Rockapella's Swift Entrance

So, my mother & I accidentally stumbled across a group we never knew existed. Everyone else knew about them apparently - we seem to be out of the loop. I wasn't surprised though, if you know ANYTHING about me, you know that if you turn on the radio, unless it's classic rock or oldies, I won't recognize any of the songs.
Well, rockapella - as the phonetically skilled may already know - is an a capella group. My mother & I LOVE a capella. And we accidentally put one of their songs on an MP3 disc . . . The song was "Zombie Jamboree." And my mother discovered its unannounced presence & said, "Oh, Rip, you gotta hear this" & then failed to find it while we were driving - luckily for us both . . . I swear she pays more attention to that console than the road . . . you know that screen in the Prius that tells you what mileage you're getting? Miss Efficient wants to constantly know what mileage she's getting. Me, I'd prefer to know the relative distance between the cars on the road & ME. But, you know, whatever oodles your noodles.
Eventually, she shared the song with me & it's just one of those things that falls short of description . . . the only way I can describe it is it makes you smile with a furrowed brow. Kind of - 'this is awesome, but what the hell??' And it interested me. And again, if you know me, you know when I get interested, I do research. My mother is the same way, so while she has a day job & I get time to kill at the computer, she's back-seat-researching. Also, because she has a day job, part of her research involved purchasing a DVD of a concert of theirs . . . I'll come back to that.
Now, I love bass singers, but who doesn't? My mother's theory is that the human race is evolving . . . we've been getting taller. And in order to continue to get taller, the taller people have to be more attractive. Taller men tend to have lower voices - which are instictually more attractive . . . for the evolution, you see. Taller women tend to be rockettes. And there you have it.
Now, as a side note, proportions come into play with taller men as well - & that's great, I'm sure . . . if you're getting laid. Not so much if you're . . . oh, saaay . . . in a scene where you have to kiss at the end & your blocking puts you an inch away from the guy's face & by unhappy coincidence, you happened to break your toe before the performance & his BIG FEET land on your BROKEN TOE while you're supposed to be all romantic & seduced!! No, Will. You will never live that down. Cause, um . . . OW! Also, it's good advertising for me because no one could tell. *Insert uncrushable pride here*
Anywho . . . in most a capella arrangements, the bass is pretty much background & you don't really hear him unless you're specifically listening for him. But he was unusually centerstage for the beginning of the song & has this laugh worked into the music that just makes me grin every time I hear it. Kelly decided to be a smartass & point out that it's actually kinda how I sound when I laugh - of course, I've gotten a lot of comments on my laugh, which is apparently uncommonly low . . . & in most cases described as evil . . . or diabolical . . . you know, the usual when it comes to me. Thanks a bunch, Kelly.
So I looked up the group, read in places that the bass, Barry Carl, is considered - I wish I could remember the wording . . . but basically, that he was the most influential bass singer of the time. WELL, I saw some videos, watched some members of the group get replaced & then found out that Barry Carl retired from the group in 2002 - the last original member. Now, call me picky, but I think when the members of the group have completely rotated to the point that it's not actually anything close to resembling the original group . . . changing the name or something might be a not-too-shabby idea . . . I got pissed when Freddy Murcury got replaced. No. Queen is Queen & I don't listen to their music that stretches past Freddy's time. That's just the way I am. If i like something, I generally don't like people screwing with it.
There were some fun videos on youtube when they were all together in the beginning & it was wonderful. A capella. And quite a bit of performance in there too . . . As I said, my mother purchased a DVD . . . instead of four members, there were five. They added a beatbox guy. In my opinion, it's impressive & it makes a nice sound, but it takes away some of the a capella feel . . . & a capella is beautiful. Which brings me to another thing . . . the song Stand by me - it's a beautiful song. And if you leave it the hell alone, it will stay beautiful. But if you go inventing notes, people who love the original lose interest immediately. If done properly with an a capella arrangement, it would be a thing of beauty. Quite frankly, it wasn't.
Another song I stumbled across that they performed was Flat Tire, which had a GREAT presentation, was fun, & sounded great. And it just seemed like the group didn't sing that type of music anymore. Actually, it seems as though the group has stayed with the times. Unfortunately, that's something I don't do well. So I discovered a great group . . . & then shortly thereafter discovered that I missed them. Woops . . .
And my mother & I spent a great deal of time on youtube . . . & we found many songs, many performances, & many different combinations of group members. Then we found a song that was just the bass. But it was kinda mumbly . . . so I couldn't hear the words. And I leaned in & squinted & my mother knew the song, so when I leaned back suddenly, blushed & said, "oh . . ." she laughed her ass off. The song was Sixty-Minute Man. Totally about sex.
So, we're going through youtube stuff after the concert & they said something about kids yelling for them to "Do it, Rockapella!" when they sang Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. So we were trying to find a video of that . . . or, my mother was . . . I wasn't really that interested. But we stumbled across The chipmunks doing Carmen Sandiego - which isn't the chipminks, it's just a distortion of the rockapella performance. I shit you not, we sat in our chairs in front of the computer laughing so hard that neither of us could breathe. And it didn't get old as the song progressed. We laughed until we nearly fell off the chairs, in fact, I would have if she hadn't caught me. It's just too much. And now I have a headache from laughing so hard - which is why I can't sleep - which is why I'm posting this blog that let's face it, maybe two people read & probably no one really cares about.
But hey, . . . no, wait . . . I don't have a 'but hey' . . . that's kinda sad.