Remembering Paul Simon’s cameo in ‘Portlandia’
Of all the wonderful creations of Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein in Portlandia, perhaps none are as notoriously annoying as the Portland hipster couple Kath and Dave. In season five of the show, the hyper-enthusiastic pair even got on the nerves of the great Paul Simon.
During the episode, Kath and Dave rock up to a Simon Q&A session to try and impress the folk legend with what they assume is their enviable knowledge of the history of folk music. However, as is bound to happen with the irritating couple, their lack of expertise leaves them with egg on their face and Simon suitably pissed off.
Dave sits in the audience and thinks to himself, “I’ve got a lot to say. I’m really gonna make an impression on Paul Simon.” In some ways, we can sympathise with Dave here. We’ve all been to a Q&A session with one of our heroes, and it’s a tense affair. Then palms get sweaty, and we stumble on our words as that reality draws near.
Kath is in a similar mood. She gears herself up for her big moment by telling herself, “He’ll say, ‘Good question – I’ve been waiting my whole life for someone to ask that.'” However, the pair’s hopes and wishes to express their fondness for Simon quickly turn to dust when Dave gets shy and mumbles his question, even though the microphone is nowhere near his mouth.
Then, Kath attempts to save the day by trying to impress Simon by telling him that they know his “entire discography”. However, much to their chagrin, Simon looks utterly disinterested in the couple and their questions. Next, it’s Dave’s turn to try and salvage any modicum of respect. He thinks it an excellent idea to jam-pack a question full of musical terminology, believing that this will also impress the musician. However, it results in the very odd and drawn-out question: “We had heard – I had heard a folk singer, and his vocalisations didn’t have the discerning quality, tonality – I think you and I seem like we’re the same type of musically trained judges of how people sing. Do you find your discerning ear to criticise, or at least assess, that type of vocalisation – or is that just us?”
And how on earth is Simon to answer that question? Well, he doesn’t. One final attempt at respect comes from Dave as he desperately asks whether Simon has a troublesome time understanding “the old Gaelic Irish singers”. Simon reluctantly answers, “Just for the sake of expediency, I’m going to agree.” It’s a classic sketch amongst the several that have come out of Portlandia.
Unfortunately, the clip of Simon’s cameo is not directly available online, so check out Fred Armisen and Bill Hader’s telling of Simon’s and Garfunkel’s history below.
