Tag Archives: One Trick Pony

by

Song of the Day #1,227: ‘Oh, Marion’ – Paul Simon

I notice a pattern in Paul Simon’s early work of competition and jealousy surrounding Art Garfunkel. Despite Simon’s status as the songwriter of all those wonderful tunes they recorded together, it sometimes feels as if he saw himself in Garfunkel’s shadow.

Take his nagging regrets over letting Garfunkel take the lead on ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water,’ or the cryptic songs he wrote about their partnership sometimes without even letting Art in on their meaning.

I wonder if Simon decided to jump into acting in large part because Garfunkel had found success there (in films such as Carnal Knowledge and Catch-22).

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #1,226: ‘God Bless the Absentee’ – Paul Simon

Five years after reaching the pinnacle of his solo career (to that point) with Still Crazy After All These Years, Paul Simon made the bizarre move of writing and starring in a movie.

1980’s One-Trick Pony featured Simon in the semi-autobiographical role of a fading folk rock star attempting a comeback in the face of professional and personal obstacles. While supporting characters in the film are loosely based on people in Simon’s own life, the main character seems like a stab at a self-destructive, self-fulfilled prophecy.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #627: ‘Late in the Evening’ – Paul Simon

It was five years, in 1980, before Paul Simon released another album. And his amazing run of success came to an abrupt stop when he broke his silence with One Trick Pony, a companion album to a film of the same name (written by and starring Simon himself).

One Trick Pony is the second Paul Simon album I don’t own, but unlike his self-titled solo debut, this one is missing from my collection because I’ve heard it’s just not very good. Not quite a soundtrack but not quite a proper album, it apparently suffers from being not much of anything worthwhile.

Continue reading →