Random: You Can Call Me Al!

[nebroadwe]

This is my favorite music video of all time (kanja177, note Mr. Simon's excellent bongo technique):

Not being all that conversant with pop culture, for years I thought Paul Simon was six feet tall. "Big mistake!" as my god-daughter's sister tells me.

Comments

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I remember loving that video though my favorite (for sheer absurdity) is still Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer".

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, "Sledgehammer." I remember being at someone's house for New Year's Eve the year that won Best Music Video of the year. (I'm also quite fond of "All You Need Is a Miracle" by Mike & the Mechanics, for the amusing narrative ("Er, we're big in Guildford ...")

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

...the dancing chickens. Dead, featherless, still in their skins, dancing chickens. :D

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I'm never sure whether that video is supposed to be deep or just bizarre.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Knowing what little I know about Peter Gabriel, probably both.


...great, now I want to go on a video hunt. *snerk*

[ishte.livejournal.com]

I have never seen this at all. I guess this was made in 1986, after I'd already moved out of the house. MTv had pretty much stopped playing music videos by then, and I didn't know about Vh1 then, or we didn't have it or something. But it's really great fun. You can certainly see the friendship between Simon and Chase in the easy way they pull off this comedy. Are their shoes pink? I think Paul Simon is about 5'2" but he looks even smaller next to Chevy Chase who is like 6'4".

It's funny the other instruments he's really not playing. Well maybe the drum... but his fingers aren't moving at all on the whistle or the sax. When he does that riff on the bass, though he's actually playing it.

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

I didn't see any music videos during the 80s, really, because we didn't have cable until after I left for college. (I remember when we acquired our first color t.v. sometime in the early 80s -- it was quite an event in our household.)

It's funny the other instruments he's really not playing. Well maybe the drum... but his fingers aren't moving at all on the whistle or the sax. When he does that riff on the bass, though he's actually playing it.

Yes ... and it's a very good riff. And they do have great chemistry, as you say. I love the bit at the beginning where Simon opens his mouth to start singing and Chase beats him to it, and then Simon looks all nonplussed. :-)

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

I love the bit at the beginning where Simon opens his mouth to start singing and Chase beats him to it, and then Simon looks all nonplussed.

...and continues to look nonplussed throughout the video. *giggles*

[nebroadwe.livejournal.com]

Right off his stride. *grin* Of course, it can't help that the door is so narrow and he keeps getting hung up in it.

[evil-little-dog.livejournal.com]

Yes, that bit where he tries to come through with the guitar and the bongo - priceless.