CF Edley wonder thup wif Paul Simon and Darkies?

I am a dancer. Everybody knows it. And I grew up dancing to Graceland and Rhythm of the Saints alongside Janet and Michael and Bob. Yeah, Bena, whoever you are, you reminded me. Paul Simon is amazing.
What I want to talk about is stupid shit like authenticity and propriety and cultural theft etc. I want to hate on this dood for shit like Mother and Child Reunion:


Wiki describes it as "one of the first examples of reggae attempted by a white person." But it goes on to mention that Simon used Jimmy Cliff's backing band. There's a lot to say about Jimmy Cliff, but that's for another time. Point here, seems like Paul Simon really just loved the music. Not to mention that this was his first post-Garfunkle solo album and it is not a "reggae" album by any means. See the last vid in this post. Also, this album has that other jam, that Wes Anderson fave, which is a hot cut and not some muddy cultural amalgam. Sic.

I'm getting away from myself here. What I really want to talk about is Graceland, which dood recorded in '85 in Johannesburg with a whole bunch of African musicians. Everybody knows this album and if they don't they can go away. So look here, this video is questionably questionable, especially the opening montage, especially that it was shot in Mugabe's Zimbabwe, whatever whatever. But....

Look how fucking happy that guitarist is!!! Does that make this allright? Does the fact that the song is amazing and starts out with a tight accordian lick make this fine? Is there no way this can be fine? Is it just the fact that my half-blackness has hypersensitized me to everything that Whites and Blacks do in relation to one another?

Okay, another, same concert, but now you line up Ladysmith Black Mambazo and have them do awesome dances....


in front of a mostly black audience. And then the question arises, well, who was the concert actually for? Is he showcasing African culture for Blacks, or for Whites around the world? Does it matter? The song is great, but is it patronizing? And if it is, is the song not great? No wait, the song is great. Should we just thank him for that?

I wouldn't give up Graceland and my childhood of dancing around to You Can Call Me Al for anything, especially not simply in an effort to clear up cultural questions. When dood stayed home in White America he wrote amazing songs too, ones I listen to a lot actually, like this real killer, also off his first solo jam:


So, I guess I haven't figured out anything. Paul Simon made music alone as a whitey and in collaboration with darkies. I like both. Any thoughts?

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