The Simpsons pay homage to Cat Stevens as Tea for the Tillerman replaces the normal Simpsons couch gag. Homer, Lisa, and Maggie replicate the album artwork & Springfield residents give a literal interpretation of the lyrics. The whole thing is totally charming and comes with the obligatory “D’oh!” from Homer.
(To watch this video in Creation 5, just tap here.)
The Simpson’s have been running for an incredible 26 seasons and have opened almost every episode with a clever ‘couch gag’. These couch gags have included spoofing everything from Breaking Bad to the Harlem Shake. They even managed to get iconic artists like Banksy and Don Hertzfeld to direct their own versions. This latest gag takes on Cat Stevens’ iconic 1970 album Tea For The Tillerman and ends with Homer reenacting Tea for the Tillerman’s iconic album cover. If the song sounds a bit familiar to you, it’s because Tea for the Tillerman was used as the theme to Ricky Gervais’ Extras. We’re quite surprised that The Simpsons didn’t also make use of the Sad Lisa track also on the Tillerman album.)
No one knows what exactly inspired this Cat Stevens / Yusuf Islam tribute – perhaps it was the fact that the creators of the show are excited to see Yusuf Islam on tour December? Islam is getting ready to release his new album Tell ‘Em I’m Gone on Oct. 27. The album, his first studio album in 5 years, leans towards the R&B sounds that he listened to as a young adult: “Hidden in the background behind my renowned troubadour persona lurked an R&B alter-self waiting to be let free,” he said in a statement. “What’s powerful and profound, to me, is the overall message which emerged, lyrically. It suddenly stared me in the face: the innate struggle for Freedom! Isn’t that what most human beings dream of? Music and the blues particularly was a means of escape for many chained to the destiny of the rich and powerful.”
The album will contain 10 tracks (5 originals and 5 covers) – here is the first of the covers – a piano-based take on Edgar Winter’s Dying to Live. (To listen in Creation 5, just tap here.)
