BEST NEW TRACKS: MIKAL CRONIN - SAY

For Bay Area songwriter Mikal Cronin’s latest single, “Say,” he has teamed up with director Jonah Ray at Funny Or Die to create an unexpectedly gory spin on Paul Simon’s classic video for “You Can Call Me Al”. This isn’t the first time that Cronin spoofed a well known video— Last month he teamed up with comedian Kristen Schaal for his single "Turn Around,” which spoofed Natalie Imbruglia’s infamous ‘90s video for her smash hit “Torn.” It turns out he was just getting started.

MIKAL CRONIN - SAY

Much like the 1986 original, there are white plastic chairs in a pink-lit square room, and everyone is sporting Chevy’s iconic white blazer. As more and more “Chevy’s” enter the room (who are played by a handful of comedians like Nelson Franklin and Nick Thune to name a few), things start to take a vengeful and violent turn. Just when everyone picks up a horn and things look okay, chaos ensues when someone gets stabbed which results in everyone frantically running for their lives. Who, if anyone, makes it out alive? I’ll let you watch and find out.

The song itself starts off much like its accompanying music video—calmly. Chugging bass, soft percussion, and delicate vocals cause you to think you’re entering a laid back, mellow track. But once things kick off about 40 seconds in with jarring horn blasts, urgent guitars, and fuzzy synths, you realize you're enjoying an uplifting indie track full of awesome riffs and a pleasingly loud ending. “Say” is off of Cronin’s latest album, MCIII.

I’ll leave you with Paul Simon’s original video.

PAUL SIMON - YOU CAN CALL ME AL

About Erin Crider

Erin Crider eats, breathes, and sleeps pop culture. If you have a question about a one-hit wonder from the ‘90s or need help remembering lines from a SNL skit, she’s your girl. When she isn’t lurking the internet, she's either going to a show or hanging out at Disneyland. Erin lives in Southern California and has a B.A. in Creative Writing from Cal State Long Beach.