What can make a memorable song even better? Fleetwood Mac knew the answer to this, and that answer was simple: add a marching band into the mix. The same can be said about Beyoncé, as well as countless other rock and pop stars. Many more high school and college marching bands have created their own arrangements of hit songs — the USC Trojan Marching Band’s take on The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” is particularly catchy.
A sketch from this weekend’s Saturday Night Live went all in on all things marching band, and the result was both bizarre and endearing. The concept was simple: a group of friends are out to brunch when one of them, played by Bowen Yang, begins extolling the charm of a marching band take on Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” After a little while, another member of the group — played by guest host Zoë Kravitz — also embraced the song’s charms.
Is it a strange concept? Yes. Does Yang make it work by going all-out with his character? Also yes. Look, the man can get laughs by playing the iceberg that sank the Titanic; waxing ecstatic about this particular arrangement, and coming up with increasingly bizarre lyrics, is absolutely in his wheelhouse.
The fact that Kravitz is perfectly in sync with the rest of the cast makes for an even stronger sketch. It’s a winning take on musical obsessions.
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