Dion Dimucci is releasing a new album, New York Is My Home. The album features ten new songs, mostly co-written by Dion, that focus on Dion’s experience in New York City. On the title track, he is joined by Paul Simon.
The Bronx-born Dion says he knew Paul Simon would understand the song “New York Is My Home” because Simon grew up in Queens. The Italian Tribune quotes Dion stating, “We share a love for rock ’n’ roll street music, the way it was done when we were kids. I knew Paul would ‘get’ this song. And he did.”
Dion released a video for the title track, the first single from the album. Check it out.
Dion has explained that some other songs on the album, like “The Apollo King” and “I’m Your Gangster of Love,” are based upon people Dion knew. Dion imagined “Visionary Heart” as a message that the late Buddy Holly might send to him. For various reasons, Dion remains connected to Buddy Holly in a number of ways. As discussed in more detail in another post, Dion was touring with Holly when Holly was killed in a plane crash.
Dion has continued to create some overlooked outstanding music late in his career, including some fantastic blues albums. So, I’m looking forward to the new music. The album New York Is My Home, which features guitar and keyboards from Jimmy Vivino of Conan O’Brien’s show, is available starting February 12, 2016.
With the departures of David Letterman and Craig Ferguson from late-night television, the odds of catching an intelligent discussion on a late-night talk show decreased significantly. That is one reason why it was refreshing to see Stephen Colbert finally take over for Letterman, and his first week did not disappoint, with highlights that included a thoughtful conversation about grief and loss with Vice President Joe Biden.
Of course, we want to laugh and dance too. And the first week of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert did not disappoint in that category either.
For example, at the beginning of one episode the announcer (Colbert) exclaimed that one of the guests would be Troubled Waters, a Paul Simon tribute band. For those who stayed awake for the end, the “tribute band” did not disappoint, turning out to be made up of Paul Simon. Troubled Waters then performed “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” from Simon’s 1972 self-titled album.
On the performance of “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” Simon also received a little help from Colbert, who proved he not only can be thoughtful, he can sing, dance, and whistle. Check it out.
What do you think of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert so far? Leave your two cents in the comments.
I recently discovered that YouTube features a number of full high quality performances from past Glastonbury Festivals in England. Some of the clips are of individual songs instead of full performances. There are some good ones of Paul Simon, Johnny Cash, Buddy Guy, The Gaslight Anthem, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Regina Spektor and OK Go.
For one that you might not expect, check out this 2011 performance by Don McLean, who of course performs “Vincent” and “American Pie.” Here is “Vincent.”
To see Glastonbury performances from the other performers, head over to this YouTube link.
What is or favorite YouTube concert? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Although the song may work for the listener in many contexts, such as in that movie, much of the perfection of the song comes from the fact that it had personal meaning for Paul Simon:
“Tom, get your plane right on time; I know your part will go fine; Fly down to Mexico.”
Simon and Garfunkel started out in 1957 performing under the name “Tom & Jerry,” so one may see from the opening line that the song is a message to Tom, i.e., Art Garfunkel. In an interview, Simon explained, “That was written about Artie’s going off to make Catch 22 in Mexico.” At the time, Garfunkel had left Simon in New York to act in the movie Catch 22 (1970). One hears Simon’s melancholy at being left behind by his friend and singing partner in the chords of the song.
The song appeared on Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), the last studio album from the team, and one hears the dissolution of the collaboration and the sadness of a deteriorating friendship that had started in high school. In the original, one hears the sadness in both voices, and you still hear it in Simon’s voice looking back as an older man.
As for this weekend, New York Giant fans hope they will not have sadness in their voices after Sunday’s game.
Post-Super Bowl Update: After the Giants won the game, the song played in the stadium was “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z. Another good song choice.
What do you think of “The Only Living Boy in New York”? What “New York” song would you pick for this year’s Super Bowl? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Happy Fourth of July weekend for our readers in the U.S. In a recent post, we considered Willie Nelson’s recording of “Graceland” on his album, Across the Borderline (1993). That CD also featured another classic song written by Paul Simon, “American Tune.” The beautiful music in the song, though, was not original to Simon.
The music we know from “American Tune” appears in the chorale from “St. Matthew Passion,” BWV 244, written by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) about the crucifixion of Christ. You may hear “American Tune” in that composition in No. 21 (Chorale – “Acknowledge Me My Keeper”), No. 23 (Chorale – “Near Thee I Would Be Staying,” and No. 53 (Chorale – “Wha’ever may vex or grieve thee”). But Bach did not create the theme.
Bach’s composition reworked “Mein Gmüth ist mir verwirret,” composed by Hans Hassler (1564-1612), a German composer who wrote the tune around a century before Bach was born. Hassler’s song was a secular love song known in English as “My Heart is Distracted by a Gentle Maid.” Hymnist Paul Gerhardt (1607-1676) also borrowed Hassler’s tune in one of his compositions. We might call Hassler the “Father of Recycling.” Through Gerhardt and Bach, Hassler’s love song became a religious hymn (“O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,/ Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown.”). Here’s the Bach version:
Paul Simon took the beautiful music and transformed it with new meaning in “American Tune,” which appeared on There Goes Rhymin’ Simon (1973), released as Simon’s second album after his breakup with Art Garfunkel and as America was tangled in Viet Nam and Watergate. As columnist Anne Hill explained, the song “captures perfectly all the complexity of an idealism that died but still lives; the bitter disappointment and deeper hope which are intertwined in the soul of this country.” The lyrics are vague enough to allow for various interpretations, but the music conveys the melancholy of the song while still maintaining the beauty.
But it’s all right, it’s all right; You can’t be forever blessed. Still, tomorrow’s going to be another working day; And I’m trying to get some rest; That’s all I’m trying to get some rest.
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel performed Simon’s song, “American Tune,” at their famous free concert in Central Park on September 19, 1981. The performance appears on the CD, Concert in Central Park. Here is Simon solo.
Here is Willie Nelson and Simon performing “American Tune” from Nelson’s CD, Across the Borderline. On the album version, Paul Simon produced the recording and backed up Nelson. Check it out below (YouTube also has a live version of the song performed by Nelson and Simon.)
Eva Cassidy does a beautiful version of the song too. Among others, Peter, Paul and Mary recorded a folk song, “Because All Men Are Brothers,” which was written by Tom Glazer and is based upon the same Bach music. The song’s lyrics include: “My brother’s fears are my fears, yellow, white, or brown; / My brother’s tears are my tears, the whole wide world around.”
Thus, Hassler’s tune written in 1601 has functioned as a song of brotherhood, a love song, a hymn of faith, and an American tune about dreams surviving a time of lost innocence. That’s a pretty good record, and a nice theme for Independence Day.
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