

Love it R44!

And lets take comfort in the fact that those hair-plugs never quite worked out for him. The little hair he has is probably a toupee.

My god Simon sounds like a dying banshee at R31's link.

You can find articles about Simon receiving some kind of an award and the audience of other musicians only clapping politely. He's known in the business for hogging credit and out and out ripping off from little known artists who don't have his deep pockets for lawyers.

[quote]According to May Pang Lennon

Who?

I cannot fathom how this humorless prickhead held our beloved Carrie's attention long enough to suck her into a marriage. It boggles my mind.

[quote]Simon and Garfunkel were truly great, in my opinion, but everything Paul Simon has done solo is crap.

I feel the opposite - I think the S&G stuff ranges from good to ridiculous, but his best work has been solo. I think his first solo album is the best thing he's ever done.

Years ago, Spy magazine had an article about how badly he treated everyone connected with Graceland, stealing credit left and right.

I can see him, Lorne, Robby, and Martin all hanging out together being pretentious.

[quote] "Why don't they sue or is there a statue of limitations?" —Anonymous"

Yes, R12, there is.

R50, he was probably able to fool her long enough to get her down the aisle. But their marriage only lasted a few months. They got back together but she was zonked out on drugs a lot of that time.

R49 May Pang Lennon, that sounds terrible. Yes, commas are our friends my friend.

Agree R47. Simon obviously needed Garfunkel or else he would've just found someone else to harmonize with given how much those two fight with each other.

Garfunkel said he "created a monster" in Paul.

R50 and R54 I honestly think that the reason that he liked her so much was because she was a little shorter than him on top being so pretty. Wonder if there would've been a "Paul & Carrie" if Fisher was 5'7.

R51 Have you really listened to their early stuff? Some of it was good but so much of it was bad, bad, bad - "Richard Corey", "Got a Groovy Thing Goin'". "Leaves That Are Green"??? Simon often sounded like your average early 20-something who is pretentious and who thinks he has all this wisdom to share. Not like a "genius".

R48 So it is common knowledge in the industry. I'm glad to hear that.

Maybe that's why Simon tends to keep to himself and why you don't really hear about too many collaborations between him and other artists. I think a couple of people have worked with him, but not many.

His reputation for being a mean, vindictive little shit goes back for decades. No surprises here.

R38 If I understood that article correctly it sounds like he said it right in front of the poor girl.

He sounds like the type who just lies in wait to go attack the jugular vein of those who he feels is "competing" with him. (He is probably especially harsh if that "competition" come equipped with ovaries. Poor Karen.)

R51 I'm glad someone reported on it but I wish it was considered a bigger deal.

R52 I can see that too.

R60 I had heard rumblings but I didn't know just how bad he was. Yes, 'Graceland' did suck. But he utilized the African angle to his advantage. (No wonder there were people who found that album offensive and exploitive.)

Cruel to Karen Carpenter, sucks up to John Lennon. He knew who he could walk on and who he had better not walk on.

The mother of a friend of mine briefly lived in a collective or possibly a sort of open, communal apartment house, with Paul Simon as one of her fellow renters back in the 60s before he became famous. She had a notebook that he absent-mindedly doodled in one day, with lyrics, I think just a few words, of what ended up being "Sounds of Silence."

She later ran into him and mentioned the notebook, and how proud she was of him, and he apparently immediately threatened to sue her for possession of the notebook. Nothing came of it, but she was just floored.

I've always wondered if he had been a dick beforehand, or if it wasn't until he hit it big that he turned into a complete asshole.

R8 The music from El Cóndor Pasa was written by the Peruvian composer, Daniel Alomía Robles, based on Andean folk songs. The lyrics to the Simon & Garfunkel song were written by Paul Simon. The beautiful music however, is all Mr. Alomía Robles.

[quote] Simon goes up to the guitar player beforehand and says 'I need to show you how to play this guitar part'. The guy tells him 'No, it's fine, I know how to do it'. 'No' Simon insists, 'I have to show you how I played it on the single'. 'It's OK Paul' replied the guitarist, 'I'm the guy who played it on the record'.

Why would Simon go up to a guitar player to show him how to play his song on the guitar? First, Paul Simon always had a guitar when they appeared on shows like Bandstand. It was right there in his hands in every performance.

Second, Bandstand was lip synch’d

[quote]Yes, commas are our friends my friend.

Is this considered irony?

R49 and R67 You are comma-sensitive. I will try to respect that.

Thank you, my friend.

R47 Maybe the Banshee is finally coming for him. (Since he stole her sound, he should be scared.)

No need to be sarcastic R64.

R65 You just confirmed why lil Paul tends to stay to himself. Nobody wants anything to do with him.

Everybody in that SNL crowd was drugged out for years, even the stagehands. SNL cast, crew and musical guest stars filled AA meetings on the Upper West Side throughout the 70s & early 80s. That’s where Al Franken got his Stuart Smalley character - from the AA group.

My husband tried to start a practice in Manhattan and the first client was someone on the crew at SNL who was a periodic heroin addict. (My sister in law referred this character). The guy was married with small children, nodding out at home. The next thing my husband knows, his practice was all these SNL people, all on drugs. He closed up his city practive and continues his suburban practice to this day. He doesn’t work with addicts of any kind. As far as he’s concerned, people who are addicted should see people who are certified addiction counselors.

R73 Stop trying to change the subject...PAUL!!!

Not changing the subject, Carrie Fisher was part of that crowd.

R25 THE cuntiest Paul Simon quip I ever heard was when they reunited on SNL in 1975. Paul had done a few numbers already, and the audience was itching to see Garfunkel. Finally, Paul introduces him to wild applause. When the applause died down, Paul says to Art "So. Are you gonna do any more movies?".

Just a stunning bit of cuntiness.

Because R65 he was acting like he had originally played the guitar part on the electrified version when he hadn't and trying to tell the guy who had, how it should be done. And the reason I said 'Bandstand or some show' is because I remembered the story, not the name of the exact show. So it could have been any 60s show where the performers played live.

Graceland doesn't suck, it's a legit great album. Even though Paul was and still is a epic asshole for working in apartheid South Africa and for not giving proper writing credits.

My favorite of the early S &G years...

Sorry, that was meant for R66. I need Paul Simon to teach me how numbers work.

[quote]Yes, commas are our friends my friend.

Grammarian, heal thyself.

R78 is correct. Paul Simon is a cunt but he has produced some great music.

I hated this stupid song and video when it came out. Even as a kid, I thought these two looked like unfunny smug assholes. Stupid fucking white sneakers. Simon looks utterly constipated.

Worse, my friend and snotty boyfriend (now husband) used to sneer at my musical taste but thought these and other Paul Simon lyrics the very heighth of brilliance.

Rolling Stone calls the video “hilarious.” I always hated Rolling Stone, too.

My friend and HER boyfriend (now husband), I meant.

Hey, is PS wearing a toup in the video?

"the very heighth," r83?

R85 Yes, me droog.

I read “Scarborough Fair” was stolen from folk singer Martin Carthy. Paul Simon admitted to it later and had to give a substantial sum to his publisher.

Didn't Graceland glom onto Ladysmith Black Mambazo?

R81 I can't heal myself!, Help, me, help, me!, Place your, grammatically correct hands, upon me and heal, me,,,,,,,! I,m out of control!!

R83 Rolling Stone is a joke now.

Never could figure out what was supposed to be so "funny" about this video except that maybe we were programmed back then to find Chevy Chase funny.

It could be that Chase is one the few people in the "biz" who is willing to hang out with Simon. Simon sounds like a little monster.

R83 I think Paul's hair plugs were still holding up at this point. Did he think people would not notice that he had more hair in 40s than he did when he was 20?

Funnily enough, what he has now is a toupee.

R87 Yes, he had to admit that was an old British folk tune and not the work of Simon's "musical genius".

"My traaaaveling companion is niiiine years old, he is the product of my first marriage....."

What a wordsmith. What a lyrical genius. (Your kid's a "product" Paul?)

He stole the name of my beloved home and estate!!!!

I never found Chevy Chase funny. He seemed angry to me as a kid. They both did in that video.

R91 I don’t know, that hair looks off in the back at the bottom.

I do like Scarborough Fair.

[R90] I grew up with Rolling Stone magazine in the 1980's as an avid young music fan. I subscribed to it and purchased Billboard every week to follow the charts. RS was tremendously influential and stamped with a certain smug Baby Boomer sensibility - the same sort of thing purveyed by Lorne Michaels. They were obsessed with the Beatles, which I had little use for at the time, having been born in late 1965. As a huge Fleetwood Mac fan I'll never forget how superior and dismissive they were about the band - especially Stevie Nicks, who at the time was writing great song after song. They dismissed SN's contributions to the first FM album. They gave Rumours a mixed review. I believe they gave Bella Donna a 3 star review. Not that they didn't want FM and SN on their cover to sell their magazine. It wasn't until much, much later that they did their revisionist "FM is brilliant!", "SN is an icon!", "Tusk is a masterpiece!" schtick.

That taught me an important lesson about believing what the "tastemakers" tells us. Most of RS's opinions were garbage and far, far off the mark.

R11 That story cracks me up! It really shows the degree of Simon’s arrogance and blind spots, but - I hate to say this - it sounds apocryphal because of the fantasy revenge/humiliation element of the guitar player’s hilarious response. It sounds too good to be true.

Also, at least 2 of the session guitarists on SOS (Glen Campbell and Fred Carter) were known by Simon. He collaborated with Fred in studio and Glen was already a famous musician himself. That leaves John South - I’m guessing it would be him. What book was this anecdote in, if I may ask?

^^ Actually - my mistake! Vinnie Bell was the guitarist who performed the signature 12 string overdub, and he appeared on Hullabaloo with Simon where this incident, exactly as you described, occurred, R11. Found it in [italic]Jingle Jangle Morning: Folk Rock in the 1960’s.[/italic]

He's got little man syndrome.

Yes, I wondered as I was typing it out if it was really true but it rang true when I read the book. I don't recall though if the guitar player's name was even mentioned. IIRC, the beefing up of Sounds of Silence wasn't a big planned project, more a hunch/whim that the engineer tried out of interest, so the guitarist could have been some local muso hanging round the studio rather than a 'name', though he definitely was the same person who Simon later tried to 'teach' for the TV spot. Looking at my kindle, I'm pretty sure the book has to be 'Jingle-jangle Morning: Folk Rock in the 1960s' by Richie Unterberger. I'll try searching Paul Simon in it and if I can locate the smarty pants I'll post any additional info. BTW, I like a lot of his 60s/70s stuff but when I saw a 'Paul Simon's an asshole' thread I thought 'Hmm, I may have a contribution to make there'. I like Los Lobos as well.

Well sleuthed R98 and impeccable timing. While I was keyboard blathering you were out getting the info. So thanks for that and making me not think 'Did I dream that Paul Simon once tried to ...'

R101 Thanks! I should have dug a little deeper than Wiki before rssponding to your post. Anyhow, I love candid behind-the-scenes stories, so I might check out that book - it’s got some interesting material in it.

I really don't like learning this ugliness about Paul Simon but now that I know, I'm not surprised. He as a sort of prick personality.

It was a good book and really detailed - perhaps too much detail in places - but it's pretty much a comprehensive history of that whole music scene. It combined two print copies in one kindle edition IIRC - the first part was about the early 60s folk revival so the usual suspects of Baez, Paxton, Dylan, Ochs etc and then the 2nd book went electric, like Dylan and Sounds of Silence did, with the Byrds, Buffalo Springfield, the San Francisco scene etc. If you like music history tied in with some social history, Laurel Canyon by Michael Walker was a good read. Did you know Joni Mitchell once went up to a session musician and told him ....

^^ Thanks for leaving me hanging... now I’ll have to read “Laurel Canyon” also. ;-)

"My traaaaveling companion is niiiine years old, he is the product of my first marriage....."

Actually, it's "he is the child of my first marriage."

It's like Vivien Leigh as a home-wrecking cunt. Who cares? I'll never have to interact with him. I'll just enjoy his art. And "So Beautiful.... So What" is one of his best, so yeah, he's produced beautiful music all this time.

The other good thing about Jingle Jangle Morning is that it talks about the obscure people you've likely not heard of - or at least I hadn't - so it's handy to be able to search you tube or similar while you're reading as it makes you want to listen to the songs and artists that get a lot of praise but missed out, for a whole range of reasons, from gaining a wide audience. As for what Joni said to the session player, mate I couldn't believe it. I mean you hear all sort of stories about her, but I never thought she'd say something like THAT. :)

So - what DID Joni say? Racist comments about Muhamned Ali? how Bob Dylan was a plagiarist? Or that she was slowly turning into a Persian rug?

Joni’s full of surprises, so it’s got to be something pretty shocking. You are being a tease, r107

I'm just kidding about Joni R108. Being proven right about Paul Simon giving guitar lessons made me cocky. The Laurel Canyon book's not particularly gossipy. The only Joni story I recall, and it may not even have been in that book, was when Linda Ronstadt was living with John David Souther and had been out all night, in the studio I guess, and arrived home unexpectedly early in the morning to find Joni just leaving. And on datalounge, that's probably just your typical Sunday morning.

R106 Okay, I got the lyric wrong. But he will always be Roly-Poly Little Bat-Faced Simon to me.

No one finds this stuff amusing anymore Paul.

Oh, get these mutts away from me!

I hate myself for loving his Graceland album.

R96 Jann Wenner is a friend of LM and PS so it makes sense they were all praising each other.

R109 The most shocking thing Joni Mitchell has ever done, IMO, is saying that she “experienced being a black man” by darkening her skin and dressing like a pimp (at a few parties and on one of her album covers.)

Both Joni and Paul have a fetish for black culture, but at least Paul didn’t do Graceland in blackface.

OMG - all this time it was fuckin’ Paul Simon who killed Karen Carpenter! I blamed myself!!!

Fuck Paul Simon and his faux touchy, feely songs - give me Mike Patton in Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas or Tomahawk any day.

R116 Yes Hammy, it was Simon's go-for-the-throat mind games that pushed poor Karen just that much more over the edge. Simon did the crime but you did the time. You can rest easy and breathe in the winds of freedom now.

R117 Just be glad you're not the one who has to fuck him.

R113 I grew up admiring the nasty little twerp. How do you think I feel?

Cass Elliot despised him- and she liked pretty much anyone with talent, especially if they were cute.

Los Lobos is a strangely underrated band. They did a couple off-shoot albums as "The Latin Playboys" that were unbelievable. Totally worth checking out!

R121 Any specifics on why Cass Elliot hated lil Paulie? Other than the obvious reasons?

Cass Eliot was a nice person, that's why.

R96 Rolling Stone in the 70s used to give terrible reviews to several performers and bands that they now praise including Queen and Elton John.

R124 That would be a main difference between the two people. Guess Cass didn't feel Paul had a groovy thing goin' baby.

[quote]Rolling Stone in the 70s used to give terrible reviews to several performers and bands that they now praise including Queen and Elton John.

R125 Their epic fails are cringeworthy but at least they admit it.

The book, "Sticky Fingers," about publisher Jann Wenner and the rise and fall of the Rolling Stone is a sobering read...

No, it's because their music sucks ass.

I think Paul Simon wrote "A Most Peculiar Man" about himself. The song is kind of like Simon's "Nowhere Man".

"He had no friends, he seldom spoke And no one in turn ever spoke to him, 'Cause he wasn't friendly and he didn't care And he wasn't like them. Oh, no! he was a most peculiar man.

He died last Saturday. He turned on the gas and he went to sleep With the windows closed so he'd never wake up To his silent world and his tiny room; And Mrs. Riordan says he has a brother somewhere Who should be notified soon. And all the people said, 'What a shame that he's dead, But wasn't he a most peculiar man?'."

Paul Simon has a brother. I think Paul was suffering some 20-something angst and he seems to be acknowledging his own repugnant personality.

R122 Yes, Los Lobos are definitely underrated and underappreciated.

Short Man Syndrome? It must irk that Paul's ex music partner, on the surface crazier, is probably better at what he does than what Paul does. Some people just never got that one beating at a relatively young age that might have mad them think "I got to reel in the fuckshit". ..what a heinous man. And yes, if Cass Elliot who ,Stephen Stills referred to as a "Queen" "because queens get things done" didn't like you , it probably did mean that you were an out and out overt arsehole. But how can he be so angry for so long? Some people are just incapable of sitting back and smelling the roses.

Not being an aficionado , but not being deaf to zeitgeist, I only know a couple Simon & Garfunkel tunes and that awful "you can call me Al" one. I'm a bit taken aback that I care so much that this man is awful.

R132 Part of me feels sorry for Paul Simon. How can you be so beloved and respected while having the luxury of living your life under the radar and not having to whore yourself to the public and still be famous and successful and be so nasty and miserable at the same time?

Being a 5'3 male cannot be easy. It just can't. Must've been scary for Paul and other guys who are that height-challenged to realize that this is as good as it's gonna get.

I'm taken aback by the fact that Simon's nasty antics are kept such a secret. I didn't expect him to be flawless but what I'm finding out about him...I just never would've guessed it. Sounded like he had a great career and happy personal life. Strange.

Bump. I'm hankering for more Paul Simon is a total fucking asshole stories. They make me feel warm inside.

Paul Simon should be sent to jail.

R20

I feel sad for you. Listening to Alec Baldwin and Paul Simon drone on about their own self importance for 10 minutes would be enough to cause an aneurysm.

After an hour, half the planet would have committed suicide until some brave soul hoisted both of them on a nuclear petard.