The White Album

No, not that White Album, but I got your attention, right? No, I am not talking about the classic and brilliant Beatles album, I am talking about my most recent download of nerdtastic joy, Armoured Bearcub's The White Album. Who, you are likely asking, is Armoured Bearcub? Well, it is the side project of Matt Maggiacomo (The Whomping Willows) and Lauren Fairweather (The Moaning Myrles)... still confused? For those unaware of the fun and awesomeness that is Wizard Rock, they are two members of a fantastic musical and fan community inspired by Harry Potter, and have created some of my favorite songs about the wizarding world. On this new album, which I have been eagerly awaiting ever since "In Which Buffy Slays Edward" debuted on YouTube, they step away from J.K. Rowling's world (for the most part) and entertain us with tales of Quentin, Ben, & Radar, Katniss & Peeta, Seth & Summer, and Lee Scoresby. I downloaded this last night (I saw the twitter post in the midst of the Glee finale and went straight to Amazon.com as soon as I knew that Mr. Shu and the Glee club were safe for another year - big shocker since we already knew they were picked up for 2 more seasons) and have listened to it four times already this morning, here is a brief song by song reaction:

1) In Which Buffy Slays Edward - As noted above, this is why I could not wait for this album to come out, and having it on my iPod (ready for use in upcoming road trip playlists) has made my day. While it should not be taken too seriously, I think that Lauren does a great job highlighting some issues she and others have with Stephanie Meyer's series, while giving much love to Joss Whedon. A win for all, and Twilight fans, please note I read all the books, I will see all the movies, but you have to laugh at some things, it's healthy to do that. And she makes some excellent points.

2) Peeing In A Bottle - When I saw on Twitter a while back a post from @thewhompingwillows that he was writing a Paper Towns song to the tune of Genie in a Bottle I laughed, but was not 100% certain he was serious. He was. As soon as this song started I remembered that post and this song is everything you would expect from that description and perhaps a little more. I think that much like Lauren's song Black Santas (on her album I'm Saying Nothing) about another part of Paper Towns, this can be enjoyed by people who have not read the book (I plan to test that theory on my roommate later this evening) but it's better if you have. Is there are term for songs based on the novels of John Green? Grock?

3) We're On Fire - This song might have made me a member of Team Peeta. While I have been weakly resisting the movement to turn Gale & Peeta from Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games series into Edward & Jacob, I have always leaned toward Gale, just because I think that Katniss does. This song of Katniss & Peeta's survival in The Hunger Games just might have changed my mind. But ask me again on August 24th.

4) Lee Scoresby's Last Stand - I have to admit that I have only read The Golden Compass and not the rest of this series, so my knowledge on this is somewhat limited. But I am a sucker for inspiring songs about why people are fighting a battle despite the overwhelming odds against them (Red & Black is my favorite song from Les Miserables), so I enjoyed this anyway.

5) The Ballad of Seth & Summer - Oh Seth Cohen, how you elevated what should have been just another trashy teen show to a trashy teen show with a hot nerd as a lead character. I'm sure that some people I knew preferred Ryan, but, well, no, I take that back. My friends are very diverse, but none of them can resist an adorable nerd. Thank you Armoured Bearcub for singing about Seth & Summer.

6) Nargles in the Mistletoe - As I have all 3 Jingle Spells albums, I do already own this song, but I have no complaints about another copy of one of my favorite Christmas Wrock songs. Who can resist the line "Moaning Myrtle has a little issue, she might be a ghost, but she really wants to kiss you..."

7) A Born Again Christian Upon Reading the Da Vinci Code - I didn't listen to this closely enough to this the first time through and I was a little confused, but upon subsequent listens, I definitely appreciated it more. The end is both beautiful and creepy. I love it.

8) Let's Get Our Master's Degrees in Love - An adorable love song to finish things off, and I agree, grad school is overrated.

Overall, I loved it. Tracks 1, 2, 3, & 5 are definitely my favorites, but I found something to love about each song. I am hoping for more nerdy songs from these two, more Whedon, more John Green, more Hunger Games, and perhaps they will read Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series and we can hear an epic ballad for Tally Youngblood