Wits paired Chuck Klosterman with the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn, who debuted solo material, for their last episode, and now Minnesota Public Radio‘s variety show returns with a new songwriter/author combo: Josh Ritter and Neil Gaiman. In addition to music performances of Ritter’s racy re-imagining of Sir Galahad, So Runs the World Away single “The Curse,” and an ensemble take on Gaiman’s “The Problem with Saints” (a Joan of Arc-inspired song he wrote with Amanda Palmer, Ben Folds, and Damian Kulash), the pair improvised fantastical stories behind the characters of famous songs, such as “Eleanor Rigby,” David Bowie’s Major Tom/Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” Elvis Costello’s “Alison,” and Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May.” Enjoy some fun (and witty!) highlights from the show here or below:
Song Character Revisions
“The Problem with Saints”
“Galahad”
“The Curse”
Gollum (MythBuster’s Adam Savage) Covers “I Will Survive”