everybody sees you’re blown apart

Tuesday evening 10 november Ha Concerts, Paard van Troje and Krook present: Ashley Kahn, acclaimed U.S. jazz author, presenting his new, seminal work Days of miracle and wonder – Paul Simon and the trials and triumphs of Graceland (White Rabbit, 2026). Lara Rosseel will grace the evening with associated improvisations. Location: De Krook, 20.15u, more info and tickets here. Powered by Ha Concerts.

Graceland is such an important record, worldwide in music history but certainly also strictly personal. Not only one of my first ‘world’ listening experiences, it is such a gem, lyrically and musically. It was the record (besides all her Stevie Wonder albums) of my late auntie Clim. When I visited my sister in California, we drove many miles singing alone the best lyrics Simon ever wrote. Let alone his collaboration with SA musicians, still so deeply moving, now even more in this age of Dividing Demons in charge.

Hear all about it tomorrow evening, in Belgium’s finest public library.

I was having this discussion
in a taxi heading downtown
Rearranging my position
On this friend of mine who had
A little bit of a breakdown
I said breakdowns come
and breakdowns go
So what are you going to do about it
That’s what I’d like to know
You don’t feel you could love me
But I feel you could
It was in the early morning hours
when I fell into a phone call
Believing I had supernatural powers
I slammed into a brick wall
I said, hey, is this my problem?
Is this my fault?
If that’s the way it’s going to be
I’m going to call the whole thing to a halt
You don’t feel you could love me
But I feel you could..

Music by Paul Simon, Jonhjon Mkhalali and Lulu Masilela, Words by Paul Simon, 1986.