I am He as You are He as You are Me: Are Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld the Lennon/McCartney of Comedy?

One of the most striking things about Paul McCartney’s new CD Memory Almost Full is that Sir Paul seems to be incapable of being unmelodic. For half a century, he has been an insatiable songbird, creating cascades of melodies flowing upon countermelodies, with yet more melodies on his bass or guitar running under and over like puppies on a pot belly. Just think of "For No One," “You Never Give Me Your Money,” “I Will” or, on the new record, “Ever Present Past."

His stunning facility in creating melody – one of the most elusive of all creative talents – brings to mind the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry realizes that he can’t be unfunny no matter how hard he tries. In fact, the harder he tries to be “serious,” the funnier he gets.

Seinfeld’s prodigious gifts and his phenomenal success at making potentially controversial material palatable to a mainstream audience make him the Sir Paul of comedy. Fittingly, his comedic foil Larry David is startlingly Lennonesque: angry, acerbic, biting, brilliant and bespectacled.

This raises the question: Are Jerry Seinfeld & Larry David the Lennon & McCartney of comedy? With the help of a multimillion dollar government research grant, Rock Turtleneck has compiled the following comparisons betwixt the two famed duos. Sure enough, the deeper you go, the higher you fly.

Genre-redefining collaboration:
The Beatles
Seinfeld

Zeitgeist-defining masterpiece:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
“The Contest”

Sprawling opus:
The White Album
Keith Hernandez two-part episode

Gloriously over-the-top farewell:
Side 2 of Abbey Road
"The Finale"

Bitter, brilliant solo project:
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Curb Your Enthusiasm

Syrupy sweet solo project:
"Ebony and Ivory"
Bee Movie

Wacky, annoying spouse you wish would just go away:
Yoko Ono
Laurie David

Public Relations Nightmare
"The Beatles are more popular than Jesus"
Michael Richards

The comparisons don’t end there. Like the parallels between the Lincoln and JFK assassinations, this is bigger than all of us.