"This is the story of how we forget to remember" indeed, Mr. Simon.

Paul Simon's 1986 album Graceland probably seemed like a really good idea at the time. Such a good idea, in fact that upon its release in 1986, I'm fairly certain it was immediately added to all of those miserably biased and diplomatic "Best Of" album lists that every music magazine feels the need to update every ten years. Celebrating African culture at a time when that continent's politics were beginning to enter the public consciousness was probably the best marketing move Simon has ever made short of reuniting with Garfunkel for cash-grab reunion shows.

Synthesizers, drum machines and chant-singing just don't mesh with some of Simon's least intriguing songs to date. It's easy to think of tracks like "Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes" and "You Can Call Me Al" and decide that Graceland is a perfectly harmless and pleasant album. The album's back half is littered with weak writing ("That Was Your Mother") and awkward instrumentation ("All around The World or The Myth Of Fingerprints.") The latter track was apparently written by Los Lobos, who were given no credit for the composition. If the guys whose biggest hit was a schlocky cover of "La Bamba" don't care enough about a song to fight for the royalties, you know it's garbage. When was the last time you listened to the first few tracks for that matter? Simon's attempts at African cultural music seem about as valid and tasteful as Robin Williams' imitation of an urban youth.

Let's not "forget to remember" that noble intentions don't justify bad art. Simon's ham-handed -incorporation of African performers into his Graceland album has been praised for the last twenty-three years. It won the almost always poorly-chosen "Album Of The Year" Grammy and hasn't been doubted since. Somehow even the most cynical of critics find themselves wooed by Simon's combination of political maneuvering and bubbly pop. I can't argue with "You Can Call Me Al," with its delightfully absurd lyrics and its forward/backwards bass solo, but beyond that, I just couldn't hide my contempt for this record any longer.