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10- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Simon reflects
on latest album
By Elyssa Pearlstein
For the Daily
MUSIC R EV IE W A
Paul Simon, a household name in folk and pop rock, has
come a long way since his iconic collaboration with Art Gar-
funkel. From the soulful folk of "Sound of Silence" and the
up-beat "Mrs. Robinson" off of "The
Graduate" soundtrack to the African
influence on 1986's Graceland, Simon Paul Simon
has repeatedly proven his versatility. Suprise
Most recently, electronic pop-rock mo- Warner Bros.
gul Brian Eno has been added to a list
of collaborations that include U2 and
The Talking Heads. On Surprise, Simon's latest effort,
the tunes are arranged in a typical-for-Simon electro-folk
style that reads like an autobiography. The listener will be
soothed by the relaxing acoustic guitar sounds that work
well in tandem with Eno's gentle electronic beats.
Simon begins his thoughtful journey by reaching all the
way back to his infancy. Simon recaps his childhood in a
cynical fashion in "That's Me." He sings, "Here I am / I'm
11 months old / Dangling from my daddy's knee / There I
go / It's my graduation/ I'm picking up a bogus degree."
On the first track, "How can you live in the Northeast?"
Simon asks, "Who's gonna love you when your looks are
gone?" He then preaches the importance of God's love,
especially toward the end of a person's life, when the time
of reflection is ripe. Simon appears to come to terms with
his faith throughout many of the songs on the album, a result
of the realization that he isn't quite so young anymore.
During "Once Upon Time I was an Ocean," Simon
laments, "Once upon a time I was an ocean / But now
I'm a mountain range / something unstoppable set into
motion / Nothing is different, but everything's changed,"

Courtesy of aul:>imon
"Damn, 1look good without that other guy."
he chimes. Simon, as do all people, fails to comprehend
his age until he looks back and discovers he has indeed
evolved from when he was a young man. In addition to
delving into his personal life, Surprise noticeably tack-
les contemporary concerns.
"Wartime Prayers" emulates the hope of people who
have family members away at war. One of the most
heartfelt pieces of the album, the track features a solemn
choir filling in during the chorus. Even an allusion to
the Hurricane Katrina disaster is tacked onto the open-
ing track, questioning "How can you build on the banks
of a river when the flood water pours from the mouth?"
Simon's pensive thoughts on the world are those of an
illuminated man, and he attempts to pass them on to lis-
teners of Surprise.
The album's more upbeat songs, such as "Outrageous,"
prove fun and easy going. Things tend to turn a bit dull
during several of the slower numbers, such as "Everything
About It Is A Love Song" and "I Don't Believe." Still, Sur-
prise is a relaxing, reflective album. Amidst its life exami-
nations, the album radiates a refreshingly positive aura.

Rockers' third effort
has nowhere to go
By Chris Gaerig all of that changed. Engulfing keyboards,
Associate Arts Editor nonstop drumming and frantic guitars
hurled them ahead of similar groups. But
Music REVIEw ---_ _ _ after such a stellar second record, The
Walkmen ran into the same problem The
Forget the sophomore slump: It's Strokes and Constantines did: What can
essentially been eradicated by con- we do now that we haven't already done?
temporary rock On A Hundred Miles Off, the Walk-
groups. The The Walkmen men decided to rely on the one thing
Strokes spear- that's always made them a standout:
headed their suc- A Hundred Leithauser's voice. They abandon much of
cess on Room On Miles Off the instrumentation for a more minimal-
Fire, and Cana- Record Collection ist and slower version of Bows + Arrows,
dian powerhouse and let Leithauser carry the group on his
The Constantines reconfigured their vocal cords. "All Hands and The Cook"
lineup - adding the much-needed key- rides in on a low soaring keyboard as he
board to their roster - to return with screams "If you don't like it / Won't you
their masterpiece Shine a Light after a tell me," with an identifiable Bob Dylan-
slightly above- average debut. esque vocal slur.And "Louisiana" is again 4
But a disturbing trend connects the lyrically driven and, oddly enough, is car-
two: Both The Strokes' and Constantines' ried by Southern guitars and a full horn
third releases (First Impression of Earth section - a track that wouldn't sound out
and Tournament of Hearts, respectively) of place on any of My Morning Jacket's
were ill-fated extensions of their sound southern rock epics.
and ultimately failed experiments - even And although Leithauser does his
though the groups' excellent song writing best to support the weight of the group
held the albums above water. throughout the album, he simply can't
Now, these two have recently been do it alone. "Lost In Boston" is (no pun
accompanied by a third,The Walkmen. intended) lost in the obnoxious chorus
The Walkmen's first release, Every- and the punk guitars and drums on "This
one Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone, Job Is Killing Me" don't lend themselves
was another in the long line of East Coast to Leithauser's cries.
rock groups flooding the airwaves. While So now everyone's left waiting for the
Hamilton Leithauser's coarse croons set fourth releases. And hopefully the music
them apart, there wasn't much else to dis- may make it back to what made everyone
tinguish The Walkmen from the pack.But love them in the first (or second, whatever
on their second release, Bows + Arrows, the case may be) place.


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