Oftentimes, age hinders a lot of what we do. Whether that's simply moving around or doing something more arduous, it often restricts what our mortal bodies can do. For Paul Simon, it affects his hearing and alters how he leads with his lifelong passion in music.
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Recently, Paul Simon spoke with CBS Mornings for an interview. There, he gets candid about his current loss of hearing and how it informs his current relationship with music. Sadly, it hinders the way he performs and the balance needs to be incredibly delicate for him to go out on stage. "There's only about six per cent [hearing] in my left ear. When the balance is right, I can hear well," Paul explains.
Paul Simon Retires "You Can Call Me Al" As He Transitions to More Acoustic Records
Consequently, it causes Simon to alter how he approaches his set list when he performs nowadays. Due to the nature of his hearing, he swaps out the huge, pompous records for something quieter and more tender. That leaves one obvious song on the cutting room. ""I'm going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices I make to acoustic versions," Paul says. "It's all much quieter. It's not 'You Can Call Me Al.' That's gone. I can't do that one."
Still, despite all his frustrations, Simon realizes that there is room for him to remain creative despite the hurdles. "I was very angry at first that this had happened. I guess what I'm most apprehensive about would be if I can't hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music," Paul says"You know Matisse, when he was suffering at the end of his life, when he was in bed, he envisioned all these cut-outs and had a great creative period. So I don't think creativity stops with disability. So far, I haven't experienced that. And I hope not to."
