The Soul of America -- A Chat with Jon Meacham

There are some days when I want to write an essay about the things going on around us, and other days when I want to write a poem to express my feelings about life. Then there are those days when I think that our time would be much better spent listening to Jon Meacham.

Here is an excellent interview in which Jon Meacham talks with Willie Geist about his book, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels. Thoughtful, articulate, and intelligent discussion on our history as well as the times we are living in.

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Paul Simon on Late Night with David Letterman (1986)

In this interview, shortly after Graceland has been released to rave reviews and great success, Paul Simon talks about what he sees as important in the work of music and talks some about the process of writing. He then sings "The Boxer" including the new verse added when S & G did the Concert in Central Park:

                  Now the years are rolling by me
                  They are rocking easily
                  I am older than I once was
                  And younger than I’ll be
                  But that’s not unusual.
                  No, it isn’t strange
                  After changes upon changes
                  We are more or less the same,
                  After changes we are
                  More or less the same.

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Paul Simon on Late Night (1982)

An interesting interview with Paul Simon on David Letterman's Late Night. It is pre Graceland, and post Concert in Central Park.  There is a human quality that is almost as good as the early days of low budget PBS programming. Among other things, Simon talks about the Concert in Central Park and the events that resulted in his writing "The Late Great Johnny Ace." He also sings a few lines of "Citizen of the Planet," which he says is "half written" (it became a song several years later and was sung at the Simon & Garfunkel "Old Friends Reunion Tour" in 2003).

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Art Garfunkel on CBS This Morning

I'm reading Art Garfunkel's new memoir, What Is It All but Luminous: Notes from an Underground Man (Knopf, 2017). When I saw this interview, I went down to the library to check it out. He has done some amazing work since his Simon and Garfunkel days, though he doesn't get quite the limelight that Paul Simon has received. I loved his ninth studio album, Everything Waits to be Noticed (2002). It was his debut as a songwriter and he has some marvelous sounds in this trio presentation along with singer-songwriters Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock.

Here is his interview on CBS This Morning, sitting around the table with the morning crew. He talks about his walks across America and Europe, and noting the beauty around him. “You are so entranced by the beauty of everything, you tear up. And in the blurry vision of tearing up, what is it all, but luminous?”

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Paul Simon on CBS This Morning

Thinking of Paul Simon's upcoming retirement, I found this interview from May 30, 2012. Wynton Marsalis interviews Paul Simon on CBS This Morning. What a find! Wynton Marsalis, talking to Paul Simon! The down side it that it is only six minutes long, but a nice segment with Simon talking about the inspiration for some of his songs. (Come back tomorrow for a more recent interview with Art Garfunkel).

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Perhaps Love 3

The memory of love will bring you home

Today is the 72^nd anniversary of John Denver’s birth. Though he tragically died in a light aircraft accident on October 12, 1997 at the age of  53, he left a legacy, not only in music but in environmental and humanitarian endeavors. (For a remembrance of John Denver by Denver Post Theater Critic, John Moore, go here).

Denver fans will take delight in the following clip featuring a brief interview in 1982 on Pebble Mill at One, followed by his performance of "Perhaps Love," which had just been released on his album, Seasons of the Heart.

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Bob Dylan Interview: In Australia with George Negus (1986)

I found this George Negus interview of Bob Dylan online. It took place as the singer was kicking off his 1986 Australia/New Zealand tour. I found this interview to be very interesting. The folks in the United Kingdom have had a great appreciation for Dylan from the beginning. Perhaps it is that fascination that brings such energy to this interview. Negus questions the songwriter about his religious phase and Dylan replies that maybe he wrote those songs because they were what people were needing to hear, that perhaps he was tapping into that collective longing. I do think that part of what makes poetry and art speak so deeply to people is artist's ability to tap into that collective unconscious. Perhaps it was that poetic sensitivity to "tap in"   to that collective energy and awareness that has made Dylan so appealing through the years and which caused him to be dubbed "the voice of a generation" back in the 1960s.

So today, the day after Bob Dylan's 71st birthday, enjoy this interview from 1986.


Bob Dylan - George Negus Interview, 1986 by tedhamporterhouse



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Bob Dylan Interview: 20/20 with Bob Brown (1985)

I remember watching this 20/20 interview when it first aired in 1985. I was so excited to see it. Bob Dylan was at the peak of one of his most creative periods, in my opinion. Others will disagree, but I thought Infidels and Empire Burlesque showcased the height of the songwriter's skills. Others have talked about how they did not care for his music from the 1980s, but to me he was at the top of his game. Of course, the recording artist has had a number of high points in his career. The 1960s protest era when he was dubbed "the voice of a generation," for his work as a folk artist. Then he set new standards for rock with albums like Blonde on Blonde and  Blood on the Tracks. Later he would shock his fans and introduce himself to a new audience and a new generation with his "born again" religious themes in Slow Train Coming and Saved. 

At the time of the 20/20 interview he had yet to produce another masterpiece that would emerge in a few years with Oh Mercy which capped off his very productive 1980s period. There would be other Grammy-winning recordings in the decades ahead with Time Out of Mind  in 1997, Love and Theft in 2001, and Modern Times  in 2006.

(Next post: an interview in Australia from 1986)

(Update, 9/21/13: Apparently the 20/20 interview is no longer available on You Tube. I did find a transcript of the interview at  http://www.rightwingbob.com/weblog/bob-dylans-1985-interview-on-the-abc-tv-show-2020 )

Newer update: Here is the interview, back on YouTube,

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Dylan Interview: 60 Minutes with Ed Bradley (2004)

Bob Dylan vs. Today's Music from Mitch Corber on Vimeo.

Today, May 24, Bob Dylan turns 71. Here is Ed Bradley interviewing  the song-writing legend when he was 63, looking back on his career. Dylan has some interesting things to say about the creative processand about his personal sense of destiny. The interview is a little over 15 minutes long.

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