Hey all, Dani here.
Today’s post is a little bit of a music review and a little bit of a signal boost. Why? Well, because I can’t get these songs out of my head, and I love the Library Bards, and I want more people to listen to their music.
I had vaguely heard of the Library Bards years back, but it was my trip to Wizard World Chicago Comic Con in 2016 that solidified my fangirling over them. Because I planned to go to their panel/concert, I looked them up online. Then I went to the performance and I was pretty much singing along with every song. Because, honestly, the songs are catchy and it’s easy to learn and remember the lyrics. So I bought a shirt, a pin, and their EP.
From there it was a wait of a few more months before they announced that they were going to be releasing a full album. I eagerly backed the project, and it was totally worth it.
For the record, their first album–Bardcore–has been out for a couple years now and it is awesome. I recommend it as well. Oh, and you can go to their YouTube channel and watch some of their music videos too. Here, I’ll just go ahead and link a few of my favorites.
Black and Red (Parody of “Zombie”): This is a Deadpool and Harley Quinn cosplay song, and it’s great.
Geeky Girl (Parody of “Barbie Girl”): As a lady geek, this is a fun and sad song to listen to, because in a lot of situations it is true that some people and/or companies still don’t think of women being capable of being the same caliber of geek as menfolk. Trust me, with the amount of money I drop on books, movies, TV shows, comic books, games, and other merchandise, I am definitely a full-fledged member of the geek life.
Pokeball (Parody of “Wrecking Ball”): This one is for all of us who grew up watching and/or playing Pokemon.
Grammar Got Run Over (Parody of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”): This is not on either album, but it is still one of my favorite songs. It’s an Authors Anonymous meeting that is full of grammar hilarity.
I had been listening to the first album over and over, often with Damian, so now he’s a big fan too. We saw them perform with Dungeon Master at Gen Con 2018. Then in 2019 they announced a Kickstarter for their second album, and naturally we decided that we had to support it/them.
First up, this album will be released on September 10, 2019. But since I was one of the backers on Kickstarter, I was able to get a digital download of the album early. In fact, we downloaded the album right before our trip to Gen Con this year, and then proceeded to listen to it on repeat for the whole 3 hour trip. And then we got to see the Library Bards perform again with Dungeon Master at Gen Con. Oh, and we got to talk to them after the show and it was so great. They clearly love what they do and they enjoy geeking out with all of us, so it makes it even better.
So we’re going to go track by track and I’m going to gush about how much I like each of them…and Damian will probably offer his thoughts as well. Oh, and overall, I’m going to absolutely give BomBARDed a 5 STAR RATING. I am currently obsessed with listening to this music on repeat. I regret nothing.
Spider-Man (Parody of “Spiderwebs” by No Doubt): This is a fun and peppy way to start an album. Also, this song references all of the modern Spideys, so Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy…there are so many great little references in here and it’s great.
DnD (Parody of “TNT” by AC/DC): Naturally this has to be one of my favorite songs because it’s all about Dungeons & Dragons. Also, the song references playing D&D on Sunday nights…which coincidentally was the day of the week that Damian and I played D&D when we first met. Plus this one is just fun to see performed live.
Princess Bride (Parody of “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers): Listening to this song made both Damian and I want to watch the movie again…and we did…and now I want to read the book again. Again, there are so many darn great references to the movie moments we all know and love.
Comic Fan (Parody of “Magic Man” by Heart): This is the first single off their new album, and the video linked above is filled with awesome fan art. It is a tribute song to Stan Lee and the Library Bards shared it with the world shortly after Stan Lee passed away. In small ways this song pairs very nicely with “Geeky Girl,” because it briefly addresses the whole geek comic girl situation. I adore this song and watching the video makes me a bit emotional.
Come Fly Away (Parody of “Come Sail Away” by Styx): This is a Firefly tribute song, and yes, it pretty much makes me cry every time. Of course, I will say that there are spoilers for the movie Serenity if for some reason you haven’t seen that yet–and if you haven’t, what are you doing? Go watch Firefly and Serenity.
Welcome to Jurassic Park (Parody of “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen): Okay, if I have to pick a weak song on this album, I’m probably going to pick this one. However, that being said, I think that the whole album is so strong and wonderful and full of so many awesome nods to geek culture.
John Barrowman (Parody of “Piano Man” by Billy Joel): Yes, I agree with the sentiment of this song completely. John Barrowman totally deserves more roles in TV and movies, because he is great, and he has been in some great shows/roles over the years. Okay, now can we get John to actually team up with the Library Bards for a music video for this song? I think that would be great.
Klingon (Parody of “Dream On” by Aerosmith): This is Damian’s favorite song on the album. I really enjoy it too, even if I don’t understand all of the references. We are going to rectify that soon enough. I bought the complete original series and we’ll be watching them all. I’m ready for those awesome late 60s special effects.
Mighty Morphin’ Time (Parody of “Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper): First thing to mention on this is that they are playing the song about twice as fast as the original song. Otherwise this would not work at all. Power Rangers sort of needs a faster tempo to work.
I Need a Zero (Parody of “I Need a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler): Oh, this is Damian’s other favorite song. This one is not based on a specific fandom or actor or creator. Instead it is all about looking for the peon hero or the puny henchman, you know, a nobody that the villain can use and destroy.
Stan Lee (Parody of “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King): Yes, there is another Stan Lee tribute song on this album, and it is a fantastic way to close the album. I really can’t help but love the whole track list. It is such a celebration of geek culture, and I wish that we could end up getting music videos for all of these songs.
Okay, well that’s all for this review. You’ll be able to get this album pretty much anywhere music is sold. I do believe you’ll also be able to listen to it on Spotify. Seriously, these geeky parodies are really entertaining.
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