Possible Simon & Garfunkel Reunion at Grammys

The S and G performance was not too good. Garfunkel sounded a bit hoarse and Simon just looked pissed off. They quickly put an arm around each other at the end, but that looked fake. There was no emotion in the performance. It sounded a bit different and they never really achieved that wow sound.
James Taylor on the other hand, sounded great, as always. Norah Jones was great too.

 

I thought S&G sounded real good. They are definitely showing their age, especially Simon -- he acted rather disinterested in the whole affair.

 

It wasn't that I expected Art and Pal to sound like they did. But, sheesh, try to look like you're enjoying the opportunity to perform or don't do it. Being
in their presence was like being with another couple that spend the evening sniping at each other. Had they done "Fakin It", it would have at least given the performance a nice ironic touch.

I'm hanging in, waiting for, as Dustin Hoffman put it, "Bruce Springstreet". Hilarious.

 

OK Bruce was excellent but, omigod, after what happened in RI, how did they let Nelly do the wall of flame bit. Scary and in shockingly bad taste.

 

So far a surprisingly interesting show.
Not sure about S&G, they did seem nervous and a bit out of sync. Shame.
No Doubt? No interest. I don't think they sound too good live anyway.
Loved Norah Jones! What talent, and she even won the Grammy!
Loved the "singer/songwriter" section, especially Ma with Taylor. Ma's cello was too low in the mix, I thought.
I loved the Dixie Chicks, and I don't usually like them!
I turned the channel during Faith Hill's bit. Nothing against Hill, but I'm beyond sick to death of that &*#$#^% song!!!
The NYP and Coldplay is cool!

The "hosts" are awful except for Paul Shaffer. Why not just let Paul host the whole damn thing?!
Dan C

 

It's not on yet here. Didn't realize it was delayed for the Central time zone too. Oh well. I'm looking forward too it.

No excitement with Eminem either. He did't break anything or dis anyone or make an ass of himself. Maybe he's growing up.

Dan C

 

You know, this guy on the radio today was saying how out of touch the Grammys are and he is right.

How many people here know someone in the record business? I don't mean artists, I mean record company people. If you do, you know what is wrong with the music "business." It is a "business." (No, I don't consider Steve a "record company people"!) Most record company people don't listen to music at all. Remember Jethro Tull winning over Metallica for heavy metal act? That was the same year Milli Vanilli won for something too, sorry I've forgotten Milli Vanilli's honor.

Anyway, I'm halfway through the show here, and I've seen some good acts, Norah Jones, James Taylor, some others. Avril Lavigne was great too. But why was Dustin Hoffman there? Simon and Garfunkel were disappointing. And why is Aretha Franklin so big? I blame the record business. And Italian food.

I'm really only watching this to see if anyone spouts off about the apparantly oncoming war against Iraq. I know this is a big can of worms, but what these people know about political issues could fit in a thimble. My favorite quote on this is from Homer Simpson: "Rock stars... Is there anything they don't know?"

Whoops, gotta go, Harvey Firestein is dressed as a woman and introducing Robin Williams. Rock and Roll lives...

 

Avril's pipes seemed pretty weak. Her performance on SNL a couple months back was better.

Harvey Firestein was very funny. Why not have Harvey and Paul Shaffer host the show next year!
Dan C

 

Milli Vanilli won the Best New Artist award in 1989.

 

If you can prove to me that Fred Durst isn't the dumbest man on the planet, I'll give you a sandwich.

Glad the Foo Fighters won.

And yes, Milli Vanilli won Best New Artist. That award is the kiss of death. Wish Limp Bizkit had won it...

Dan C

 

Wish I would have seen Avril on SNL. My friend tells me Avril may turn out to be a pretty good song writer, she may be around awhile. Harvey and Paul would be great, that I would definitley tune in for! Bring some show business back to show business. Dustin Hoffman?

Did Fred Durst just invent the word "agreeance" when protesting the war? Woo. Fred might do more to protest the war by not showing his ignorance. Just shut up and sing Fred!

 

Norah Jones did win a bunch of Grammy's including Best New Artist.

 

Hope she has a long career despite that dubious award.
Dan C

 

I was glad the S&G opened the show, I enjoyed their performance. I didn't expect their voices to be as they were in the Sixties so I wasn't surprised that the high notes weren't as high or the harmonies as "right on."

It was obvious to me that there was a "problem" between them. To see them singing harmony without daring to look at each other was painful. I also felt that the "arms around each other" at the end was forced. I would have liked to have seen their faces at that moment. The camera caught them from behind when they were putting their arms around each other.

 

It's about 8:30 PST and I missed the S&G opener, darn it. Sounds like I didn't miss much, tho. Did they perform again later on during the show?

Jim W.

 

Nope, that was it.

 

No once was enough. An uneven show...but the Clash tribute is worth staying up for, those of you on the west coast.

 

Thank you Arin and Mr. Taxman

 

Well I finally saw the S&G segment thanks to a neighbor who taped it. You're right. It wasn't a pretty sight. And these guys are rumored to be reuniting for a world tour? They'll have to call it "The Make Up To Break Up Tour".

Jim W.

 

Just saw the S & G performance on tape. I get up at 2:00 am so I couldn't stay up to watch it live. I do not agree with the criticisms here. Compared to vintage Simon & Garfunkel, they may have sounded a little rusty but there were no clear signs of frostiness or animosity between them. I think people are looking for things and see what they want. If you watched the show expecting to see signs of bitterness--that's what you saw. Paul seemed to concentrate more on looking out at the crowd (I couldn't see any eye-rolling, even during Art's cool little harmony vocal twist) while doing some nice guitar flourishes. All in all, I thought they did a nice job under what must have been an intense amount of pressure "to be great".

 

I agree with this assessment, except that Simon seemed to be concentrating on playing the guitar and singing, I wouldn't call in disinterested, plus they probably didn't rehearse a whole lot. They did get a big standing ovation. I imagine it was hard to go out there and perform something they hadn't done in ten years. They also had to break the ice.

The vocal mix on the voices was pretty dry.

 

I didn't think it was THAT bad, either. Folks can't expect them to harmonize quite like they did 30+ years ago...particularly since they rarely ever perform together these days. Obviously, Simon was less than thrilled, but that's nothing new regarding his view of the old days with Art.

Speaking of Art, he was a little hoarse, but I was very happy to have seen he and Paul together. His singing at the US Open tennis tournament this past summer was better. He hit the highs almost as good as the S&G days and his voice was exceptionally smooth. Was last night due to nervousness or a cold? Dunno, but rest-assured, Art can still sing...it just didn't come out last night.

Paul's guitar playing is obviously still spot on.

 

While your point is well taken, I can't help wondering if you right-wingers would take an equally dim view of celebrity politicking if more of them happened to promote causes you agreed with.

The S&G performance was embarrassing, IMO. "The Sounds of Silence" is probably the most overrated and overplayed song in their canon, the performance was soulless and perfunctory, and the reaction of the live audience suggested a "Who are these guys, again?" cluelessness.

I'm happy for Norah, though.

 

Embarassing???? Souless??? Pahleeese! I thought it was pretty cool.

 

Paul looked pretty happy backstage...:

http://www.artgarfunkel.com/grammy.htm