Geeking Out Like It's 1999

I had listened to Bree Sharp videos before, but I had never heard the song that put her on the map.   ...
Until tonight.  In my head, I was playing around with the idea of writing about a Bree Sharp recording, because I really enjoy her cover of Bob Dylan's  "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright."   Next, I turned to YouTube, to get a more concentrated understanding of her music, and the first query result was for a song called "David Duchovny."  My nerdy senses were tingling.  Every so often, a musician works pop cultural icons into their songs.  I'm not just talking about Weird Al and other Dr. Demento staples.  Paul McCartney's "Magneto and Titanium Man" was completely mid 70's Marvel fanfic.

So back to Bree Sharp.

Sharp was a Philly girl at NYU, writing songs for an album, and her first single was about a very intense love for David Duchovny.  The details she wrote would be familiar with many fans of the show.  Right down to the time slot.  For more than five years (including when I first started catching some episodes), Fox would air the X-Files on Sunday nights at 9.  Like watching a television set, we get caught up in Sharp's imagination, falling down the rabbit hole of her crushing on the actor (fantasizing of some cross between the actor and the Fox Mulder character).  Don't worry 90's Bree, many of us don't always see where Rachel Green ends and Jennifer Aniston begins.

Along with all the geeking out, something that I really enjoyed about this song is how much the sound reminded me a little of Liz Phair's song "Supernova."

The video was awesome, and had a unique conception.  Instead of a label reaching out to production, production assistants worked with Sharp's label to create the video for a X-Files holiday party.  With the aesthetic to look like it was shot by a fan, a host of celebrities and regular people were caught lip-synching to the song.  Making this an even more unique music video is that the video isn't official.  You couldn't find Carson Daly counting this down on TRL because so many people would have to sign off on the rights.  Did Napster have video sharing that early on?  My AOL dial up was so slow that I'd never notice.   So thank you YouTube for coming along five years later.

The geekdom and nostalgia may easily be seeping from my earphones and into my brain right now.  Seeing all the stars (often on set) appear in the video is like a late 90's time capsule.  Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the early Buffy seasons, Jenna Elfman was in the midst of Dharma and Greg.  Dennis Franz was the face of NYPD Blue.  Seeing Brad Pitt and George Clooney back then, you'd be thinking of the two heartthrobs for Fight Club and ER.  Months after the video's debut, the actors are announced as part of the cast for the Ocean's Eleven remake.

I guess that wraps things up for tonight but wait...  It's Sunday night.  Cue the signature theme of rolling piano music and an overlying whistle.