As you may or may not be able to tell from previous posts, I am a big fan of what I am going to call Nerd Rock. Actually, to be fair I stole that term from this article. But what I mean is music that is about books, movies, pop culture, robots, zombies, etc. Whether it's Jonathan Coulton, one of my many favorite Wizard rockers, or some random song about Bellingham on YouTube, (and I could go on) these songs seem to always be at the top of my playlist (and they crowd out the thousands of other songs on my iPod to make it into the Top 25 most played). I love it when these songs are humorous and when they are emotional. I enjoy songs from the point of view of fictional characters, or those that look at the happenings of a story from the outside. When the song's interpretation is similar to mine I can find an instant connection, and when it's different then I can see this story in a new light. My two recent online music purchases add tremendously to this growing genre (further proof that nerds are taking over the world in more ways than before) and I cannot stop listening. Here's a brief summary and review of what I have been listening to repeatedly since downloading.
The Oceanic Six - Greatest Hits, Vol 1
Now that I've finished Lost I was finally able to download for myself what I had purchased for a friend at the beginning of the year. Alex Carpenter (of the Wizard Rock band The Remus Lupins), Jason Munday (of the Wizard Rock band Ministry of Magic and his own project Skyway Flyer), and Luke Conard's (also of Ministry of Magic as well as ALL CAPS) band dedicated solely to one of the most popular and discussed TV shows in the last decade. The album only covers seasons 1-5, so if you haven't gotten around to the final season there are no spoilers. The music combines everything that I love from the band members' other efforts and their respective styles, and sings about things that I can now relate to. I absolutely love Henry Gale - which I listened to prior to watching and was a bit of a spoiler when I finally watched the show, but I think general pop culture knowledge had spoiled some elements of Michael Emerson's character - which is high energy and very catchy (in a good way, not like a disease). However, I think Will You Be My Constant and Dude are my favorites, largely because they are about my favorite characters. Will You Be My Constant tells beautifully of Desmond & Penny's love while Dude gives a little insight into how everyone loves Hurley, even if he thinks he is cursed. The whole album is fantastic, and if we're being honest, a small part of why I wanted to watch this show. If people who write such fun and at times poignant music about other things that I love can put together an entire album about this show, it must be worth checking out.
Alex Carpenter - Freedom in Panem
As the world prepared for Mockingjay the final chapter of the Hunger Games series (my review/reaction can be found here), Alex Carpenter did so in his own way, by writing an emotional EP about the first two books in the series. These 5 songs cover brilliantly the important moments and emotions from Hunger Games and Catching Fire. There are some catchy hooks and some beautiful melodies. Overall, a fantastic EP, so wonderful that I haven't even picked a favorite song yet.
I am hopeful that these guys will write just a little more on these topics - the final season of Lost and Mockingjay - but I am elated to have these 15 songs playing randomly and repeatedly for now and look forward to more music from them all on whatever topics, nerdy or otherwise.
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