Digging the Tracks - Part 3

Before we return you to the next installment of Digging the Tracks, let me announce that the invitations have gone out and the RSVPs have started to trickle in!

And now, back to our scheduled program.

Where did we leave off? Oh yes, we are now on track 9 - I'm Not Okay (I Promise) by My Chemical Romance.

Douglas got into My Chem before I did. I ended up being hooked by this song, I'm Not Okay, while working on my last semester in college. There were plenty of days where this was just the right ballad to belt with to express the frustrations of the day. As My Chem put out more music, our affinity for the group grew. When The Black Parade came out, we were blown away. This will always be one of our top favorite albums and we may have never gotten into it was it not for I'm Not Okay (I Promise).

Track 10 - A Favor House Atlantic. You wouldn't know from it's placement on the album, but this one's a biggie. This tune is from one of the most important bands to us: Coheed and Cambria. Douglas and I can track our relationship by Coheed tunes and it all started with A Favor House Atlantic. Pre-dating, Douglas made Crystal many CD mixes. There was one mix he made sure to note had special meaning, so listen carefully. Most of the songs were new to me and one of them had this girl shrieking about a sniper with a good eye. I couldn't make heads or tails of the intent of the song and the voice was just odd. Imagine my surprise when I caught the music video and saw that it was actually being sung by a dude with a huge fro!

That was my introduction to Claudio Sanchez, the lead singer of Coheed. Douglas was digging the group. When he learned that the whole point of the band was to tell a story and that there was a comic to supplement the music, he was hooked! It took me another album or two to dig enough songs to actually say that I was a Coheed fan, but I came around. Early in our relationship, we learned that they were going to be doing a concert in Atlanta on my birthday weekend - Douglas had to go. We drove down and back in one, exhausting day. The opening act had fallen ill so we ended up getting a double dose of Coheed in some amphitheater out in the middle of nowhere. Since then, we've been able to see Coheed in DC and twice in Charlotte. Douglas has done a meet and greet, and I've had Claudio wave back at me as I caught him sneaking back onto a tour bus. Every time we've seen Coheed, they've put on a hell of a show. They're just as awesome doing acoustic sets as they are plugged in. They have such an eclectic sound and it varies from album to album. There's a song for every mood. On our wedding day, listen careful, because I promise at least one Coheed tune will make an appearance.

Track 11 - A little less serious. Most people know this song from one of two places - either as a Cake tune or as the theme from the TV show, Chuck. We are fans of both Cake and Chuck, so Short Skirt/Long Jacket quickly became one of our favs. Track 12 - Cobrastyle, is also from Chuck, so let's combine these two for story time. If you've never watched Chuck, it's a show made for the masses, but definitely takes specific aim at geeks like us. Two of the main characters, Chuck and Morgan, are full fledged geeks. They work at the Buy More (fictional Best Buy) where they fix electronics and work on the sales floor. They own collectables from movies like Tron and Star Wars (yes, I had to provide a link to Star Wars. Sadly, there are folks our age that have never seen the films). The show throws in obvious references (buying a delorean) as well as more subtle references (any number of movie lines thrown in as normal dialog). With its humor, decent story telling, and geek references, the show easily won us over. Plus, who doesn't enjoy watching Casey slip into Jayne Cobb every now and then?

Jayne with his gun, Vera - Firefly

So, we're geeks. If this shocks you, then you really haven't spent more then five minutes with us. ;-)

Track 13 should not come as a shock to anyone - White & Nerdy by Weird Al. The original song that this one parodies drives me crazy (no pun intended) as it came out while I worked at a local top 40 radio station and heard the song at least once an hour. I rolled my eyes when I heard Weird Al was going to parody it because I was so sick of the song, I didn't want to hear any version of it again! Good thing I decided to check it out because it was, as most Weird Al songs are, awesome! (I am one of those people who ends up singing Weird Al lyrics during the original tunes because the Weird Al lyrics take over). After learning the lyrics, we were able to catch the music video - major geek out include science references, pop culture symbols, and Seth Green, one of the biggest geek icons!

Toys! Robot Chicken! Weird Al! 

Weird Al and Seth Green have both done their fair share of Star Wars parodies. (oh no, not Star Wars again! - Oh yes!)

 

However, it took the movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno for us to find the gem that is track 14 on our STD CD. Fett's Vette by MC Chris is a little rap ditty about Boba Fett from his point of view, if he was gangsta. For those who don't know, everyone, Boba Fett, Boba Fett, everyone.

He'd say hi but he's dead - Spoiler Alert!

So why do we did Fett's Vette? Is it just because it's a song about a Star Wars character? No, please, we have more cred than that. Let me give you a sample of the lyrics:

Gotta make the money
Credit's no good
When the jawas run a shop
In your neighborhood

Think you can cook?
I got a grappling hook
Let's make this quick
'Cause I'm really booked

I'm a devious degenerate
Defender of the devil
Shut down all the trash compactors
On the detention level

chorus
My backpack's got jets
Well I'm Boba the Fett
Well I bounty hunt for Jabba Hutt
To finance my 'Vette

wicky wicky woo

Well I chill in deep space
A mask is over my face
Well I deliver the prize
But I still narrow my eyes
'Cause my time
I don't like to waste.

And with that, we end our geek section. The next installment of Digging the Tracks will take us down a more romantic route, but, as you know with us, with great romance comes great comedy.