Digging the Tracks - Part 4

Welcome back to Diggin' the Tracks. This segment is more sappy and romantic than the past few. You have been warned.

Track 15 - Michael Bublé's Save the Last Dance for Me. Douglas and I are all about some Bublé! Narrowing down which Bublé tune to include on the STD took some work. "Wedding Date" is a movie we both enjoy and has a ton of Bublé tunes. As we're both fans of the show Las Vegas, we really enjoy the episode w/Bublé (tie the lobster part in w/the Friends reference of lobsters - and we have ourselves a mantra!)

(I'm currently trying to track down a clip from Las Vegas, but not surprisingly "Las Vegas" "Michael Buble", "Lobster", and "Catch of the Day" yield more than just clips from the tv show.)

And the clincher for us being all about some Bublé, is a story from when we were apart a few years ago. Douglas was starting his job at CBS Radio in DC and grad school at Johns Hopkins. I was still in my job at CBS Radio in Charlotte and hunting for gigs in DC. We couldn't afford for me to move until we were sure we'd both have incomes that would sustain us as DC was significantly more expensive than NC. So when I left Douglas in Maryland and flew back to NC, I didn't know when I'd see him again. Since we were both CBS Radio employees, we had the luxury of communicating through the company email. At one point, I got a an email with nothing but lyrics. The lyrics read something like this:

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

May be surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky, I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

Home by Michael Bublé

Sitting at my desk, I just start crying (I'm tearing up right now), and if you know me, you know I don't cry much. Ever since then "Home" has always had a special place in our hearts, as has Bublé.

Track 16 -  Love You by Maxwell. Maxwell is one of those artists that you're not really aware that you know of until you sit through one of his albums. So why were we going through Maxwell albums? He was coming to do a concert in DC and we were able to score tickets! Very quickly, one night in DC turned into three since every night sold out in no time! Since Douglas and I were going to go see this artist and I was not familiar, we started our pre-concert ritual of Douglas sharing some of his favorite tunes with me. One by one came the realization of "I know this song!" Fast forward to going to the concert. In DC, you can't just park or come out of the subway near your event location - especially in the middle of DC. So we had to walk several blocks from the metro to D.A.R. Constitutional Hall and it didn't take long to realize that we were going to be with a lively crowd. Heck, once we were in the concert, we got to watch a couple make a baby right there in the audience. Let me just tell you, if you ever have the chance to see Maxwell in concert - do it. He's and his band (yes, band) put on a heck of a show! We go sappy for Maxwell and his love songs. That night we got to hear "Pretty Wings" before it had hit the airwaves. 

Track 17 - Side by Side from one of our all time favorite movies, "Hudson Hawk". If you haven't seen it, know that it's campy as hell. Knowing that, you'll either love it or hate it (majority are the former). 

 There's really no need to explain past this - just go watch the movie. If you do, you'll be rewarded. This is your first clue of things to come. There will be at least one "Hudson Hawk" inspired element to the reception. Will you be able to pick it out?

Track 18 - Leave a Tender Moment Alone by Billy Joel. ***HUGE Billy Joel Fan - Right Here*** There are two things that I grew up with and, therefore, run through my blood: the NY Mets and Billy Joel. While Douglas knew some of the hits, he has been exposed to, possibly, more Billy Joel than he ever thought he would. It went without question that at least one Billy Joel tune would be on the STD and/or play a significant role in the wedding day soundtrack. So how did "Leave a Tender Moment" get chosen out of all of the romantic tunes? Simple - while we follow some of Billy's advice, like "Tell Her About It" and "To Make You Feel My Love", we have never been able to leave a tender moment alone. At least for me, it started out from just not knowing how to react early in the relationship and falling back on laughter or picking on Douglas. I wasn't the only one. ;-) We were very aware that we had never been able to just have a nice moment, and once having that realization, we've never been able to resist the urge to leave the tender moment hanging. It's just one of those little quirks that makes our relationship unique. We give ourselves enough time to go "awwwww" and then turn the "awwww" into sarcasm or crack a joke or pick on the other. To be honest, it makes the tender moments that much more "us" and enjoyable. 

Alright, gang, that does it for our 2nd to last "Digging the Tracks" segment. That's right - there is one left! We are officially at the four month mark, folks!

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.

Digging the Tracks - Part 2

The last time we were "digging the tracks" was back in December. Fittingly, we left off with the "Time Warp". Fast forward to 3 months later, and here we are.

Track 5 was Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant. This little ditty came into our lives via the video game Borderlands.

I've only played the game a little but Douglas has beaten it several times and has played all of the DLCs (downloadable content). The humor in this game is what hooked us. Weapons have names and descriptions that reference movies and tv shows. The robots, called Claptraps, scream out in horror as they lie leaking, bust a move across the screen and shout for your attention, or turn evil mastermind and make your mission miserable. (I love the Claptraps and am still waiting for the toy to come out). Did I mention that there is a zombie DLC? Anything with zombies gets a plus in our books.

Track 6 shows more of our violent side (although I'm noticing a trend with evil masterminds or psychopaths in some of these track choices). Stuck in the Middle seems like an innocent enough theme for all of life's rough spots where your significant other is standing by you, until you watch Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs.

I became a Tarantino fan with Kill Bill vol 1 and never looked back. Funny that Douglas was the one that took Noel and I to see it in theaters. I own all of the movies that Tarantino directed and Reservoir Dogs gets better each time you watch it. Ever since I first saw the scene with Madsen, I knew I would never hear Stuck in the Middle without thinking of his little dance and the "activity" that followed.

Track 7 is evil. I would love to just leave it at that, but then Douglas would give me a lot of crap for it. This is one of those stories where you need to know another story first. Douglas is more of a Monopoly player and I am more of a Trivial Pursuit player. He's more strategy, I'm barely what could be considered strategic. Being a Trivial Pursuit lover, I own many versions of the board game. Douglas enjoys playing, but doesn't enjoy it when I continually beat him. Then came Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit vol 2 and playing with Ryan.

Ok, more background. I didn't grow up with cable or satellite, so I was not exposed to shows like "Doogie Howser, MD", "Full House", "Family Ties", and "Growing Pains". 1980s and early 1990s tv is my Achilles heal. I point this out to explain how/why they kicked my butt.

Back to the game with Ryan. As we were all playing, I was sitting with zero pie pieces and zero correctly answered questions. Douglas and Ryan, however, were not only answering questions before the asker was done asking, but one in particular, they sang. It was an easy enough question: How many faces has Bon Jovi seen and subsequently rocked? They sang the answer - for the game winning pie piece. Despite my continued failed efforts to win Pop Culture Trivial Pursuit, I still play because one day the answer to a question in the Fad category will be "slap bracelets"!

Track 8 is another movie reference. Hotel California is a great song on its own so it doesn't really need anything extra. And yet...

We all know that "nobody f***s with the Jesus", but accenting his intro with a flamenco version of Hotel California by the Gipsy Kings. Lebowski is one of those movies you either love or hate. I had the luck of watching it with a good friend of mine who really reminds me of Walter. His enjoyment of the movie, while drinking a white russian none the less, automatically gave me a positive association. It is one of a very limited few films I actually don't mind Julianna Moore in (she left a bad taste in my mouth after Hannibal and I've never been able to forgive her - I am also a big Silence of the Lambs fan). While Douglas doesn't have the same appreciation of Lebowski that I do, he's coming around. He's throwing out quotes from time to time and is getting better at catching Lewboski references in other movies/shows.

That's all for now folks. Stay tuned because next weekend is our big wedding planning weekend in Roanoke so we will have a LOT to cover on the blog next week.

The Theme of Our Marriage

We are geeks and we are proud!  If you haven't learned this about us yet, the next few months will provide solid evidence to help you reach this conclusion.

Early on, we were trying to figure out a theme for the wedding so that everything would seem like it was part of the same event.  Some fun ideas came out of this, but nothing that really grabbed us.  As we were working on the Save the Dates, we decided to abandon the theme idea and just go with what got us excited.  This decision has led to the inclusion of nerdcore hip-hop and "White and Nerdy" on the cd, using the violet lantern corps emblem on our cd cover and return address labels, and discussing a very "Batman" way of doing the invitations.  Although a majority of our guests won't get the less obvious quirks, we still hope that everything we do is still approachable to everyone. 

Our geekiness did not start with the engagement ring, nor will it end with our honeymoon.  We're not planning to have kids in the very near future, but I already am itching to make a purchase for our yet-to-be-concerned-about-zygotes. 

from ThinkGeek.com

 Oh yes, fellow civilians, those are the onesies of the JLA!  Nothing is more gender neutral than geek clothing!  Seriously, if anything is going to get me to start nesting before even conceiving, it's stuff for baby geek. 

Now, if only we could figure out and be as excited about our honeymoon....

Save the Date: Come Dance with Us!

Right before the weekend, Douglas and I took a trip to the local US Postal Service office to ship out 70-something Save the Date CDs!  Luckily, we only ran into a few snags: 1 missing zip code, having to get back in line once, and an address that simply can't be found.  All in all, not a bad trip.

We were surprised and excited to learn that some folks received their mail as early as Saturday!  We were also able to hand deliver a good number of them due to the holiday.

So, without more rambling, I give to you, the Save the Date CD!

Work Station

Liner Notes and Digital Vinyl CD

How cool are our record cds?  They even have grooves!

Box of Unstuffed CD cases

CD Cover

Completed cases with mailer

With the release of our STD CD also came the release of our wedding website - justajumptotheleft.com  We decided that a customized HTML would make it easier for folks to find.  We couldn't resist making it a reference.

Douglas was a trooper and ended up doing about a dozen or more versions of the CD until we were both happy.  Our lives have extensive soundtracks, so we could have burned an anthology!  We were finally able to narrow the selection down and included songs that have some significance to us as a couple or to one of us individually. I promised you guys trivia, so I'll provide some of the backstories to the tracks in the next post.  Here's a teaser:

Soundtrack available at Amazon.com

 

Track 1

The Universal Theme

by Nigel Godrich
from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Significance/Story: The theme music to Universal Movie Studios but done in the style of old school Nintendo video game music.  Movie + 8 bit music = happy geeks.

Single Best Word This Hanukkah - MAILED!

The Save the Dates are done and they...are...outta here!

We cut, we burned, we labeled, we printed, we stuffed, we sealed.  All to turn all of this:

Into all of this...

Look at our pretty mailers.

Don't peek too hard now.  These little babies are well on their way to their destinations.  ETA: 2-5 days.

Of course, all of our work today was overseen by our forewoman.

She's such a hardass.

Happy Hanukkah - Have an STD!

I know, I really am having too much fun with this abbreviation. 

Today we handed out our first round of Save the Dates!!!!  Tomorrow we should be able to get the to-be-mailed ones ready.  With any luck, they will be paying a visit to the post office on Friday!

Here is your first look at the cover - yes, cover.

There will be a lot of tidbits to be told about the Save the Dates.  The first one is the logo.  You may (or may not) remember the ring that Douglas proposed with.  This is the symbol from the ring.  It seemed fitting.

Stay tuned.  Next week I'll unveil the rest of the Save the Date.  Soon after that, I'll be sharing some more trivia about them.