I had a great time this weekend celebrating my girl Lisa/Bethy's 25th birthday in Vegas but I am so thankful to be home and sleeping in my own bed again. Three days and two nights (on a terrible hotel mattress) were just enough to leave me with found memories and still a yearning for the comforts of home.
While in transit I was doing a crossword puzzle with the aid of my lovely travel companion and one of the clues was "Funny Chevy." Of course there could be no other answer than Mr. Chevy Chase. The first thing I thought of with the mention of his name was not of the many movies he's been in but of a music video he starred in with Paul Simon. This video for "You Can Call Me Al" came out when I was a child, long before I knew of who Paul Simon was and I remember thinking that Chevy himself was the actual singer because he lip syncs throughout. It wasn't until I started asking my mother questions about the wonderful music she was listening to that I came to know the greatness that was Simon and Garfunkle and Paul Simon himself.
It goes without saying that as soon as I got home I listened to the song and went looking to youtube to show me the video I only vaguely recall. It was even better than I remembered! Like watching a Looney Tunes cartoon for the first time as an adult and finally understanding the jokes beyond exploding TNT. Upon watching more closely to the beginning of the video I noticed that Paul begins to lip sync along to the track only to be cut off by Chevy who steals the show right out from under him. Leaving Paul to be relegated to the background vocals. Brilliant! I also never noticed that after Chevy drinks his water he goes to place it on what looks like a table to his left, only it's a drum stand and the glass of water falls straight to the ground below. This happens again with the flute. Hi-liarious!!!
I've posted the video below for your (and my) viewing pleasure and I've also included the song that began it all. While I was looking for more info on the song (like I do) I came across a cover that Jens Lekman did for a swedish radio set. Lekman retools this into a gorgeous acoustic diddy, leaving out the chorus while keeping the instantly recognizable sound of the horns transformed into gentle guitar strums. Enjoy.
Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al
Jens Lekman - You Can Call Me Al
Speaking of Lekman, I think some acknowledgment is due to the half Japanese girl without whom this post would not be possible. Happy Birthday Lisa/Bethy!!!
Jens Lekman - Happy Birthday, Dear Friend Lisa
and just because I can, really,
The Simpsons (Feat. "Michael Jackson") - Lisa, It's Your Birthday
2 comments:
Well, thank you very much! :-)
Also, did you know that Chevy learned the words to that song on his drive to the location where the video was shot. Thank you Pop Up Video!
Sah-weet-ah!
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