Call Me Maybe

June 8, 2012 1:00 PM

Jimmy Fallon, Carly Rae Jepsen, and The Roots Sing Call Me Maybe with toy/classroom instruments. previously
posted by nadawi (64 comments total)

Much better than Obama singing the same song...
posted by blaneyphoto at 1:06 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I wanted to love this, but it really doesn't hit its stride until the bridge, and then it sort of peters out (I think I mostly blame the clinical ukulele arrangement). Good on her, though, for being a sport.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:07 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

ha! i love those obama sings videos (born this way and sexy and i know it).
posted by nadawi at 1:09 PM on June 8, 2012

He's really talented, Jimmy Fallon and obviously his whole crew. I liked that Bruce one a lot (Sexy and I know it) and it's still in my head sometimes and also his whole history of rap with JT.

I was shocked at first- I watched Fever Pitch and his acting is not 'all that' and he giggled a lot on SNL. He's really got it going on with his musical stuff on his show.
posted by bquarters at 1:11 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

That was a great deal of fun. I love watching first rate musicians having a blast. I barely watched Fallon and Jepsen (who were also having a good time) because The Roots just seemed to be loving this. The gentleman playing the little xylophone was especially awesome.
posted by Joey Michaels at 1:11 PM on June 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

Toychestra, "Toy Destroy"
posted by mrgrimm at 1:14 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

HULK JUST MET YOU
HULK THINK IS CRAZY
HERE HULK NUMBER
CALL HULK MAYBE?
posted by schmod at 1:17 PM on June 8, 2012 [46 favorites]

Pianosaurus, Ready To Rock, 1987.
posted by chococat at 1:19 PM on June 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

I orignally heard this song when Ben Howard covered it. I loved it, had no idea it was a cover. Then I was in a thrift store one day and Jepsen's version came on the radio. It blew my frigging mind. In a bad way.
posted by FirstMateKate at 1:20 PM on June 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

more toy instruments, the cure - unplugged
posted by nadawi at 1:24 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

I feel it is my professional obligation to present the NPR spoken-word mix of the same song, which really peaks at the very end when Susan Stamberg ... well, you'll see.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 1:25 PM on June 8, 2012 [15 favorites]

I'm mystified by how this song seems to have taken hold for this moment of pop culture. It's fundamentally a pretty disposable teen pop song but I find myself inexplicably responding to it and it apparently has the same affect on lots of others who aren't generally fans of this type of music (cf. the NPR thing, the various covers, Howard Kremer's repeated endorsements on the Who Charted? podcast, who pins it on signature vocal phrasing).

The gentleman playing the little xylophone was especially awesome.
This is my opportunity to drop in a super-pedantic note that xylophones are specifically made of wood and he's playing a glockenspiel.
posted by camcgee at 1:34 PM on June 8, 2012 [11 favorites]

He's really talented, Jimmy Fallon and obviously his whole crew. I liked that Bruce one a lot (Sexy and I know it) and it's still in my head sometimes and also his whole history of rap with JT.

I was shocked at first- I watched Fever Pitch and his acting is not 'all that' and he giggled a lot on SNL. He's really got it going on with his musical stuff on his show.

It seems obvious in retrospect that a talk show is the ideal venue for Jimmy Fallon. He's really great at having fun and communicating just how much fun he's having all the time, which doesn't make sketch comedy that much more fun to watch, but can really make a talk show delightful.
posted by Copronymus at 1:38 PM on June 8, 2012 [11 favorites]

I just like that every person in that video has a really nice, genuine smile (even it it's obscured by a kazoo). It's nice to see smiling people having fun, so I watched it all the way through and really enjoyed it.

Now I'll resume panicking about the couple of things that I have to freak out about.
posted by peagood at 1:40 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm mystified by how this song seems to have taken hold for this moment of pop culture. It's fundamentally a pretty disposable teen pop song but I find myself inexplicably responding to it and it apparently has the same affect on lots of others who aren't generally fans of this type of music

I remember the original thread, and I skipped it then. I listened to the real version for the first time today. I really don't get it. It's fine as a dancepop song, but nothing special. Others apparently disagree. The cover above isn't much better, imo. It's no "I Do Not Hook Up." (I don't think I've ever heard the Kelly Clarkson version.)
posted by mrgrimm at 1:42 PM on June 8, 2012

It's fascinating to see all the work and strategy that goes into making a song a hit and keeping it there once it's there. It's almost always a real shame to see which songs and "artists" get this treatment and which ones do not.
posted by The World Famous at 1:52 PM on June 8, 2012

Hey, I just met you,
And this is crazy,
BUT I'M SO TIRED OF THIS MEME
SO COULD YOU PLEASE JUST STOP
posted by daniel_charms at 1:57 PM on June 8, 2012

This is my opportunity to drop in a super-pedantic note that xylophones are specifically made of wood and he's playing a glockenspiel.

THEN WHO WAS VIBRAPHONE?
posted by StopMakingSense at 1:58 PM on June 8, 2012 [9 favorites]

Others apparently disagree.

The first time I heard it I was all like "that's a mindless pop song". The second time I heard it I was like "this is an interestingly constructed, if ultimately mindless pop song". Every time I've heard it since has been a brief parenthesis of bliss.

It's like the opposite of the Two Minutes Hate, except that everyone should engage with it and obey, so in that sense it's the same.
posted by tigrefacile at 1:59 PM on June 8, 2012 [13 favorites]

I was just talking about this (the question of why this song is so popular, and why it's so "sticky") with my newly teenaged daughter, and I was only half-joking when I came up with my theory that there's something compelling to the way the interjecting strings mimick the halting awkwardness of the narrator in the chorus as she proffers her number to a near-stranger. It's a nice bit of tone-painting.

Anyway, I said that and then she nodded and went back to listening to One Direction, so.
posted by mothershock at 2:03 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

The first time I heard it I was all like "that's a mindless pop song". The second time I heard it I was like "this is an interestingly constructed, if ultimately mindless pop song". Every time I've heard it since has been a brief parenthesis of bliss.

I listened to it a few more times. It really needs a better bridge. That "I missed you so bad" is the weakest part.

proffers her number to a near-stranger. It's a nice bit of tone-painting.

That's the other thing that bugs. "I just met you and this is crazy, but here's my number" ...

Is the act of giving someone your number usually done by strangers? Isn't that the whole point? Are you ever going to write down your number and give it to a friend? No, that would be crazy ... :?

I'm taking a cultural pass here.
posted by mrgrimm at 2:51 PM on June 8, 2012

I love this, if for no other reason that it presents compelling evidence in favor of the fact that Carly Rae can sing even without the benefit of autotune.

I've had more-or-less spontaneous musical moments like that, and they are always delightful. I'm glad this one got recorded.
posted by KathrynT at 2:51 PM on June 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

I'm torn between considering this song a sort of rickroll and actually liking the cracking up crew in the background. I think I'm leaning toward the latter. It's always fun to watch musicians on toy instruments (thank you for the pianosaurus link, chococat!) at any rate.
posted by neewom at 2:52 PM on June 8, 2012

I was having a rough day, emotion wise, and I saw this and it made me so happy I kind of cried a little. AND I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE THINKS ABOUT THAT.
posted by whitneyarner at 2:56 PM on June 8, 2012 [10 favorites]

I'm consistently surprised at how much I like Jimmy Fallon.
posted by rachaelfaith at 2:59 PM on June 8, 2012 [7 favorites]

I am charmed.
posted by Divine_Wino at 3:13 PM on June 8, 2012 [3 favorites]

THE MELODICA IS NOT A TOY INSTRUMENT OKAY. IT IS A REAL INSTRUMENT.

Also Jimmy Fallon has really surprised me with his life. I thought he would peter out long ago after a stint as a kinda douchey MTV VJ...but he got...kind of cool...it's weird.
posted by Lutoslawski at 3:17 PM on June 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

wait, I think I'm confusing Jimmy Fallon and Carson Daly? I'm terribly at famous people. I don't think Carson Daly became cool, for the record. I should have said "petered out after he had that one weird boyfriend song that one time..."
posted by Lutoslawski at 3:19 PM on June 8, 2012

KathrynT

The video of the Ellen performance made me cringe, but after watching a few other performances of the song I'm guessing that awkwardness was just nerves and pressure to replicate the radio/single version's unrelenting pace and energy, rather than seek a more natural, slower groove.

My favorite among her live renditions would have to be this one. I love how the mandolin (that is a mandolin, isn't it?) apes the synth-string part.
posted by The Confessor at 3:23 PM on June 8, 2012 [5 favorites]

carson daly is still totally a douche. but in other VJ news, dave holmes just becomes more and more awesome (jesse camp didn't fair so well). i would love it if holmes had a show like the soup that only discussed singing competitions and viral music videos and pop stars.
posted by nadawi at 3:28 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Carly Ray Jepsen vs. Third Eye Blind - “Semi-Charmed Call”
posted by Rangeboy at 3:35 PM on June 8, 2012 [6 favorites]

I think the word I'm looking for is "delightful". Pop music should be fun. Also, Mr Hat-Wearing Root? Making the 'call-me' hand sign? Oh yeah, I'll call you. I'll call you SO HARD.
posted by marylynn at 4:33 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

This song seems innocent enough until you drive two thousand miles in four days and CAN'T ESCAPE IT.
posted by madcaptenor at 5:22 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh shit, this is going to be super adorable isn't it...





...OK, that was super adorable, but honey, STOP SINGING THROUGH YOUR GODDAMN NOSE! It's a really sweet song, and everything, but GET SOME VOCAL COACHING! JESUS!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:51 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

I love this song. It just kind of ear-worms it way in.

But I catch myself singing the refrain sometimes with wildly different words.

My recent incantation is:

Hey, I just met you
And this is fucked up
But will you call me
Billy Crudup

Try it a couple times. You'll see.
posted by kbanas at 6:51 PM on June 8, 2012 [16 favorites]

I just like that every person in that video has a really nice, genuine smile...

I challenge your assertion: the nice man in the upper-left has a pretty bad case of Africa face.
posted by persona at 7:41 PM on June 8, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pure awesome. Well, at least 99 and 44/100ths.
posted by bz at 7:52 PM on June 8, 2012

In case you were wondering: the little keyboard that Fallon has at the beginning looks like a a Casio VL-1 (or maybe its Radio Shack clone, which is what I have). If it sounds familiar, it's probably because it's the same keyboard that Trio used for "Da Da Da."
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 8:33 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

I too find this song strangely irresistible. Although it sort of weirds me out that Jensen looks like she's 18 or so when she's more like 30. It's a bit weird how she's styled to look so much younger.
posted by GuyZero at 10:19 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

Every once in a while MetaFilter descends into Steve Allen reading lyrics territory.

It's a pop song, people. It's supposed to be lightweight. When it works, it's so catchy it sticks in the culture.
posted by dw at 10:56 PM on June 8, 2012

This song seems innocent enough until you drive two thousand miles in four days and CAN'T ESCAPE IT.

I just drove from Chicago to Tucson over four days, and I basically came here to give this comment a resounding "YUP."

And by the end of the trip, I had Dad (who had never heard the song before the trip) cranking it and singing along. Which was pretty fantastic.
posted by honeybee413 at 11:05 PM on June 8, 2012 [4 favorites]

I once drove 16 hours with my father and the only tape we had in the truck was Elton John's Crocodile Rock. No radio stations along the way either.
posted by ODiV at 11:20 PM on June 8, 2012 [2 favorites]

After my first semester of college I got a ride from southwest Missouri to Washington, DC. We drove straight through, 24 hours. The driver had a stick shift and I didn't know how to drive a stick at the time, so I felt guilty and wanted to stay up and keep him company. We took a lot of No-Doz and washed them down with Jolt Cola. We listened to the radio and heard Elton John's "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" about 20 times. By the end of the trip we were having hallucinations and I didn't like that song very much.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:05 AM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Pianosaurus, Ready To Rock , 1987

Around this time I got to hang out backstage with Pianosaurus at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:06 AM on June 9, 2012

From back when How I Met Your Mother was pretty awesome:

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) on a road trip
posted by The Confessor at 7:16 AM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Hey, I just met you
And this is fucked up
But will you call me
Billy Crudup

Try it a couple times. You'll see.

Sadly, it's "Croo-dup."
posted by lumensimus at 7:56 AM on June 9, 2012

For me, the key to Call Me Maybe (besides the catchy) is the smile voice; Jepsen's totally got the smiley phone voice when she sings the chorus, and you can't help but feel like everything is the most fun ever.
posted by redsparkler at 10:44 AM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

I'm mystified by how this song seems to have taken hold for this moment of pop culture. It's fundamentally a pretty disposable teen pop song but I find myself inexplicably responding to it and it apparently has the same affect on lots of others who aren't generally fans of this type of music

It's an upbeat, happy, well crafted pop song that's come out just as the world is generally shitty. It's cute rather than sexy, doesn't have the nastier undercurrents of much current pop music and it lacks any sort of annoying trick that would put people off.

All of which is rarer than you'd think, so this is probably why it's hitting big right now.
posted by MartinWisse at 11:18 AM on June 9, 2012

Tuba Gooding Jr.
posted by mecran01 at 11:26 AM on June 9, 2012

Actually, if anything, there are far too few nasty undercurrents in much current pop music. And there've been plenty of upbeat, happy, well-crafted pop songs that have come out just as the world is generally shitty, which it's been for some time now.

Can't deny that it's an earworm of a song, though.
posted by blucevalo at 11:51 AM on June 9, 2012

Stuck in head...24 hrs and counting....
posted by bquarters at 4:17 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

For me, it's the weird out-of-place mysticism of "Before you came into my life I missed you so bad..." It's all, teen pop teen pop teen pop SHADOW WORLD OF TRANSTEMPORAL DREAMS AND ILLUSIONS
posted by threeants at 4:42 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

That part always makes me think of the outro to this song.
posted by threeants at 4:44 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Stuck in head...24 hrs and counting....

My daughter (8 yrs old) knows every word to this song - but often forgets to wear underpants.

STUCK IN HEAD IS HOW I FEEL INSIDE, BQUARTERS.
posted by peagood at 5:29 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Wait, Carly Rae Jepson is a 26 year old Canadian? I watched her videos and thought she was an 18 year old American. Go Carly!
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 6:00 PM on June 9, 2012 [4 favorites]

SHADOW WORLD OF TRANSTEMPORAL DREAMS AND ILLUSIONS

Too bad this didn't come out in time to be the theme song to The Time Traveler's Wife.


OR MAYBE IT DID
posted by GuyZero at 9:23 PM on June 9, 2012

This video reminded me very clearly of that scene from Mr. Holland's Opus, where he puts on "louis louis" for a student, explains how bad the song is technically, but he loves it because it's fun and music is supposed to be fun. If you can't have fun listening to this, you'll have to explain to me how you can like music.

Good post, thanks. Needed to see this today.
posted by dry white toast at 12:11 AM on June 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

I know nothing about music, but I was pretty impressed by how closely her singing live matched the recorded song. I've found that even singers who are known to have pretty decent voices usually sound much worse live.
posted by whoaali at 8:51 AM on June 10, 2012

Hey, I just met you
And this is fucked up
But will you call me
Billy Crudup

Try it a couple times. You'll see.

Sadly, it's "Croo-dup."

Change "fucked up" to "screwed up." Hey presto!
posted by KathrynT at 11:53 AM on June 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Day Four of having this song, and this particular version of this song, stuck in my head, and I am wondering:

"Before you came into my life I missed you so bad I missed you so bad I missed you so, so bad..."

How do you miss someone before they even come into your life?
posted by peagood at 1:44 PM on June 12, 2012

That reminds me of this movie I was watching where this woman told her boyfriend that she couldn't live without him. That clearly doesn't make any sense! In what way would a man be a prerequisite for survival? How illogical!
posted by ODiV at 2:17 PM on June 12, 2012

other time shifters of love - fievel and tanya.
posted by nadawi at 2:32 PM on June 12, 2012

The first time I heard it I was all like "that's a mindless pop song". The second time I heard it I was like "this is an interestingly constructed, if ultimately mindless pop song". Every time I've heard it since has been a brief parenthesis of bliss.

You know, I've been listening to the original version of this song every day since this post came out, and I can't even get it stuck in my head. AT ALL.

Everytime I try to stop and try to sing it (which i can do if i really try), for some reason I segue into "don't get fancy, just get dancy." (which was last summer's earworm for me (mostly b/c it's still my daughter's favorite song).
posted by mrgrimm at 11:50 AM on June 15, 2012

Abercrombie & Fitch models lipsync (badly) to Call Me Maybe
posted by mrgrimm at 1:48 PM on June 22, 2012