"THE BOXER" SIMON & GARFUNKEL (1970)

For the month of November, I’ll be selecting songs in conjunction with the music Twitter challenge: #WelcomeToTheOccupation.

Bridge Over Troubled Water is the final studio album from Simon & Garfunkel, an album so good it prompts the listener to greedily beg for more. Simon carried the songwriting duties, but the harmonies are just as much a part of those songs as the melodies. The album spawned iconic songs that have made an indelible impact on the musical landscape: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” which features Art Garfunkel on lead vocals, “Cecilia” which has a persona driven mostly by its memorable percussion elements, and then there’s my favorite of the bunch: “The Boxer”.

The song is autobiographical, a rare treat inside the mind of the songwriter. The theme of being misunderstood and only remembered for what people want to remember are prevalent in the song. “The Boxer” is a masterpiece from a lyrical perspective. It bends words like poetry (“Such are promises. All lies and jest. Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”). It paints images like prose (“Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job. But I get no offers. Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.”). And it goes beyond coherent words using syllables as expressions with the iconic refrain “Lie-la-lie”. There are simply few songwriters as gifted as Paul Simon.

“Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job. But I get no offers. Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.”

"THE BOXER" SIMON & GARFUNKEL (1970)

The decade in which I was born has given me a strange perspective on its music. I discovered pretty much all of the 70’s sounds – from prog rock to punk to disco – well after they came into the world. It wasn’t until the late 80’s that I discovered what I was missing. I would characterize the decade as one where budding genres leaped off their inspiration pads and came to fruition. For the month of February, Mental Jukebox will feature some of these gems with a different 70’s song each day. #28DaysOf70sSongs

Bridge Over Troubled Water is the final studio album from Simon & Garfunkel, an album so good it prompts the listener to greedily beg for more. Simon carried the songwriting duties, but the harmonies are just as much a part of those songs as the melodies. The album spawned iconic songs that have made an indelible impact on the musical landscape: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” which features Art Garfunkel on lead vocals, “Cecilia” which has a persona driven mostly by its memorable percussion elements, and then there’s my favorite of the bunch: “The Boxer”.

The song is autobiographical, a rare treat inside the mind of the songwriter. The theme of being misunderstood and only remembered for what people want to remember are prevalent in the song. “The Boxer” is a masterpiece from a lyrical perspective. It bends words like poetry (“Such are promises. All lies and jest. Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”). It paints images like prose (“Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job. But I get no offers. Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.”). And it goes beyond coherent words using syllables as expressions with the iconic refrain “Lie-la-lie”. There are simply few songwriters as gifted as Paul Simon.

“Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job. But I get no offers. Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.”

"PUNKY'S DILEMMA" SIMON & GARFUNKEL (1967)

For the month of January, I’m selecting some of the most memorable and influential songs of the 60’s. While they all hail from the same decade, these are some of my favorite songs of any era. They remind me that the 60’s were so much more than just Woodstock and psychedelic rock. It was a flourishing period for blues, folk, progressive and straight-ahead rock. #31DaysOf60sSongs

Simon & Garfunkel’s big breakthrough may be The Graduate soundtrack. But the album that will always have the greatest meaning to me is Bookends. Not only was it my first Simon & Garfunkel recording, it was also my first real exposure to folk rock, a genre that I would enjoy immensely over the years through a number of different acts, everyone from Indigo Girls to the Barr Brothers. Bookends contains several key anthems from the duo’s catalog, including “Mrs. Robinson”, “America” and under-the-radar tracks like “Hazy Shade of Winter” made popular by The Bangles. The album had weighty moments and light moments, and “Punky’s Dilemma” was a prime example of the latter.

Light, airy and almost breezy. That’s how “Punky’s Dilemma” feels. Lyrics like “I wish I was a Kellogg’s Cornflake”, the intermittent whistling and Simon’s upbeat acoustic guitar strum give the song a buoyancy. But upon closer inspection, the song’s lyrics are far from light. The dilemma was whether or not to go along with the military draft at the height of the Vietnam War. Punky was deciding if it was worth going through with it or dodging the draft. By giving the song a lighthearted feel, Simon & Garfunkel did an ingenious thing, making the song less about the issue and more about the character.

“If I become a first lieutenant would you put my photo on your piano?”

"APRIL COME SHE WILL" SIMON & GARFUNKEL (1968)

Exceptional soundtracks can make good movies great. They can also take on a life of their own, becoming a greater highlight than their respective films. In this series, I’m selecting some of my favorite soundtrack songs. While quite a few are well-known recordings, I’m also including a few that have flown under the radar over the years.

Some of the greatest movie soundtracks are the soundscapes behind coming-of-age films. And few can exceed the epic songwriting in one of the greatest in that film category, The Graduate. Surrounded by songwriting gems like “The Sounds of Silence”, “Mrs. Robinson” and “Scarborough Fair”, it seems like “April Come She Will” flies a bit under the radar, even though it’s just as good a track as any on the album.

Written poetically, performed delicately and produced ordinarily, “April Come She Will” is the kind of ember-burning, storm-brewing song that seems only at home when played with an acoustic guitar. It’s about far more than just a fling, it’s a pause to recognize the beauty and frailty in the temporal. Like a brighter, lighter shade of Nick Drake.

“April, come she will when streams are ripe and swelled with rain. May, she will stay, resting in my arms again.”

"OLD FRIENDS - LIVE AT CENTRAL PARK" SIMON & GARFUNKEL (1981)

In my series “Long Live Live”, I’m highlighting some of the most revered live recordings of all time. You’ll see my musical biases, but there’s no doubt that each of these tracks played a pivotal role in shaping music history. I started Mental Jukebox last year because I needed another music listening outlet when there were no more live shows to go to. These songs remind me that nothing will ever replace the blend of atmosphere and performance captured in the live experience.

On September 19, 1981, Simon & Garfunkel played a benefit concert at the Great Lawn. The first song in the encore was “Old Friends”. There was nothing except Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel’s vocals and Simon’s acoustic guitar. With no other instrumentation and nowhere to hide, that summer evening performance in Central Park showcased just how good their voices were and how simple and honest their songwriting was.

“The sounds of the city sifting through trees settle like dust on the shoulders of the old friends.”

"A HAZY SHADE OF WINTER" SIMON & GARFUNKEL (1968)

A little less folksy. A little less tempered. A little more gutsy. A little more attitude. When I first heard Bookends, “A Hazy Shade of Winter” was the song that reinvigorated my mood and warmed me up faster to the broader Simon & Garfunkel catalog. There’s a reason why The Bangles chose to cover it, as opposed to “Punky’s Dilemma” or “Old Friends”. “A Hazy Shade of Winter” showed a rock & roll side to the duo as they rode on a wave of popularity with The Graduate soundtrack.

“Hang on to your hopes, my friend. That's an easy thing to say. But if your hopes should pass away, simply pretend that you can build them again.”