Neither has Paul Simon and he's been going much longer.
There's a thing called "nose blind" - where you can get so used to the smell in a house that you are oblivious to it.
I think some people around here have become "MK" blind to the extent that they are delusional about his standing in terms of this stuff.
Yes it is all subjective but there is critical and popular consensus and trying to argue that MK is a better songwriter than Paul Simon would get you laughed out of any room in the world!
100 agree especially "I think some people around here have become "MK" blind to the extent that they are delusional about his standing in terms of this stuff. "
I said it many times, but I like to repeat myself : MK is my favorite artist, but I don't consider him as the greatest genius of all time
Quality of songs, quantity of songs, commercial success, popularity, awards and recognition, everything is independent. You can write shitty songs and still be rich and famous, hundreds of artists are living proof of this today.
I'm not blind, I'm just looking at the whole picture. How prolific the songwriter is, how many album fillers he's got, what their fans care about, who they are, how his playing live compares to album versions, etc.
In my opinion, Mark gets high points in every single category, hence you can become "MK blind". But it's true, he's really good. Not the best singer, not the best songwriter, not the best guitar player, not the best anything, but boy he's so good overall.
Any time you discuss music with somebody and mention MK, they go like "ahhhh, yes, this guy is the best", even though nobody mentioned his work in the whole conversation. That's exactly what he wants, it's exactly what he gets — being a subtle, discreet genius, as opposed to certain Nobel Prize laureates and knighted fellows.