Sing-Along Simon, an Open Thread of Sorts
Posted on: May 14th, 2007 by Matt Raymond
I just came from Dr. Billington�s office, where he conducted a media interview in advance of the fast-approaching Gershwin Prize and all-star concert. (I hope to link to the news story within the next few days.)
What was especially interesting to me before the interview was that a few other staff members were there, each of us representing different ages, backgrounds and interests. Yet when each Paul Simon song title was thrown out, it turned into an impromptu sing-along among us all � a �barbershop quartet,� as Dr. Billington called it.
I related how it is still impossible for me to go to a train station � or on almost any long trip, for that matter � without the song �Homeward Bound� playing in my head, or how �The 59th Street Bridge Song� was my daily soundtrack when I lived in New York City, as I passed under the song�s namesake edifice twice a day on my commute. And not that I am by any stretch a pugilist, but don�t even get me started on how often �The Boxer� gets lodged in my brain!
It�s fascinating to think how deeply popular music has become ingrained in our everyday lives, with some artists � like Paul Simon � more embedded than others.
What other artists and songs provide the internal soundtrack for this blog�s readers?
ADDENDUM: Links to the song lyrics have been deleted on advice of colleagues.
Tags: paul simon, concerts, music, musicians, songs
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May 14th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Lately, I can’t get “The Fool on the Hill” out of my head. (A bad sign, as I both live and work on a hill.) The classic Beatles version alternates with the sweet bossa-nova version from Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66. And apparently it’s been covered another 167 times!
May 15th, 2007 at 9:29 am
Thanks, John, now THAT song is stuck in my head.
My theory is that the only way to get rid of a song that is firmly in place is to pass that song onto someone else.
Of course, a friend of mine had a theory of his own. He thought that if you got a song stuck in your head, you could whistle the theme from “The Andy Griffith Show” to dislodge it without leaving that song in its place.
May 15th, 2007 at 9:40 am
Darn you! I can’t listen to music at work (I sit right behind the circulation desk). So I will have to go home and dig out both the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkle to go with my latest earworm (the technical term for that song stuck in your head) which is “Tapestry” by Carole King (I’m using the lyrics as inspiration for my handfasting vow.)
May 15th, 2007 at 10:49 am
An old country song, “What Might Have Been,” by Little Texas seems to reverberate through my mind in many instances. If only sometimes I could actually find out what might have been.
May 15th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Last it was “Electric Avenue,” but that’s not your fault.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I walk now, but with previous commutes my soundtrack song was always “My Baby Takes the Morning Train” by Sheena Easton.
May 21st, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Joni Mitchell lyrics frequently float through my mind. A sunny day always makes me think of my favorite line from “Chelsea Morning”–”And the sun poured down like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses.”
June 1st, 2007 at 10:48 am
[...] mentioned my penchant for playing an internal soundtrack based on whatever is going on around [...]
June 2nd, 2007 at 6:14 am
An old country song, “What Might Have Been,�? by Little Texas seems to reverberate through my mind in many instances. If only sometimes I could actually find out what might have been.
March 19th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Lately, I can’t get “The Fool on the Hill�? out of my head. (A bad sign, as I both live and work on a hill.) The classic Beatles version alternates with the sweet bossa-nova version from Sergio Mendes and Brasil ‘66. And apparently it’s been covered another 167 times!
August 12th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Not my cup of tee really. More of an Aerosmith fan myself. Rock on anyway!