The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Review
‘I don’t know why Artie’s so mad at me’
Paul Simon talks to Neil McCormick about selfies, old songs and Art Garfunkel’s ‘demons’
‘Fame is toxic,” says Paul Simon. “It’s really a bad thing, filled with misinformation and not helpful to your thinking at all. The difficulty is, if you’re popular and doing good work, it’s hard to get away from.” The 75-year-old singer-songwriter has just been accosted on the pavement outside his office in Manhattan, to pose for a selfie with a fan at least 50 years younger than him. “I hate selfies,” he says afterwards. “To be honest, I’ve always hated having my picture taken.” None the less, he remains gracious about it. “It’s a strange thing. But, you know, when Artie and I played with the Everly Brothers, I can’t begin to express how much that meant to us. So I guess it’s the same. My music plays a big part in some people’s lives.”
He has driven in from Connecticut, where he lives with his wife of 24 years, the singer Edie Brickell. The youngest of their three children started university this year. “We’re empty nesters,” shrugs Simon.
His office is an airy space, high up a skyscraper close to Central Park. Walls and glass cabinets display tastefully arrayed memorabilia, as much to do with baseball as music. There are just a couple of photos of him with former musical partner, Art Garfunkel.
Floor space is occupied by an antique Bechstein grand piano and there’s a double bass that belonged to his father, a college professor and dance band musician. A slightly heavy-handed oil painting of a slim, handsome man hangs on one wall.
“That’s my mother’s idealised portrait of me,” he laughs. The reallife Simon is shorter and chunkier but displays a physical vigour that belies his advancing years. Next to the painting hangs a vivid, colourful self-portrait by renowned American artist Chuck Close, who provided the cover to Simon’s latest album, Stranger to Stranger. “Chuck’s my friend,” says Simon. “He’s probably the most famous portraitist in America. I find it fascinating how his newest work has changed.”
Simon clearly sees an analogy with his own late work. “I don’t think it’s automatic that as you get older you repeat everything and it gets more boring. If you’re still learning and thinking about your art, it’s alive. And sometimes the late work is a revelation.”
Stranger to Stranger, Simon’s 13th solo album, was warmly received by critics and the public alike, going to number one in the UK charts in June. “I think it’s cutting edge,” he says, “but cutting different edges to Kanye West and Drake. I’m drawing from a different well of sound and rhythm.”