# Paul Simon on SNL



## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

He played along with Travis Scott (Who? That was my question, too). 

Don't worry if you missed it. Because you didn't. He brought out 20k+ worth of gear and played four chords with his thumb on the first song. And the second song of the night was 'musician free'. Pointless. Why even bother?


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

solid thread

Edit; -sorry I forgot to add, people still watch SNL?


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## LanceT (Mar 7, 2014)

Needs more cowbell baby.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> Why even bother?


I also enjoy getting paid.

Plus he's probably friends with people on the show.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> He played along with Travis Scott (Who? That was my question, too).
> 
> Don't worry if you missed it. Because you didn't. He brought out 20k+ worth of gear and played four chords with his thumb on the first song. And the second song of the night was 'musician free'. Pointless. Why even bother?


Watched the show, but fast forwarded through the "musical guest". We enjoy the show, in general, but many of the music acts don't appeal to me much. If I see a fancy light/projection show, dreads, or cowboy hats, I give them about 5 seconds and hit fast forward on the PVR. The season opener show was all-meat-no-filler, but this past one was on the weak side. Had I recognized Mayer, I might have lingered a bit to see what he was there to do, but I had no idea it was him. If you quizzed me as to whether Scott had a guitar player in his band, I would have been unable to tell you.

More worthwhile watching was St. Vincent on Austin City Limits around the same time (at least in our area). She used her signature model of Music Man guitar, but kept changing them. I counted a blue one, red one, yellow one, black one, and maybe a white one. Quite the ad for Music Man. Her quartet consists of her, a bass/keyboard player, a drummer and dedicated keyboard player. The latter pair are the two males in the group, but wore these bizarre face/wig things that gave them eyeless mouthless faces with identical blond haircuts. Made them look like a pair of musical store-window mannequins. She's an interesting artist. Not what I'd call a guitar virtuoso, but she uses the guitar in interesting textural ways. One of the guitars seemed to either be, or trigger, a synth. The tones produced were certainly NOT fuzzboxes. And of course, lots of choreography.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

mhammer said:


> Watched the show, but fast forwarded through the "musical guest". We enjoy the show, in general, but many of the music acts don't appeal to me much. If I see a fancy light/projection show, dreads, or cowboy hats, I give them about 5 seconds and hit fast forward on the PVR. The season opener show was all-meat-no-filler, but this past one was on the weak side. Had I recognized Mayer, I might have lingered a bit to see what he was there to do, but I had no idea it was him. If you quizzed me as to whether Scott had a guitar player in his band, I would have been unable to tell you.
> 
> More worthwhile watching was St. Vincent on Austin City Limits around the same time (at least in our area). She used her signature model of Music Man guitar, but kept changing them. I counted a blue one, red one, yellow one, black one, and maybe a white one. Quite the ad for Music Man. Her quartet consists of her, a bass/keyboard player, a drummer and dedicated keyboard player. The latter pair are the two males in the group, but wore these bizarre face/wig things that gave them eyeless mouthless faces with identical blond haircuts. Made them look like a pair of musical store-window mannequins. She's an interesting artist. Not what I'd call a guitar virtuoso, but she uses the guitar in interesting textural ways. One of the guitars seemed to either be, or trigger, a synth. The tones produced were certainly NOT fuzzboxes. And of course, lots of choreography.


Funny enough, it was Mayer's sig guitar (PRS Silver Sky) that caught my attention first. Then the multiple PRS amps. That's when I noticed it was Mayer, so I waited for some sort of solo or technical playing or something. Nada. Nothing. Zilch.

Like you, I often FFWD through many of the musical acts. But if not for SNL, I wouldn't know what's going on in the current music scene. And most of the time, I don't mind not knowing - much of it is dirge. But, hey that's what's selling these days. I guess.

I keep forgetting about Austin City Limits. I've seen some smokin' acts on that show. Very high quality stuff. But I PVR'd SNL and watched it later, so it's not like I could have surfed around during the 'musical' act. 

And I always have to watch the news portion after the first music section. That's generally the consistently best part of the show. I miss Ribet though. "I can do your jorb." LOL I also miss Stefon, although he's gone on to much bigger things.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

vadsy said:


> solid thread
> 
> Edit; -sorry I forgot to add, people still watch SNL?


Solid edit.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

High/Deaf said:


> Solid edit.


at least a 5/7


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

High/Deaf said:


> Like you, I often FFWD through many of the musical acts. But if not for SNL, I wouldn't know what's going on in the current music scene. And most of the time, I don't mind not knowing - much of it is dirge. But, hey that's what's selling these days. I guess.


That's why I give them 5 seconds _before_ I hit FFWD. Once in a while you stumble onto something good. Last season, Sturgill Simpson showed up to play with Chris Stapleton, and he rocked pretty dang hard. I'm not any sort of dyed-in-the-wool country fan, but that pairing was hot. Glad I caught it.



> I keep forgetting about Austin City Limits. I've seen some smokin' acts on that show. Very high quality stuff. But I PVR'd SNL and watched it later, so it's not like I could have surfed around during the 'musical' act.


We get ACL here from 11pm to midnight on Saturday, so I always check to see if there is anyone interesting on when I go to check whether SNL is a repeat or not. I gather broadcast times vary from region to region.



> And I always have to watch the news portion after the first music section. That's generally the consistently best part of the show. I miss Riblet though. "I can do your jorb." LOL I also miss Stefon, although he's gone on to much bigger things.


I gather Stefon is at New York's hottest new club: FZZunk. It has _everything_. Couples nose irrigation booths. Fried water. Senate bingo machines. That's where you check off a square every time a senator gets accused of a sex crime, or commits one at the club without getting caught. And every waiter is a licensed Fred Armisen impersonator and former UFC seat usher.

But yeah, I kind of miss Bobby Moynihan. Riblet was fun, but so was drunk uncle, and the 2nd-hand news guy who kept checking over his shoulder. The latter was a fun replacement for Gilda Radner's old Emily Litella character. Moynihan was a reasonable substitute for the much-missed Chris Farley, though his foray into sitcom life (Me, Myself, and I) didn't seem to take the world by storm.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

High/Deaf said:


> *.......my edit to shorten things.....*
> And I always have to watch the news portion after the first music section. That's generally the consistently best part of the show. I miss Ribet though. "I can do your jorb." LOL I also miss Stefon, although he's gone on to much bigger things.


Love Bill Hader. Binge watched Barry last night (it's 8 @ 1/2 hr episodes). Described as dark comedy, that nails it - much more wtf than lol. Takes a few episodes to get up to full speed, my family got bored and tapped out 2 or 3 in, but I really enjoyed it. Henry Winkler really did deserve his Emmy for this show too.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

mhammer said:


> But yeah, I kind of miss Bobby Moynihan. Riblet was fun, but so was drunk uncle, and the 2nd-hand news guy who kept checking over his shoulder. The latter was a fun replacement for Gilda Radner's old Emily Litella character. Moynihan was a reasonable substitute for the much-missed Chris Farley, though his foray into sitcom life (Me, Myself, and I) didn't seem to take the world by storm.


+100 on Moynihan. He was great! 

I kinda wished he'd come back to SNL when his sitcom bit it (I assume it bit it, I don't watch much sitcom stuff).


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Paul Simon and yMusic last Saturday. It was his 77th birthday.

Fantastic. The guy's still got it. The first song was a new one with a couple of violins, a cello and three wind instruments. Great writing and performances. So dynamic and percussive, I had to watch it twice in a row. And so cool how Paul moved out of the way when he wasn't singing, giving the 'band' their due. The second song was a redux of "Bridge Over Troubled Water".

While this performance won't make the waves his live appearance of Graceland did 30-odd years ago, it was a classy performance, one of the best I've seen on SNL in a while. Weekend Update was classic, too, with Seth Meyers reprising his "Really?" segment.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

although I didn't enjoy it as much as Kanye, I managed to watch. second one was ok


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I concur with High/Deaf. Simon was interviewed on Q, recently, and host Tom Power inquired about Simon's songwriting process. Though I imagine it isn't true of every single song in his catalog (e.g., Bridge), what I found surprising was that Simon said he begins with the rhythmic pattern, and the rhythm is what suggests the words, and lyrical structure.

The first number he performed on SNL illustrated that principle nicely. It was a very rhythmic piece, that obliged chopping up the lyrics into punchy Hemingway-like bursts. It was wonderful to hear so much tension with nary a guitar or percussion instrument anywhere. Simon seemed a little shaky, vocally, but focussed enough to deliver the right level of drama.

But here's a phrase you'll never get laid with: "Yeah, I play bassoon in Paul Simon's back-up band".


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## traynor_garnet (Feb 22, 2006)

Do you think he scored that orchestral part? It was a great song but how much was him.

BOTW was meh. Kind of a cool reworking, but his voice is simply too frail at his age to really sell it. 

That first tune makes me listen to his new album.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

traynor_garnet said:


> Do you think he scored that orchestral part? It was a great song but how much was him.
> 
> BOTW was meh. Kind of a cool reworking, but his voice is simply too frail at his age to really sell it.
> 
> That first tune makes me listen to his new album.


I don't have the album, but I'd like to hear it now. That's the point of promotion on a show like SNL. Exposure. 

And I do cut a little slack for a 77 year old. Same with Sir Paul. Or Robert Plant, etc. I expect the studio version will be much better. Obviously.

And I agree with @mhammer , it was the rhythmic component of the first song that grabbed me -- all without a rhythm section. Love the 'bassoon' joke.


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

First tune was an old one, from rhythm of the saints. Definitely a different take on the original.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Sneaky said:


> First tune was an old one, from rhythm of the saints. Definitely a different take on the original.


Thanks. I did not know that.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

High/Deaf said:


> He played along with Travis Scott (Who? That was my question, too).
> 
> Don't worry if you missed it. Because you didn't. He brought out 20k+ worth of gear and played four chords with his thumb on the first song. And the second song of the night was 'musician free'. Pointless. Why even bother?


Wha wha,. Always whining about something. Good show.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Wow, you really got me there. Here's me 'whining' about Paul Simon in the same thread. 



High/Deaf said:


> Paul Simon and yMusic last Saturday. It was his 77th birthday.
> 
> Fantastic. The guy's still got it. The first song was a new one with a couple of violins, a cello and three wind instruments. Great writing and performances. So dynamic and percussive, I had to watch it twice in a row. And so cool how Paul moved out of the way when he wasn't singing, giving the 'band' their due. The second song was a redux of "Bridge Over Troubled Water".
> 
> While this performance won't make the waves his live appearance of Graceland did 30-odd years ago, it was a classy performance, one of the best I've seen on SNL in a while. Weekend Update was classic, too, with Seth Meyers reprising his "Really?" segment.


It's called 'balance'. Some of us can have a positive opinion about some things and a negative one about others. Meanwhile, certain members just piss and moan about stuff - that's all they do, and usually repeatedly in the same thread. Don't be one of those guys (I know, it's like a leopard changing its spots ..... ).


Hint: If you really want to see me whining repeatedly, you should go to the Politics forum. No, on second thought, _you _probably shouldn't go to the Politics forum.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

High/Deaf said:


> Wow, you really got me there. Here's me 'whining' about Paul Simon in the same thread.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nope don't read your banter. But that was easy skin to get under . Just returning the favour. Where are the lap dogs ?lap dog photo - Google Search


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

LOL

"Under my skin" says the guy I bitch-slapped a week ago - and is still trying to come up with a retort. Unsuccessfully. After a week of pondering. Yea, good one. 

LOL


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

mhammer said:


> Watched the show, but fast forwarded through the "musical guest". We enjoy the show, in general, but many of the music acts don't appeal to me much. If I see a fancy light/projection show, dreads, or cowboy hats, I give them about 5 seconds and hit fast forward on the PVR. The season opener show was all-meat-no-filler, but this past one was on the weak side. Had I recognized Mayer, I might have lingered a bit to see what he was there to do, but I had no idea it was him. If you quizzed me as to whether Scott had a guitar player in his band, I would have been unable to tell you.
> 
> More worthwhile watching was St. Vincent on Austin City Limits around the same time (at least in our area). She used her signature model of Music Man guitar, but kept changing them. I counted a blue one, red one, yellow one, black one, and maybe a white one. Quite the ad for Music Man. Her quartet consists of her, a bass/keyboard player, a drummer and dedicated keyboard player. The latter pair are the two males in the group, but wore these bizarre face/wig things that gave them eyeless mouthless faces with identical blond haircuts. Made them look like a pair of musical store-window mannequins. She's an interesting artist. Not what I'd call a guitar virtuoso, but she uses the guitar in interesting textural ways. One of the guitars seemed to either be, or trigger, a synth. The tones produced were certainly NOT fuzzboxes. And of course, lots of choreography.


I saw the St. Vincent performance and thought it was horrible.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

You're allowed.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

I am. I try to be open minded but I just didn't like it at all.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

I'm likewise. I've seen stuff by her that I've liked, but that ACL St.Vincent show put me off.

And while I'm being heretical, that first Paul Simon tune on SNL I thought was a joke at first. I was waiting for some skit to kick in and then I realized it was serious. Sometimes I'm not very open minded musically. I had to switch to another channel there.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

jb welder said:


> I'm likewise. I've seen stuff by her that I've liked, but that ACL St.Vincent show put me off.
> 
> And while I'm being heretical, that first Paul Simon tune on SNL I thought was a joke at first. I was waiting for some skit to kick in and then I realized it was serious. Sometimes I'm not very open minded musically. I had to switch to another channel there.


I didn't like Paul Simon's performance on SNL either. At first I thought something was going horribly wrong, then I realized it was intentional.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

That's what makes the world go 'round. I loved Simon's SNL performance (as mentioned above). I particularly liked his use of non-rhythmic instruments to power a very rhythmic piece of music. Great dynamics as well. Certainly different from what I've heard from him before, or what I expected from him.

Meanwhile, I had no use for the Kanye performances a couple weeks early, whereas someone else here loved it. Vive le difference!


I need to remember about ACL on Saturday nights. That's totally fallen off my radar.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

High/Deaf said:


> LOL
> 
> "Under my skin" says the guy I bitch-slapped a week ago - and is still trying to come up with a retort. Unsuccessfully. After a week of pondering. Yea, good one.
> 
> LOL


Bwaaaaah. I wondered what happened to you in the L&M return thread. You dis appeared and ran with your tail between your legs. Sucking your thumb in a corner with a soiled diaper on ,waiting for your wife to come home from work to change you. Bwaaaah.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Distortion said:


> Bwaaaaah. I wondered what happened to you in the L&M return thread. You dis appeared and ran with your tail between your legs. Sucking your thumb in a corner with a soiled diaper on ,waiting for your wife to come home from work to change you. Bwaaaah.


I'm all for a good back and forth but this post is cringeworthy.


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

Actually I ain't for back and forth. He should have got the boot long ago. But some people just don't get it.


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## vadsy (Dec 2, 2010)

Distortion said:


> Actually I ain't for back and forth. He should have got the boot long ago. But some people just don't get it.


I say regroup and get back it it,., I know you can do better. 

You and I probably deserve to get the boot before him anyways so ...,


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## Distortion (Sep 16, 2015)

vadsy said:


> I say regroup and get back it it,., I know you can do better.
> 
> You and I probably deserve to get the boot before him anyways so ...,


for the good of the forum I will abstain


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