- Jonah (Paul Simon) is a once-popular folk-rock musician trying to put together a new album in the face of an indifferent record-company executive and a talentless producer. At the same time, he's struggling to save his failing marriage.
- Musician Jonah Levin (Paul Simon) and his band open for a New Wave band, the B-52's, at the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio. Afterward, Jonah goes home with an Agora waitress named Modeena Dandridge (Mare Winningham). As they talk, Jonah says he and his wife have recently separated, and he has a son named Matty. Jonah learns that Modeena makes less money waitressing than at her former job, but it is worth it to hear Rock 'n' Roll music. While sharing a bath, Modeena remembers how she sang "Me And Bobby McGee" when she told her mother that she wanted to be a singer, then performs a couple of verses for Jonah. In the morning, Jonah returns to his hotel and calls his soon-to-be former wife, Marion (Blair Brown), and they discuss the need to sign legal papers.
Later, Jonah's band reads a lukewarm concert review in the newspaper on their way to their next engagement. Due to some canceled performances, Jonah returns home early to New York City and pays an unexpected visit to Marion at his former apartment. There, she tells him that Matty wants to be a singer and play in a band. She thinks Jonah should persuade Matty to find another career because music is risky, and success has eluded Jonah. Knowing that Jonah has wanted to be Elvis Presley since he was a boy, and realizing that he has not achieved that goal, Marion advises him it would be wise to give up his dream for a real, adult job. Jonah accuses Marion of parroting the opinions of their therapist, Dr. Engelhart, but Marion denies it, confessing that the older a person gets, the more pathetic a Rock 'n' Roll life seems. Jonah decides to leave, but first accuses her of becoming a bore. He quickly apologizes, and suggests that he could drive a taxicab or give guitar lessons, but he would be unhappy because he considers himself a professional musician. Marion reveals that her real resentment is about Jonah's behavior when he is home. She claims that he is not emotionally present; his attention is focused on his work.
A few days later at Central Park, Jonah and Matty (Michael Pearlman) reunite for batting practice. Afterward, father and son ride the subway, each reading sections of the newspaper. Later, Jonah and Marion meet with their lawyers to sign divorce papers.
Back at his apartment, Jonah gets a message from his manager, Bernie Wepner (Harry Shearer), that music company executive Walter Fox (Rip Torn) wants to hear new material. At the meeting, Jonah plays acoustic guitar when Lonnie (Joan Hackett), Walter's wife, interrupts the meeting, and Walter takes a phone call. When Jonah plays a second song, a ballad, radio personality Cal Van Damp (Allen Goorwitz) says the song has no "hook" or repetitive phrases, so it will die on Top Forty radio. Jonah rationalizes that the men cannot get the full effect of his music without his band backing him.
On the road, Jonah's band passes time playing a betting game, naming rockers that have either overdosed or died in plane crashes. When they arrive at their club, they learn it has shut down. Jonah speaks to the club owner's wife, and finds that her husband cleaned out their bank account, and left town. The band is disgruntled over the canceled shows, complaining that they cannot pay their bills.
Back home in New York, Jonah stays with Marion and they make love. Afterward, they fight about the reasons for their broken marriage. Matty hears his parents arguing and wakes up. Jonah tucks Matty in bed, but his son knows that Jonah will be gone in the morning.
At home in his basement apartment, Jonah's life is routine. He does the laundry at the laundromat and takes out the garbage. Later, Bernie gets Jonah a job, playing solo at a "Salute to the Sixties" industry event in Chicago, Illinois, for a salary of $2,500. The bill includes Sam and Dave, The Lovin' Spoonful, and Tiny Tim, as Walter and Lonnie Fox listen in the audience. At the reception afterward, Jonah insults Cal Van Damp. Soon, Walter orders Lonnie to escort Jonah from the party before he offends anyone else, and she takes Jonah to a hotel room for some romance.
Back in New York, Jonah spends the day with Matty, playing air hockey, and making a recording together in a cheap sound booth.
At Jonah's apartment, father and son shave. Matty uses a toy razor.
At another meeting with Walter, Jonah agrees to work with Walter's producer, Steve Kanelian (Lou Reed), to make a record. However, Jonah insists on using his band instead of Steve's rhythm section. Later, Jonah accuses Lonnie of coercing her husband to get him a record deal. Lonnie tells Jonah to swallow his pride and accept help from a friend.
In the recording studio, Jonah reluctantly agrees to Steve's suggestions: adding orchestra strings, backup singers, and a horn player to the tracks. While Walter and Steve love the new sound and think it will sell, Jonah rejects the changes, and the album is canceled.
In the final scene, after being comforted by Marion, Jonah steals the master soundtrack from the recording studio and destroys it.
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