Learning Italian in Rome - Phrase of the Week: Ci sto! (I'm in!)

Yes, I'm aware it's been an age since I posted one of these. I'm on Italian time, what can I say? But the August break has given me the energy to attempt another one of these posts. As many people already know, the Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters Rockin1000 Official Video went viral last Thursday, garnering over 19 million views on YouTube as of the time of writing, along with a promise from the band to organize a concert in Cesena. 

As it so happens, the video that was used to launch the project's crowdfunding campaign is perfect for reinforcing a phrase that somehow didn't make it into the syllabi of any of my Italian classes. Drumroll, please....

Ci sto! 

Expr: I'm in! - Let's do this! - I'm down! 

Pretty useful phrase, don't you think? And on the scheme of things, it's not particularly slang either. My guess is that a lot of Italian teachers don't wan't to rompere il vaso di Pandora with the whole "ci" business (this pronoun is everywhere, serving every function and no function at the same time). Anyhow, let's check out the video that got this crack team close to $50,000 for the Rockin 1000 concert.

Let's see how much of it I managed to figure out, shall we? (Note, these aren't literal translations. It's how I would actually say these phrases in English.)

È va bene. Velo racconto. Tutto è iniziato cosi. 

Okay, fine. I will tell you all about it. It all started like this.  - So far, pretty simple right? By the way, I'm digging the guy's accent. It's much easier to understand than what I'm used to in Rome. (Velo = vi + lo = à voi + lo) (p.p.s. To whoever writes Italian textbooks: double pronouns really need their own chapter, closer to the beginning. They should not be relegated to an appendix.)

Una mattina comunque [I think...], mentre facevo colazione, ho sentito un richiamo. 
Fabio, I really want to try piadina. Get me to Romagna.

Anyway, one morning, while I was having breakfast, I heard a call. - By the way, a piadina is a toasted wrap of sorts (only it's left open, and not actually "wrapped"). Usually, there's prosciutto, mozzarella, and arugula in the middle. Google image it, and you'll see a nice assortment.  

Senti. Ho avuto un idea. Folle. Voglio chiedere a Dave Grohl di venire a suonare a Cesena. 
Ma chi è?
Come chi é? I Foo Fighters.

Listen. I had an idea. [A] crazy [one].  I want to ask Dave Grohl to come and play in Cesena. But who is [Dave Grohl]? What do mean, who is [he]? The Foo Fighters! - Senti is literally "Listen," but it seems to be randomly inserted at the start of a lot of conversations, especially when one is asking another person for something.

Lo sai che è impossibile, vero? 
Come se chiedesse mio nipote di invitare Batman a sua festa di compleanno. 
Christian Bale, intendo, con il costumino.

You know it's impossible, right? [The same as my nephew asking] to invite Batman to his birthday party. Christian Bale, I mean, with his little costume.  - So who spotted the imperfect subjunctive tense (it's in bold)? As you can see, chiedere (to ask) miraculously converts into the gerund in the English version. 

Perché non ce ne invitiamo Bono Vox?
Dai Fabio, ti prego [a name I can't make out].
E perché non invitiamo [another name I can't make out]. Un po che non ci vede in giro.

Why not invite Bono Vox? Come on, Fabio, I beg you, [Celebrity A]. And why not invite [Celebrity B]. It's been a while since one has seen him/her around. - Sorry guys, my pop culture knowledge is sub-par, so I couldn't make out the names of what I assume to be famous people. By the way, check out the first an third sentences. I'm convinced "ce ne" exists to confuse non-Italian speakers. 

Ma stai facendo per una tipa. Puoi dirmelo. 
Ma quale tipa? Cosa stai dicendo? Lo faccio per me. Lo faccio per te. Lo faccio per l'umanità intera. 
Addirittura?

But you're doing this for a chick right? You can tell me. But what chick? What are you saying? I'm doing it for me. I'm doing it for you. I'm doing it for the entire human race. Is that so? - Okay, I had to look it up. Tipa is apparently equivalent to the American slang: "chick." 

In somma, mi é venuto un' idea. È fuori di testa. Se vuoi tela racconto. Ci stai?

To some it up, an idea came to me. It's out of this world [he actually says "head"]. If you want, I'll tell it to you. Are you in? - In somma means "in summary," but it's basically a very common verbal filler, equivalent to "like," or "you know." By the way, Italians love their pronouns.

Lo faccio per te. Ci sto.
Va bene. Ci sto.
Certo. Ci sto.
Ci sto.

To drill in the phrase.... I'll do it for you. I'm in. Okay, I'm in. Certainly, I'm in. I'm in. 

As for the crazy idea he mentioned, below is the result.

[Written with significant help from WordReference]