PBS, bless your heart. Where do you find these random bunch-of-guys-singing acts? I have never, ever heard of these dudes but here they are with their own PBS pledge special. And it’s still on. I was actually going to write about the documentary Botany of Desire that was on a few days ago but I can’t stop watching these ten guys dressed like Reservoir Dogs singing “Africa” by Toto. (They did songs like “Stand By Me” that make sense but they also did “Wonderwall” by Oasis. Now you know why I’m still watching.)
They have a website. You can check for gig dates. You can listen to some of the songs off their new album With a Twist. You know what the first song listed is? “Tainted Love”! First, “Wonderwall” and now “Tainted Love”. I think I might like them. And according to the track listing of their album, they do “Under the Bridge”. Now a capella, to me, is inherently upbeat. You know, all a capella singers look so, for lack of a better word, chipper. So “Under the Bridge”: a song about shooting up heroin under an overpass. I just can’t imagine–
Sorry for the interruption but they are now doing their theme song: “We’re gonna give it to you straight! No chaser!”
–that song being done…chipper. But, alas, I didn’t get to see them perform that one–
Another interruption: the PBS Pledge announcer guy just said, “…and the very special version of Wonderwall.” I love it!
–so I’ll never know if taking smack puts a spring in your step.
What did I learn (or still learning) from Straight No Chaser: Live in New York? Straight No Chaser will be at the Wiltern in December. More importantly, there’s a singing group called Straight No Chaser. And PBS loves guys singing.
