More Nerd News in Brief

This NPR story about Japanese Beatles tribute band The Parrots really struck me as interesting. I mean, sure, we can chalk this up to just another eastern fascination with western culture, but I tend to see it another way: cosplay to the Nth degree.

I mean, nerdiness is all about fully embracing your interests, and cosplay is about losing yourself in that same interest. So don't theses dudes qualify? Aren't they music dorks who have taken things to another level?

The attention to detail, the dedication to craft, the dogged determination: are these not the earmarks of geekniness?

• Robots, rock, and reading: If you’re in the Seattle area and are looking to rock the fuck out this weekend, may I humbly suggest what is certainly the geek rock bill of the season: Captured By Robots, Hearseburner, and goddamn Blood Hag! This very evening – Friday, October 12th – at The Funhouse, from 9:30 PM to 2:00 AM, you can see all three amazing acts for the low, low price of $10.00. And to sweeten the deal, CBR will be presenting “Dubya,” a musical adaptation of the last 7 years of the George W. Bush presidency. As performed by killer robots.
• What’s my name?: mc chris has another round of concert dates for the forthcoming week. Behold:10/15/2007 - The Annex Madison, Wisconsin; 10/16/2007 05:30 PM - 7th Street Entry (All Ages Show) Minneapolis, Minnesota; 10/16/2007 09:00 PM - 7th Street Entry (21+ Show) Minneapolis, Minnesota; 10/18/2007 - The Waiting Room Omaha, Nebraska; 10/20/2007 08:00 PM - The Black Sheep Colorado Springs, Colorado; 10/21/2007 - Fox Theatre Boulder, Colorado ALL AGES!
• Triple threat: MC Frontalot, Schaffer the Darklord, and hometown hero YTCracker will also be performing in Colorado. On November 18th at Denver’s Marquis Theater, you can watch these three titans of geeky rhymes do there collective thang. This all ages event kicks off at 7:30 PM, and tickets are $8.00 in advance or $10.00 at the door.
• The Atomic Age: Also on the subject of forthcoming gigs, MAJA will be performing at the Atomic Comics Anime Festival on Saturday Oct 27, 2007 at 12:00 PM. The show (and the festival itself) will go down at the Atomic Mesa Superstore in Mesa, AZ. Show up and support you otaku rap.
• Harold and Kumar go to Starfleet Academy: Matt just hipped me to the casting of the cat that played Harold in the role of Sulu in the new Star Trek film. I didn’t actually watch Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, so I’m not sure if this dude is a master thespian of George Takai's caliber. I said “thesbian.”
• And what do I do?: Church also alerted me to a little love directed at our own mc chris by the Wisconsin State Journal. Although, personally, I find the writers admission that “[a]ll of a sudden Madison is becoming dweeb central” as a little odd. I mean, come on; it’s Madison, WI! The nerds have always been there. Now they’re just coming out of hiding.
• Just when you thought you’d run out of things to crank: MadHatter, of Sinister Six fame, has just dropped a new track on his MySpace. Like any fan of, y’know, music, Hatter hates “that god damn 'Crank That Soulja Boy' song and dance” so much so that he… made his own?! At any rate, you can check “Crank That Scrubby Boy” on his profile or via direct download.
• Triumphant return: After a lengthy absence, Rhyme Torrents mastermind and young Jack Nicholson sound-alike High-C has returned and promised a new album of collaborations and cover songs in the near future. It’s slated to feature collabs with the likes of The Ranger, DJ Snyder, mCRT, Random, and Betty Rebel, just to name a few, as well as covers of classic tracks by Todd Rundgren, Public Enemy, and Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. Keep your ear to the ground for more info.
• Nerds are scary: And speaking of RT, this year’s Rhyme Torrents Halloween compilation is tentatively slated for an October 16th release. At 26 songs strong, there’s sure to be something for everyone. And, having already heard the ZeaLouS1 and Sinister Six tracks, I think that things are already shaping up nicely. Oh, and the disk still needs a cover, so interested parties should holler at the RT crew.
• Brazilian wax: On the Nerdcore For Life front, Dan reports that he received word of another Brazilian article concerning the documentary. This turned out to be erroneous, as the piece actually references the Frontalot doc Nerdcore Rising rather than Nerdcore For Life, but I reckon it’s worth a read regardless… assuming, of course, you can read Portuguese.
• Undead Equal Opportunities Bill: And to wrap things up, more zombies. Consider yourselves primed for next weeks edition of Radio Free Hipster.

Cue theme song

I don’t know how many of you cats are members of the Cheap Ass Gamer community, but I do know that a healthy chunk are musicians and the overwhelming majority of you are nerds with a penchant for gaming. In this instance, the former is even more important than the latter.

According to the latest edition of their podcast, hosts CheapyD and Wombat are in the market for an official CAGcast theme song. In addition to getting some regular play on a hugely popular (and recently award-winning) gaming podcast, the winner will also receive a cool $100 American. The winning track will be announced on CAGcast 100, which should hit the virtual-airwaves at the end of November, so you’ve got some time to familiarize yourself with the show and its unique charm.

Additional information can be found in this thread, and, of course, amongst the madness that is CAGcast 93; which, coincidentally, you should probably listen to even if you don’t plan on entering the contest.

CAG is one of the few videogame communities that eschews fanboyism in favor of actual content and “hardcore” posturing for nerdly interaction. Plus it’s the best place on the InterWebs for game shopping news, so I think this would be a great opportunity for some exposure for our nerdcore, geek rock, and VGM brethren.

Without naming any names, I am full aware that many of you are more than capable of crafting a competent theme song. So, does anyone wanna take a crack at it?

Nerd News inBrief

Guess who’s back in the muthafuckin’ house with some Nerd News for that muthafuckin’…

Wow. That didn’t fit at all.

How about: guess who’s back in the muthafuckin’ house with some Nerd News from the muthafuckin’… South?

Yeah, okay, that works.

It’s not my best bastardization of a Snoop Dogg couplet, but it’ll have to do.

• I’m a stream-ripper, a one-way ticket, yeah: Before motoring into the mountains of Tennessee last week, I made it a point to catch the Shoutcast interview with The Grammar Club guys. In addition to hearing from Shael and Glenn, Beef Thompson also made an appearance. There were some revelations about the project and its genesis, some laughs and good-natured bull-shittery, and ample talk about – you guessed it – dry-cleaning and animal husbandry. You can check out the interview at The Grammar Club site, or you can download my own rip of the madness.
• What a lady!: Church has found a definitive winner in our continuing mission to quantify the world’s greatest geek tattoo. Ladies and gentlemen, behold our new Empress.
• A PhD in Dorking the Fuck Out: Would you like to see a video interview with MC Frontalot and his group of musical malcontents from the DigtalLife expo? Of course you would! Pay special attention to Blak Lotus’s musing concerning nerd girls. Fascinating.
• VGM meets nerdcore hip-hop: 8-Bit Bandit & Dumbfoundead have, at long last, released The Super Barrio Brothers EP. What are still reading for? Head over to their MySpace and snag this CD! I’ll wait here until you get back.
• Too good to be true?: If any of you nerdcore cats are approached by some marketing-types who say they were referred to you by one Dan Lamoureux, Dan humbly requests that you let him know. Apparently, he was contacted by a marketing firm via MySpace that seemed to be rather interested in nerdcore, but he was a little iffy on the legitimacy of their request. Though it “might sound shady,” Dan says that the folks he talked to “were very nice and psyched about nerdcore.” There was talk of sponsoring some events and whatnot, but before he got all excited Dan wanted to know if anyone else had been approached. Check out the full story here and let the man know if you have any info.
• In his own words: Otaku MC MAJA now has his very own blog through which he can share his thoughts with you, the fans. You can peek inside the mind of hip-hop's foremost Janglish speaker via this link.
• Far more social than you'd think: My boy Antisocial is breaking in his new recording rig by re-recording all the songs from his previous effort Depressed Nerd. The re-release will be called, what else, Depressed Nerd 2.0. You know how Soc rolls.
• Get.Yer.Geek.On: Last weekend marked Madison, Wisconsin’s Geek.Kon, and over 1800 nerds or all types and descriptions showed up. Why, I can only imagine the smell! In addition to making it to CNN, the show also got a great write-up in Wisconsin’s Badger Herald.
  
• John! George! Paul! Ringo! Zombies!: And lastly, so as to get you all back in the pre-Halloween spirit, here’s a little video mash-up featuring The Beatles… and the undead.

The Volunteer State

Tennessee is strange. It has too many double letters in its name, and apparently folks around here are too damn snooty to tour a winery eleven AM on a Sunday. Thankfully they've found a way to combine yard sales and thrill rides. Who new? We should be home soon.
--Z.