In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon

Let me begin by confessing that Simon was a source of tremendous comfort during my adolescence, my primary guitar teacher, me being a self taught guitarist, and the single most direct influence on my own musical creations. I can do a few things on the guitar because of learning by ear (no tabs, no internet) that few guitarists can do. And the backdrop to all of this was what I believed to be a strongly human ethic as evidenced in at least a few of his songs. Alas, the fire disappeared over the years. No one writes anything like the protest songs of old. Remember that Scarborough Fair had an antiwar counter melody? I will refrain from reciting the obvious reasons for this. However, there is still a weird thing that is bugging me. The transformation of Sounds of Silence from a folky niche piece to a gigantic hit is covered in this documentary, and it is covered wrong. Simon did not know they were doing it, he sure as heck did not give anyone permission, and the entire coverage discounts the massive luck or divine destiny which he was blessed with. There are also bizarre issues regarding Simon's recognition of the inspiration for the Seven Psalms, but, hey, we all get old. Why am I being so hard on Paul?

To whom much is given, much is expected.