Nerd News in Brief

Starting tomorrow, I go back to my old part-time stay-at-home-dad routine, and, honestly, I’m a little worried. It’s not that I don’t relish the role (and the hyphens), it’s just that this time I am outnumbered. When it was just me and Li’l X I had a distinct advantage, but now with Twiggy joining the fray I feel a bit outgunned.

There are two of them. What if they conspire?

On a semi-relevant note, I’m not sure how this will affect my blogging time for the foreseeable future. Slapping words together in my downtime at the office is a breeze, but coordinating writing time at home takes finesse and planning. I reckon there might be a slight drop in output as I recalibrate to “life at home,” but hopefully that’ll be short lived. Here’s hoping I can keep up with my admittedly meager output in this transitional interim.

In other personal minutiae, I finally figured out how to update the kernel in my EZFlashV. Hurray for DLDI auto-patching!

• 24: Congratulations are in order for mc chris, whose new album mc chris is dead was recently included in Billboard Magazine’s Heatseeker charts. Okay, so the chart only has 25 positions and mc was 24, but that still totally counts!
• Strategy Guide: Do you like good, nerdy music? Are you a cheap bastard? If you answered yes to both these questions, proceed directly to the MySpace of VGM/nerdcore duo Super Barrio Brothers. For a limited time, the Bros have a fine selection of songs available for free download on their profile’s music player. Will they still be free when you hit the link? You never know until you try.
• It’s a helluva town: Did you know that everyone loves Shael Riley? Okay, maybe not everyone, but most people. He’s downright lovable. He’s also planning to start playing gigs again and is looking to put together a live band. He’s specifically looking for a primary (read: lead) guitarist and a keyboardist. Applicants should “be able to read music to the degree that you can learn songs from midis,” live in the NY area and preferably be familiar with some of Shael’s music. Additional info can be found at Front’s BBS.
• PacNW and NC4L: This Thursday – that being June 12th – at 7:00 PM at Capitol Hill Arts Center, the Nerdcore For Life documentary makes its Seattle premiere at the True independent Film Festival! The NC4L after party (featuring Ultraklystron, Beefy and YTCracker) will commence at 10:30 PM at the Jewel Box Theater. All access passes are still available, and individual tickets can be bought online or at the door.
• Never say die: Ultraklystron has just released a new DJ mix for free download. It includes a movement from the never-before-heard track “Maho,” a song omitted from his Solace album due to time constraints. Check it out.
• More news from Sea-town: Troy from Kurtis Empire Records was nice enough to let me know that some new releases are on the horizon. Southside’s Southside Liquors is currently being tracked and Metaforce’s Feared Science is being mixed. Southside also has a couple of gigs lined up this month, on June 16th at the High Dive (a 21+ event) and a free all-ages in-store at Bop Street Records in Seattle (Ballard) on June 21st at 8:00 PM.
• A slippery slope: Matt points out that J.K. Rowling has again taken up the pen to write about Harry Potter. Sort of. This one-off, 800 word prequel will be auctioned for charity later this month. How long it takes the info from said prequel to make its way into a WRock song remains to be seen.
• For those about to… GRock?!: Last weekend Matt made his way out to both local Accio Bodyguard tour stops. Of course he picked up the newest releases from performers The Butterbeer Experience and Lauren Myrtle. He even put together a really cool piece about his impression of Lauren’s album over at his blog free_geek. Read it, and then go grab the album for yourself.
• It’s fabulus!: In other (sort of) WRock related news, Wizrocklopedia’s Lizz is now selling Potter-pleasing clothing and accessories as Fabulus Fashions. Check out the wares over at her new MySpace. I especially like the guitar pick necklaces.
• Like from the future: Jephso put together a cool interview feature with Tim of one of my favorite game rock bands Year 200X over at one of my favorite blogs Game Music 4 All. I suggest you read it quickly and with a harsh tone for maximum metalosity.
• Math the Genre: My pal Antisocial hit me up last week to tell me of an unsettling trend he had uncovered: math songs. Let the Youtubery commence! And continue! And conclude!
• Enka 2 - Electric Boogaloo: Church recently sent me a link to this odd article about Japan’s newest enka sensation Jero. I passed it on to our resident expat Justin (of Hidari fame), and he dug up this video. I think it’s cool that Japan, a nation typically painted as heavily xenophobic, is open to an “outsider” performing such traditional music, but, y’know, it still ain’t enough to get me into enka.
• Wily beware!: The infallible Random has just done a small Q&A for Wired’s Listening Post, a sister blog of GeekDad. While not exactly the most in-depth interview in music history, it does hit the high points of his Mega Ran album, and, most importantly, puts Ran’s name out there via another avenue. Give it a read and then leave a comment. Trust me, Wired bloggers love comments.
• I watched this city burn: Taking us home today is a live performance video of The Protomen’s “Will of One,” which is probably my favorite song from their debut album. Take a gander and then go watch a much prettier version at their site.