Yesterday it was my birthday. I hung one more year on the line.

(Apologies to Paul Simon for stealing his lyric)

Actually, my birthday was Friday, but the real celebration took place over the weekend. I got some time to finally watch the PBS special honoring Paul Simon as the first-ever recipient of the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The show aired Wednesday, but I was tied up in rehearsal, so it took me a couple of days to get around to it.

I've been a huge Paul Simon fan for just over twenty years. "Graceland" was the first CD I ever owned, and it inspired me to pillage my Mom's record collection for her old Simon and Garfunkel LPs. And I think I'm one of like twelve people who actually saw his Broadway musical, "The Capeman." So I'm delighted to see him receive this award. I think Bob Costas made a great point about Simon's musical longevity: He's been writing songs for forty years and he's written great material in each of the last five decades - compared to some contemporaries who had periods of brilliance, and decades of unremarkable work.

A few years ago, I probably couldn't have watched a show like this without getting all huffy about other artists performing Paul Simon's music, and butchering it by not performing it exactly the way he does. These days, though, I'm much more mellow; and as I watched a cavalcade of great musicians pay tribute to Simon's music, I was struck by how broad his influence really has been over the years. For instance, what other artists would bring Shawn Colvin and Allison Krauss together for the same homage? James Taylor and the Dixie Hummingbirds? Lyle Lovett and Marc Anthony?

A few random thoughts on the performance:

• I would never, in a million years, have thought to put Shawn Colvin and Allison Krauss together in a duet. But it turns out their voices are spectacular together. And "The Boxer" is a great song to test that theory.
• God, I love how Lyle Lovett sings. I wasn't too thrilled with the songs they gave him, though. I would have liked to hear what he could do with "Graceland." I bet he could knock it out of the park.
• How awesome is it that they decided to include "Gone At Last"? This is like one of my favorite Paul Simon songs ever, and I figured everybody except me had just forgotten about it. Jessy Dixon and Yolanda Adams ROCKED on it.
• Dianne Reeves. I've never been a huge fan of this jazz vocalist. But she was a great choice for "Something So Right." Her performance made me hear jazzy elements in the song that I'd never noticed were there before -- which is exactly what a good cover is supposed to do. Plus, again: Points for shining the spotlight on a song in the Simon canon that doesn't get a whole lot of attention.
• I don't know who that guy is who plays guitar for Paul Simon these days, but he was the hardest-working guy on the stage. He's the size of a house, and vaguely Nordic-looking. Until I learn his actual name, I'm going to call him "Sven."
• Stevie Wonder flubbed his entrance in "Loves Me Like a Rock," and asked to start the song over from the top. PBS didn't edit out the false start, and I think I can tell why: His cover ("I couldn't see my cue card") was actually pretty funny, and entirely genuine. Plus, on the second take, he came in like a freight train. Stevie Wonder rocks.
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo is still amazing, after all these years. Simon looked a little awkward singing with them (He always comes off a little uncomfortable on stage), but by the end, you could see real affection between him and LSM's lead singers. They really looked like two guys who've become musical brothers.
• Was that concert given at Ford's Theatre? I went to a show there a couple of years ago, and it sure looked like it.

PS: This was one the first broadcasts I recorded to my new computer, using Windows Media Center and a direct cable connection. I know that other people have been doing this for years, but I was really pleased with the result. The only downside is that I can't watch it on my flat-screen TV. Then again, maybe that'll be my next project.