Usually the average rock music fan has to rely on sheer luck or happenstance to hear obscure personal favorite songs from their rock bands onstage, knowing that most likely they’ll hear only the popular singles. For fans of Coheed and Cambria, last month was that rare concert opportunity to hear every one of their songs performed live. As part of their “Neverender” tour, Coheed and Cambria played four nights in a row, each night dedicated to one of their four studio albums. Chicago was one of only four cities to host such an event.  Boosh Magazine’s Nelson Carvajal caught up with the band on their second night in the Windy City to talk about their comic book storyline, favorite beer and some weird noises coming from a room in one of their recording houses.

Boosh Magazine: Well, first off, “The Armory Wars”…why do a storyline with your songs?

Coheed and Cambria: Really the story is Claudio [Sanchez’s] but at the same time I think for us personally it’s a really cool addition to have lyrics that not only are something you can relate to on a normal level but also being able to look deeper into it, with this concept and its alternate world. And they come in comic book form and there are already numerous copies of “The Armory Wars” out. You could be into us as a rock band and not even know about the comic books but we’d like them to be in a kind of equal marriage. If a fan wants to dig deeper [than the song lyrics] and get into that concept [of the comic book story] they have that there as well. There’s a lot of things in the concept—yes it’s about the characters “Coheed and “Cambria” and when they meet their demise, it’s about their son’s quest for vendetta. But all the things that happen in the story usually have some importance or some kind of reality to them that happened to Claudio—or even us. I think it’s cool. I think it’s a cool addition. I think it’s cool that people are into dive into that and relate to it on a personal level or just get into the comic.

BM: It’s risky a concept. Was everybody on board with this idea from the start?

CAC: Yeah. I mean we had a different band name before. We were called Shabutie. We didn’t like that name. It really just was never a fitting band name for us. Searching for names, we went through quite a few names that we didn’t end up really liking and Claudio had a side project called “Coheed and Cambria” and we all liked that name. So when we adopted the name we therefore adopted the story.

Every year we know what to expect. Every year we hope it will be different. Every year, it’s worse than we thought. Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and we’re left to prepare our egos, our patience and our livers for the impending assault on our senses. The runny nose that we hoped would turn into bronchitis, pneumonia, or anything to excuse us from this year’s “festivities” cleared up over the weekend. So we journey home to dreading the onslaught of probing questions and long-winded conversations with people we love but don’t always like.

We open the door to greet our single aunt with six kids, newest boyfriend in tow. We listen to our uncle’s incessant chatter about his recent prostate exam, wondering how in the world he thinks people are interested in his plumbing. In the kitchen, our “quirky” (aka lively but alcoholic) grandmother is teaching our eight-year-old cousin the proper way to make the perfect martini. We watch as our mom flips out with every spilled drink, every piece of stuffing or cranberry sauce dropped, leading her to chase around other people’s toddlers with a napkin and cleaning spray.
 

Stephenie Meyer’s vampire saga, Twilight has made the leap from book to film, in a big way.  Hype around this movie has been building for months with a devoted fan base second only to Harry Potter fans.  Selling out hundreds of midnight releases, its stars getting mobbed at malls, and a generous merchandise deal at Hot Topic, Twilight has certainly left its mark on pop culture.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, Twilight tells the story of a human girl Bella (Kristin Stewart), who falls in love with the beautiful and complicated vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson). 

Their relationship is all about resistance and testing their limitations, as their love threatens to consume them.  Edward must resist the temptation of Bella’s sweet blood, and protect her from other-not so vegetarian-vampires.  Bella must hold safe the secret of Edward and the rest of his family so they are not found out.

The film itself is a lovely adaptation, staying true to Meyer’s beloved novel, while adding a certain depth and light to the characters.  The dialogue is quick and witty, and includes many of the fan favorite lines including: “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb”, and “About three things…”

The Backstreet Boys were awesome on TRL!
That Justin Timberlake kid is super talented!
Britney Spears is all over the damn place!
And, no, it’s not 1998.

This week has seen the resurgence of pop acts and icons first popularized a decade ago, back when “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” was the party anthem and you knew exactly what an MmmBop was. It isn’t very often one can relive their preadolescent glory days within one, splendid week.

Bye Bye Bye

Remember when Total Request Live was relevant? Neither do I, but it was pretty damn popular. The MTV mainstay, more commonly known as TRL, aired its three-hour series finale Sunday night, hosted by Damien Fahey as well as the programs original emcee, Carson Daly.

Performances by Beyonce, 50 Cent and The Backstreet Boys celebrated a just handful of the many songs popularized during TRL’s run, while appearances by P.Diddy and Miley Cyrus reminded us why we all stopped watching in the first place.

TRL first debuted in September of 1998, and for little over a decade provided scores of prepubescent teenage girls the chance to ogle their favorite pop stars, from the boys of N*SYNC to The Jonas Brothers. And for the actual music fan, TRL offered  20 to 30-second clips of honest-to-goodness music videos--likely the most one could see on the MTV network since its heyday.  
 

OTHER NEWS: Justin Timberlake, Madonna Relationship Advice, and The Simpsons make history

One of the most aggravating things that can happen to me on a Saturday morning is waking up to a text message reading “Wanna come over”.  And from who?  Obviously your usual booty call that you were waiting for before you passed out fully clothed with your cell phone resting on your chest.  Waiting.  Now, I will not admit that I tried to hold my eyelids open waiting for this infamous text. Fuck it. I have and I know you have too.

My booty caller has somehow coined the nickname of “Man Pants” in which my girlfriends and I refer to him. Now, Man Pants is the typical guy who calls for late night, under-the-radar, secretive hot sex. Although he may introduce you to his roommates, he has no intention of hanging out with you on any other circumstances.

Texting is the sole means of communication for Man Pants and I. Strange? Maybe. Hot? Extremely. Seeing Man Pants pop up in my inbox is an automatic turn on. However, the second I get excited, giddy, smiley - I know I have let my emotions take hold and I am fucked. I would then get somewhat obsessed and think about him constantly. Thankfully, I am not attracted to Man Pants other than his smoking hot abs and well… stamina in bed. Running into your booty call, or in this case my Man Pants, during broad daylight can be amusing and horrific. I see Man Pants on campus from time to time and can’t help but laugh when we see each other. The awkward “hey whats up” conversation is over in 30 seconds. All he wants to know is if your busy tonight - or rather, interested in getting busy. The ultimate test of composure comes when you run into two or more previous hook ups at once. Try juggling that and the fact that they have all seen you naked and witnessed the sounds you make in bed. Awkward.