[jhofmann]

I thought Sounds of Silence WAS a war song. At the time, there was the notion of the Silent Generation (who were sort of like the Soccer Moms of their day, only they elected a Republican president - Richard Nixon).

The Sounds of Silence is about what happens when people remain quiet in the face of the "neon gods", the imagery of which suggests the gods of war.

[Hildy]

Why didn't Simon & Garfunkel sing "Bridge over Troubled Waters?" Sound of silence is an incredibly difficult song to sing with a very monotone harmonic. Not a good choice. I heard Garfunkel yesterday and he was in good voice. This was a bad choice and a bad performance. Actually, I found it painful to watch.

[gg188]

The main thing I remember about Sounds of Silence is that it came out on S and G's first album, a typical folk affair circa '64.

A knockoff like everyone was doing of the enormous success of Bob Dylan.

Then about the time everyone got their rips of Dylan into record stores, Dylan went electric.

Columbian then went back and took Simon's "Sounds of Silence" and just dubbed over electric guitars, base and drums. Voila! Instant update.

Simon IMHO was at best a mediocre songwriter anyway.