195. JF Robitaille and Lail Arad Discuss Simon & Garfunkel, Bridge Over Troubled Water

Send us Fan MailSinger-songwriters JF Robitaille and Lail Arad pay YMAAA a visit to discuss Simon & Garfunkel’s 1970 album Bridge Over Troubled Water. They talk about how they came to love the album and which tracks are the most meaningful to them, as well as sharing some stories they have learned about how certain tracks were made. JF and Lail also talk about working as a duo and making their first album together—the just-released Wild Moves.MPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE YMAAA COMMUNITY: The new YMAAA Patreon—Bonus Tracks—has arrived! Once a month, there will be a new podcast episode exclusively for the Patreon community. In addition to bonus episodes, there will be forums where we can get together as a community.The first Bonus Tracks episode will be published on July 24. If you subscribe anytime before July 31, you can get the first episode for $0.99 instead of the normal $5.99 monthly charge. For this Bonus Tracks Early Bird discount, go to patreon.com/youmealbum and enter the code ALBUM.Follow Lail at the following places [email protected] on Instagram@lailaradmusic on Facebook@lailarad on YouTubeI highly recommend Lail’s Substack, Lail Arad’s Foggy Notions. You can subscribe at https://lailarad.substack.com/.To keep up with The Songs of Joni Mitchell...Website: https://songsof.co.uk/Instagram: @thesongsofjonimitchellFollowing JF couldn’t be easier! He’s at @jfrobitaille on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior. This show has an account on Instagram at @youmealbum.2:57 JF and Lail join the show3:13 Lail remembers “claiming” Bridge Over Troubled Water as a favorite album at age 106:05 It took JF a while to come around to Bridge Over Troubled Water8:33 Is there too much production on the title track?14:17 Bridge Over Troubled Water was a different kind of album for Simon & Garfunkel17:17 “El Condor Pasa” is just one example of Simon using other artists’ music, sometimes without attribution22:07 Lail, JF and Al discuss the message behind “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright”25:44 Lail, JF and Al talk about the “happy accident” that shaped the sound of “Cecilia” 31:15 Al learned why the chorus of “The Boxer” is “lie la lie”32:17 JF, Lail and Al talk about the other songwriting and production choices made for “The Boxer”40:27 Al was puzzled by the cover of “Bye Bye Love”44:13 JF likes “Song for the Asking” as an album closer45:06 “The Only Living Boy in New York” is a standout track for JF48:08 JF and Lail think of “Keep the Customer Satisfied” and “Baby Driver” as being paired together50:04 JF and Lail explain why they chose this album for this episode51:53 JF and Lail talk about their origins as a duo55:04 Lail and JF discuss the differences between working solo and working together1:03:00 Lail talks about the fun atmosphere of the Wild Moves recording sessions1:04:42 JF cites the influences behind “The Waterfront”1:06:50 Lail discusses the Songs of Joni Mitchell project1:10:42 JF and Lail talk about their upcoming recording and tour plansOutro music is from “Swim Towards Your Troubles” by JF Robitaille and Lail Arad.Support the show