![]() "I knew I would be criticized if I went, even though I wasn't going to record for the government of Pretoria or to perform for segregated audiences," Simon told the New York Times in 1986. The first regarded his violation of the international boycott against South Africa regarding their vile apartheid policies - a picket line Simon crossed not because he sided with the oppressors, but because he believed nobody should stop him from collaborating with musicians he loved and respected. Why might some receive Simon's appearance with less fanfare than Mitchell's - aside from her challenges and attendant time off? I t's worth examining Simon's place in the contemporary music world - and his critical cachet within.ĭespite winning 16 GRAMMYs, being nominated for 35, receiving a lavish GRAMMY Salute tribute concert in 2022 and never making a bad album, a couple of narratives of questionable practices have followed him around - both of them regarding his 1986 masterpiece, Graceland. Simon's appearance went theoretically toe-to-toe in importance with Mitchell's - he ended his set with a spine-chilling, solo performance of "The Sound of Silence." Much like Mitchell's tune, he wrote it young - and it's developed majestic new dimensions across the decades. Īnd after everything, that the childhood polio survivor pulled through a 2015 brain aneurysm, retaught herself to play guitar, and stood at Newport Folk 2022 singing a few of those perfect songs with her adoring collaborators is something like proof of the existence of miracles.īut while any discussion of the surprises at Newport will naturally begin with Mitchell, it's tended to obfuscate another transformative moment from the weekend: Paul Simon stepping out of semi-retirement to sing "Graceland," "American Tune" and "The Boxer" with an assortment of famous friends, among them Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. Plus, she won nine GRAMMYs and was nominated for 17 - and was MusiCares' Person Of The Year in 2022, received with a lavish gala and star-studded, pre-GRAMMYs tribute concert. (Looking at you, "Both Sides Now" - and not just because CODA kicked the classic back into the mainstream.) Here's a woman who started out by blowing Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young 's minds to smithereens, reinvented herself five or six times like Miles Davis, played some of the furthest-out guitar anybody ever heard and wrote a handful of songs that can be genuinely considered perfect. ![]() And that's not only to be expected it's richly deserved. Of all the surprise guests at Newport Folk 2022, Joni Mitchell got the most ink.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |