Close, But No Cigar

Today's song: You can Call Me Al by Paul Simon featuring Chevy Chase

This is a request from Bex so i want to do this one justice. I went for the most obvious of lyrics over on Facebook because this video deserves such blatancy.  It is that good. Some have even contended that this is the greatest video of all time.  When planning an ascent to such lofty heights it is wise to plan carefully, dress warmly, and bring a bottle of O₂.

I am going to get this out of the way right now, in case the title was too subtle, this is not the best video of all time.  It is good.  It is very good.  But it is not the best.  We'll cover that later.

So what makes for a good music video?  If it is just the artist performing the song it is not the best.  I don't much care for performance videos.  If i wanted to see that i could go to a concert.  If you are making a video you need to do more.  You can do the "concert" video well, but you need more than a simple stage performance.  Mötley Crüe's Home Sweet Home is a good example of this.

To make a truly great video you need to do something that takes advantage of the video medium.  This is usually accomplished in one of two ways.  Either the video short movie or it is conceptual.  Thiller by Michael Jackson is a short movie.  Conceptual videos take many forms and some can be pretty bizarre like Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.

You Can Call Me Al is conceptual.  It isn't too far out there.  It is close to a performance video, but having Chevy Chase there is a brilliant idea.  Chevy is a funny guy.  If you have been reading my postings this month you should be watching Community by now and you've seen first hand that he is funny.  If you are not watching Community, shame on you!  Please let the rest of us know so that we may properly shun you until you bring your actions into conformity with the prevailing community standards here.

It seems that Mr. Simon agrees with my position on performance videos.  Paul Simon did not like the original music video that was made, which was a performance of the song Simon gave during the monologue when he hosted Saturday Night Live in the perspective of a video monitor. (Thanks Wikipedia. Screw you, VH1).  Lorne Michaels came up with the idea of putting Chevy in the video.  Lorne was funnier back then, there is no way MacGruber gets greenlit in 1987.

The addition of Chevy Chase and the funny, breezy, light-hearted performances of Chase and Simon make this video a classic.  I like it a lot.  I can't think of a time i watched this video and failed to chuckle.  It is good.  It is very good.  But it is not the best.  If you want the best drop by later this month when we'll be covering the best.


Later

Bob