Sep25 2008 audio

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] played 17 times

“The Boxer” - Bob Dylan

One interpretation of the lyrics to Paul Simon’s 1969 folk ballad “The Boxer” suggests that the song is actually about Bob Dylan. Whether or not that’s true, Dylan did include this curious acoustic autoduet on his 1970 album, “Self Portrait.”

May25 2008 video

“The Sound of Silence” - Vanilla Mood 

Looking for a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s most famous song, performed by an expressionless, all-girl Japanese quartet with all the panache of Abe Lincoln in the Hall of Presidents? Look no further than Vanilla Mood.

May24 2008 audio

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] played 14 times

“Mrs. Robinson” - Booker T.& the MGs

In 1967, “The Graduate” helped popularize Simon & Garfunkel by bringing their music to the big screen. In 1969, Booker T. & the MGs — the group that defined the sound of Stax — recorded this groovy cover.

Apr3 2008 video

“America” - David Bowie

America. David Bowie. Suzuki Omnichord.

From the October 2001 Concert for America.

Mar26 2008 video

“Cecilia” - Suggs

Two things distinguish this 1996 cover of “Cecilia” by British ska star Suggs: a fascinating proto-reggaetón backbeat and a headache inducing op-arty video.

Mar23 2008 video

“Hazy Shade of Winter” - The Bangles

This version of “Hazy Shade of Winter,” recorded by The Bangles for the off-key 1987 film adaptation of “Less Than Zero,” Bret Easton Ellis’ first novel, was more popular than the Simon & Garfunkel original, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard charts. A little Robert Downey, Jr. goes a long way.

Mar22 2008 audio

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.] played 9 times

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” - Elvis Presley


It’s said that Paul Simon lamented the fact that Vegas-era Elvis “seemed to end everything with a karate chop and an explosion,” and Elvis’ 1970 cover of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is no exception to that principle, with a grand finale featuring a gospel choir and horn section layered atop of the King’s crooning. But Simon also said it was “just a pleasure for me that Elvis Presley recorded one of my songs before he died” - and Presley’s over-the-top take on Simon & Garfunkel’s humble hymn is certainly an enjoyable one.

Mar21 2008 video

“Richard Cory” - Wings


“Richard Cory,” one of Simon & Garfunkel’s most criminally underrated songs, is a retelling of a short poem written by Gilded-Age American poet Edwin Arlington Robinson. Here’s a live cover performed by Wings (featuring that other Paul) in 1975.