Have I mentioned that I love this song?  I love this song.

I wrote about this song almost five years ago and observed that, even when Steve is performing characters originated by someone else, “there is an ineffable Steve-quality to his voice because, as this song echoes around my cranium, I can imagine Wembley Fraggle singing it too. Like, as a duet with Ernie. And now I really wish that could be a thing.”

Now I really, REALLY wish that could be a thing that existed outside my own head.  Add it to the list of Muppet duets that I’d like to hear but are either impossible or extremely unlikely to occur.

You know…it’s petty of me, and I’m not proud of myself for feeling this way, but in the interest of complete honesty, I have to admit that part of me wants to shove this song in the face of anyone who says that “Peter Linz is the best Ernie since Jim Henson,” (a sentiment, incidentally, which I’ve seen expressed on several fan sites/forums, not just from one particular source).  No offense to Peter Linz, whom I love and who really is doing a great job as Ernie, but it just strikes me as unnecessary to turn it into a contest.  

This whole concept of praising something (or someone) by disparaging something else has been a pet peeve of mine for many years, by the way.  It’s the reason why I don’t read YouTube comments anymore (or, at least, I try not to).  And I really don’t think there should be a place for it when it comes to talking about the Muppet performers.  As Steve says, all the performers “bring unique strengths to the ensemble,” and no one’s strengths are better or stronger than anyone else’s strengths. 

Everyone has their own ineffable individual quality.