Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon by Malcolm Gladwell and Bruce Headlam

Amy  

memoir

This audiobook is less like a book and more like an audio documentary of Paul Simon’s music. It was produced from a series of “sessions” in which Simon met with the famous author/journalist Malcolm Gladwell and journalist/podcaster Bruce Headlam. It dives into Simon’s songwriting—his aims, his accomplishments/failures, his ideas/strategies, his reflections—and also analyzes his songwriting process.

Listening to these interviews made me so happy. It would literally put a smile on my face frequently as I listened to Simon explain his happy accidents and his in-depth understanding of musical theory. He’s been so interested in duplicating sounds that intrigue him while also being open to so many collaborative ideas with others. He’s a quiet man with many ideas. He also appears to be most satisfied when deep into his music.

There was a good bit of actual music played—from new performances captured by Gladwell/Headlam to old recordings. It was fun, during their discussion of musical ideas, when Simon would say, “Here, let me show you.” Hearing his thoughts on his hits and misses was enlightening.  By including some of his collaborators and fans in this “book”, Gladwell filled in the big picture.

Gladwell, in his typical data-based fashion, was able to make a study of Simon’s songwriting by first identifying that his style of creating art is experimental. He also recognized and highlighted Simon’s incredible ability to recall details from his youth, similar to the way some athletes are able to remember all the plays in a specific game from decades before. With Simon’s memory, his drive to go after specific sounds and rhythms that interest him, and his willingness to experiment and let other people’s ideas make their way into the resulting songs, he has managed to continue to have a long, successful musical career in which he is always creating new material.

My only complaints are few and they are with writing/production choices—not the actual material presented within. Miracle and Wonder sometimes repeated points and comments made earlier. The number of things repeated felt like too much to me. Secondly, between “chapters”, there was an unusually long break—about 5 seconds.  That choice just bugged me.

I guess you could say this audiobook was “narrated” by Malcolm Gladwell because he did frequently speak directly to the reader.  His clarity and effective speaking earns him an A from me. You could tell he really had fun during this project.