SONG TITLE: PUNKY'S DILEMNA
PERFORMER: SIMON AND GARFUNKEL
SONGWRITER: PAUL SIMON
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1968
COMMENTS:
Paul
Simon
was
never
particularly
a
follower
of
trends,
and
certainly
not
of
trends
as
ephemeral
as
the
1960's
psychedelic
movement.
He
had
way
too
much
self-consciousness
and
just
plain
good
judgment
to
be
caught
up
in
cheesy
hippie
fads.
You
will
find
no
photos
of
Simon
&
Garfunkel
in
tie-dye
and
sandals.
You
will
get
no
cheap
musical
sensationalism,
distorted
guitars
and
phase-shifting
and
such.
Simon
even
at
this
stage
had
an
implicit
pride
in
his
place
in
the
classic
tradition
of
Jewish-American
songwriters.
Not
that
he
was
opposed
to
smoking
a
little
weed,
but
gimmicky
doped-up
hippie
crap
was
beneath
his
dignity.
Nonetheless,
this
song
is
psychedelic.
It
doesn't
necessarily
have
anything
to
do
with
recreational
chemicals,
but
it
sure
reflects
an
altered
state
of
consciousness.
It's
trippy.
He's
definitely
taking
a
little
vacation
from
reality.
The
tune
plays
out
as
a
gently
applied
but
sweeping
flight
of
whimsy.
Paul
skips
merrily
down
the
street,
bouncing
little
flights
of
fancy
off
the
walls
of
his
mind.
It
sounds
like
the
most
lighthearted
end
of
Cole
Porter,
carefully
tuneful
but
deceptively
casually
conversational
in
tone.
Frank
Sinatra
could
have
sung
this
-if
someone
had
slipped
some
magic
mushrooms
into
his
pasta
sauce.
The
lyrics
really
top
it
off.
He
may
have
been
intending
to
mock
the
good
folks
of
southern
California,
but
if
so
it
turned
out
to
be
celebration
of
their
spirit
rather
than
a
put-down.
"Wish
I
was
a
Kellogg's
corn
flake,
floatin'
in
my
bowl
-take
in
movies.
Relaxing
a
while,
living
in
style."
The
words
may
look
silly
on
paper,
but
the
singing
makes
them
sound
plausible.
Like
I
was
saying,
it's
trippy.