There is a YouTube user in Budapest who gives it all, but I want more. This man in the capital city of Hungary is absolutely worthy of the sort of attention that Rebecca Black received earlier this year.
When I first chanced upon this video that you will soon enjoy, I saw the still pictured above and thought Bono appeared even more mullet-y than I remember.
I was once a huge U2 fan, and I’ve probably seen nearly every piece of video footage the band released up until about 1993, and in an instant I became a giddy fifth grader again, eager to view some rare footage of Dublin’s favorite sons that I had possibly never seen before. But upon clicking on the video, I quickly realized that it was most certainly not actual U2 footage, but it was our soon-to-be-super-famous ELKELKAPOSZTA, donning a chronologically correct Bono costume. I was suddenly even giddier!
But then, from his wheelchair posture it occurred to me, “Oh damn, this guy is handicapped, I guess I can’t make fun of him.” But look at his ill-informed mullet, which was really barely OK for Bono in 1985! This will be so hard not to make fun of!
Regardless, I had to keep watching. From the lip syncing of whispered words to the deadly serious execution to the literal photo interpretation of the song’s title behind him to the total VHS-ness of the video, I was hooked and turning my lips inwards and chomping on them so as not to laugh.
And then a gift from God, our singer stands up at the 2:42 mark! He’s not handicapped! I can make fun of him! But as I went on watching the footage I realized how realistic a possibility it was that I would find myself in a situation similar to our protagonist, making well-rehearsed, poorly recorded videos where I’m the star of somebody else’s song.
Damn, I used to do this very thing in grade school! Fortunately (or unfortunately) the cameras weren’t rolling. But roll they did for the man who I have learned goes by the name of Victor. In fact, the cameras rolled at least 87 times and I have watched most of the results, as this Hungarian man has committed to horrible hairstyles and shockingly specific locations to film his tributes to U2. Here are the highlights.
“Elvis Presley and America”
This is the one that first drew me to ELKELKAPOSZTA. Of this video, he says …
A U2 song about the KING OF ROCK N’ ROLL. It was shot on 28 June, 2008 in a vacant flat (Budapest: Buda side) where I have lived before 2008. Behind me when I’m not here you can see two pictures: a picture of Elvis Presley and a picture of The United States of America. And after I stand up you can see an empty bottle (Jack Daniels). Elvis lives forever!!
I think most of the ones that I keep coming back to are from U2’s
“Unforgettable Fire” album for a number of reasons. Primarily because it was the
first U2 tape I ever owned, but a close second is that hair! This guy
must have had to have endured countless houndings of, “so tell me why
you’re wearing your hair like that again?” As evidenced by the dates he
provides in his descriptions, mullet-era videos were recorded in March through August of 2008. Yes, that is
2008, meaning that not only were these recorded just a little over three
years ago, but that our guy was so meticulous that he did the later era videos first, so he could start with the longest hair possible, and then slowly trim away to make the mullet-era songs. His descriptions, by the way, are part of the allure. Here is what he says about this classic “Unforgettable Fire” track.
“Bad”
It was shot in Sadove, Üröm, on 23 June, 2008. It was an exciting story. I stand(ed) on the platform of a deserted wooden house. There was a huge colony of wasps behind me in the house but I did not know it. I was informed of this thing on autumn when the neighbor slayed more than a thousand (!!!) wasps in a room. If you watch the video carefully sometimes you can see flying wasps. So it’s not so good it’s BAD!!
Like “The Joshua Tree” album, the videos in the next collection are technically better, but not nearly as experimental. It’s nice to see in this version of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” that not only is our ELKELKAPOSZTA unafraid to take his U2 love public, but he also has friends! And oh what comic relief it is to hear the slap of a well-executed “low 10” at the 1:12 mark. And woah, what’s that at 1:27 through 1:34? He’s got a girl?! OK, he’s well-adjusted enough to engage another human being in a romantic exchange. This means I can feel even less bad for any amusement I’m getting from this, right?
It really is a wonder how the performances mirror those of the U2 albums that each song he mimes comes from. Especially when you consider that ELKELKAPOSZTA did these in reverse order! Anyway, upon its release in 1989 “Rattle and Hum” was widely criticized for being a bloated and self-indulgent affair, and this version of “When Love Comes to Town” is no exception. Sure, ELELKA has got his buddy with him, and it seems like this background dude in shades is going to take the B.B. King role, but nope, our hero morphs into the blues legend not with a costume change but a change in delivery style, an impersonation which, it must be stated, reawakens the worry that I am indeed making fun of a person who has something wrong with him.
A quick jump to “Angel of Harlem,” where I can’t help but wonder if maybe Hungary just has a sub-par version of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps the terminally ill realize their dreams. Yes, there are people with him in what appears to be a professional recording studio, but they can hardly mime the parts and they don’t even make attempts to dress like their rhythm section counterparts! And I can’t believe I haven’t said this before … The audio! It sounds like it’s just a boombox! Couldn’t somebody at Make-A-Wish: Hungary spring for an hour in an editing deck to dub in the actual songs?
And, then we leave you with this, which we cannot offer sufficient commentary for, because, really, there are no words.ELKELKAPOSZTA is a dedicated man, and he interprets U2 in his own controversial way. Keep on rocking, man, and go with God! Wait, I said go with God, not go like God!
If you have also found something amazing in these videos, visit the ELKELKAPOSZTA YouTube channel. Write to me if you find out any additional details. 
