- I take no sides in the Los Lobos dispute over credit/royalties - I wasn't there. But regarding Steve Berlin's claim that Paul told Los Lobos “Sue me. See what happens", in a follow-up interview (after Simon responded to the first one), Berlin admitted that he hadn't actually said that to the band - rather, that was the message the band's manager conveyed to them. Who had the manager heard it from? Paul? Paul's manager? Paul's publishing administrator? Anyone at all? Who knows? Berlin also reacted angrily to Paul's claim that Lobos' David Hidalgo returned to the studio to sing on the track, insisting that there's no way that ever happened... even though anyone who's heard the song has heard Hidalgo's voice on it, singing Simon's lyrics.
- "There are times when it is an artist’s job to make explicitly political statements, ie. times of oppression, autocracy, and brutality," you aver. Nobody reading this has ever NOT known "times of oppression, autocracy, and brutality." In any event, how do you square this with: "He believes, he tells me, that if he approaches songwriting honestly, his best lyrics come from his unconscious, ie. that 'If I feel like, "I’m gonna write about about THIS,”' ie., picks out a subject prior to composing and forces himself to stick to it, rather than going with the flow—the song will be, as he puts it, 'contrived, and I don’t want to hear it.' For the mature Simon, a song takes shape during, not prior to, its composition"?
(Regardless, I am enjoying this series, and your Substack in general!)
I just googled her under "Heidi Berg musician." There are several substantial entries, though some of them look a little nutty. Berg's interaction with Simon left her feeling a little raw, as I report in this chapter.
Very interesting read
Two comments/observations...
- I take no sides in the Los Lobos dispute over credit/royalties - I wasn't there. But regarding Steve Berlin's claim that Paul told Los Lobos “Sue me. See what happens", in a follow-up interview (after Simon responded to the first one), Berlin admitted that he hadn't actually said that to the band - rather, that was the message the band's manager conveyed to them. Who had the manager heard it from? Paul? Paul's manager? Paul's publishing administrator? Anyone at all? Who knows? Berlin also reacted angrily to Paul's claim that Lobos' David Hidalgo returned to the studio to sing on the track, insisting that there's no way that ever happened... even though anyone who's heard the song has heard Hidalgo's voice on it, singing Simon's lyrics.
- "There are times when it is an artist’s job to make explicitly political statements, ie. times of oppression, autocracy, and brutality," you aver. Nobody reading this has ever NOT known "times of oppression, autocracy, and brutality." In any event, how do you square this with: "He believes, he tells me, that if he approaches songwriting honestly, his best lyrics come from his unconscious, ie. that 'If I feel like, "I’m gonna write about about THIS,”' ie., picks out a subject prior to composing and forces himself to stick to it, rather than going with the flow—the song will be, as he puts it, 'contrived, and I don’t want to hear it.' For the mature Simon, a song takes shape during, not prior to, its composition"?
(Regardless, I am enjoying this series, and your Substack in general!)
Whatever happened to Heidi Berg? You know why we don’t know? Paul Simon.
I just googled her under "Heidi Berg musician." There are several substantial entries, though some of them look a little nutty. Berg's interaction with Simon left her feeling a little raw, as I report in this chapter.