Half the battle

In addition to a little personal enlightenment, I’ve learned two very important things this week:

YTCracker is invincible and Ultraklystron is a rogue genius!

Now you know.

Moment of clarity

Like a lot of you, I’ve had a bad case of the scenester blues of late. For many, myself included, it appears as though we’ve reached an age where negativity abounds and maintaining unity among our geek brethren seems like a tall order. All is dark. Hope wanes. Oh, Discordia!

But while I was busy focusing on the negative, others were creating. Others were discovering. Others were volunteering their time and skills to the cause.

Fact of life: sometime stuff sucks.

Dose of reality: things are only as good as we make them.

The only person whose attitude I can change is my own. So it’s time for a little housecleaning, internal-style.

The best thing that I can do for the scene is my own personal best. It’s as simple as that. The answer was right in front of my face; I just couldn’t see it.

It’s not about criticism, but about keeping the lines of communication (and our respective minds) open. It’s not about style or manner, but about substance and heart. It’s not about merely identifying a problem, but taking it upon ourselves to fix it.

I am nerd, hear me… type? Podcast? I dunno.

Fuck it! You get the idea: I have found the cure for the scenester blues, and that cure is right action. Do your thing and do it well. All else is secondary.

Nerd news in brief

Here are a few things that I feel you should be aware of. I post because I care.

• mc chris’s new album Dungeon Master of Ceremonies is now available for download at iTunes. The iPod-dependent among you may feel free to rejoice.
  
• Beefy has some nice footage from his post-PAX performance at The Shark Club available over at his blog. Check it out to see how the big guy flows live and in person.
• Nerd comedian Schäffer the Darklord has a dark future geek rap track about making the sweet nasty with one's own clone. It’s both lyrically offensive and magically delicious. (Thanks to my boy Brüx for this one!)
• Lastly, Geoffrey Chaucer hath a blog. Methinketh ich am not the only man of letters amoung ye who wol loveth the parfit mutterings of thilke mooste glorious father of Englysshe poesy.

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 5: Turn That Frown Inside-out

I am too old to be emo. It’s just not pretty on a fogey like myself. When stuff gets me down, I either get A) sad B) surly of C) drunk. It’s just more age appropriate. The great thing about those responses is that you can logically progress through each in a prescribed order. Queue visual aid:

drunk -> surly -> sad

sad -> drunk -> surly

surly -> sad -> drunk

Sometimes I let little things grate on me. I know Internet arguments are a fact of life. I also realize that they are the smallest of potatoes when compared to all the genuine, unabashed strife in the world. Still, it chaps my arse. When it comes to nerd music, specifically nerdcore, I really do think that we should all get along pretty well. I mean, we’ve been shunned by damn near everyone else, so why not revel in the love of your tribe, right? But I reckon that can’t always happen. People, not just nerds, but human beings, can be petty, territorial, and reactionary. And even the best among us find it hard to walk away from an insult or insinuation without retaliating.

I reckon my point is, though I can’t stand beef, bitching, and bickering, I don’t blame folks for voicing their displeasure. I sometimes wish we could maybe not be so harsh and insulting with our words, but again that’s just how stuff goes sometimes. When shit gets started we naturally want to be the one who finishes it. Strongly. Firmly. Whether or not our approach is “constructive” or not is the last thing on our minds.

I want Hipster, please! to be inclusive, rather than exclusive or divisive. I want it to be a place where we can lump nerd music together for the sheer fun of lumping it together and worry about hashing out which flavor it is later. That being said, I’ll often talk about (or play) two artists in close proximity to each other whom, while musically or thematically similar, are miles apart in there views and personal philosophies. Sometimes they’ll even have a genuine dislike for one another. But I try not to dwell on that. I don’t expect anyone to like all the music that I cover and I certainly don’t expect everyone to like all of the musicians that I cover. I just want to present them and their music in as positive a light as possible for the enjoyment of fans new and old.

I hope I’m doing a good job at that, but I don’t know. You never really know how folks feel about you until you piss ‘em off.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 5: Turn That Frown Inside-out Running Time: 45:57 Size: 42 MB

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 5: Turn That Frown Inside-out Show Notes

Intro track: Oddioblender – “Eli the Indie Rockette”
Oddioblender has strong electronic roots, but he’s been edging ever-closer to nerdcore for some time now. In addition to dropping rhymes on this new album, he’s provided beats for many geek MCs. I hope to hear the Blondie cover that he and MC Router did sometime before I die! ;)

Z’s 1st interlude: “Recurring Rhyme Torrents Feuds”
Because of this newest round of feuding both Beefy and Router have decided to no longer come around the RT BBS. They've both been nothing but cool to me, and they were the first artists to contribute to Radio Free Hipster. It’s not like I suddenly can’t talk to ‘em or goof off with ‘em anymore – Christ knows they keep the channels of communication open – but I can’t help but feel as though things’ll be less fun without them around.

Track 1: Del the Funky Homosapien – “If You Must”
This one’s for you, mcoyster. Hope you dig it.

Track 2: Djpretzel – “Hillbilly Rodeo”
How did I not play this track in Ep. 2? Once again; poor planning on my part. NES meets redneck madness. djpretzel was the first non-nerdcore (or at least non-nerdcore-related) artist to be interviewed for Hipster, please!

Track 3: Shael Riley – “The Music of My Groin”
Not sure if Shael will appreciate the designation “all-purpose absurdist dork rock,” though Roach found it appropriate. Also not sure he’s gonna like the fact that my drawl adds a second syllable to his name.

Track 4: funky49 – “Shake Your Rump (Trading Spaces remix)”
funky49 has a ton of sweet tracks. You should check ‘em out. He’s a nice cat. Did I mention that? The intro for this song works well with Shael's groin.

Z’s 2nd interlude: “Redneck limbo”
That first set was what I like to call my Nepotism Set: songs for (and by) people who’ve said nice things to (and about) me. The moral of the story is, if you send me an amusing email I will most likely mention you on my podcast.

Track 5: Headphone Souls – “Such Great Whispers”
Headphone Souls does excellent mash-ups. Unfortunately, Headphone Souls doesn’t always tag ‘em. :(

Track 6: Smooth E. – “Wait (Til You See Her Kid)”
Suburbanhomeboy.com What more can I say? ;)

Track 7: MC Frontalot – “Goth Girls”
I play a lot of Front on my podcast. He’s perhaps the only nerdcore artist that I’ve played more than MC Router! I should present him with a plaque or something.

Track 8: Jay-Zeezer – “Surf Wax Off Your Shoulders”
“Dirt Off Your Shoulders.” Not “Brush Off Your Shoulders.” And it's "Surf Wax America." Not "Surf Wax." I can’t even say a simple title correctly. What’s wrong with me?

Z’s 3rd interlude: “DJ Taintmeat”
I’m serious; the next time I make one of my barely passable mash-ups I shall tag it DJ Taintment. Genius!

Track 9: The Muppets – “Manamana”
I think I should end every episode with Statler and Waldorf. They are the ultimate critics. Fuck you, Roger Ebert!

And so ends another podcast. Music has the preternatural ability to lift the spirit, to elevate the mood, and to cleanse the mind of frustrations and idle turmoil. It also has the ability to bore and annoy. I hope this episode provided a bit more from column A than from column B. Lemme know. Thanks so much for listening.

A picture is worth a thousand nerds

Pix from the World’s Fist All Nerdcore Hip-Hop Show are currently available over at crapbots.com, and it appears as though a good time was had by all. Beefy took the stage for the first time, Karl got it on DDR-style, Rai unveiled a new track, Monzy made a last-minute appearance, FSR brought a flock of nerdcore faithful, and YT and the Spamtec crew took it home in world-class style. MC Frontalot and members of Optimus Rhyme even stopped by to show their support.

The images literally drip with nerd love. So take ‘em in and kick yourself for not showing up. Failing that, doctor up a picture or two and make up your own outlandish tales of nerdcore debauchery!

The PAX that was

I missed out on a lot by not attending PAX 06. I missed out on Frontalot, Optimus, Minibosses, NESkimos, and the Video Game Pianist. I missed out on the Omegathon (Big up to Leeroy!!!!). I missed out on the screening of last year’s PAX on DVD. I missed seeing my bro Beefy’s first live show (post-PAX, but still PAX-y). I missed the ball and crazy ball-related shenanigans. I missed out on what was surely the largest number of post-consumer DS and DS Lites in one place. And, perhaps saddest of all, I missed seeing nerd love blossom.

But at least there’s a YouTube clip of that last one!