This week in swag, cont.

Friends, this must be my week! In addition to scoring some great new listening material from C.O.G. and MPFM a few days back, I've just received two additional parcels.

The first was from the incomparable Jesse Dangerously containing a copy of his latest album Verba Volant, which I have been anxiously awaiting. A review of that release is forthcoming, along with an interview feature with Jesse himself. Excited? I am.

The second was a care package from Dan Lamoureux. This was an unexpected little treat in the form of a freshly recut version of his Nerdcore For Life documentary and a geeky gift for the new baby. Thanks, Dan, and to answer your question, no, she hasn't gotten the common cold yet. ;)

Big in Europe

Church just hit me with this piece from The Guardian. About nerdcore, if you can believe it!

While the story obviously predates the recent dissipation of Rhyme Torrents, most of the rest of the info is pretty much on-point. Frontalot and mc chris are both well represented, as are directors Dan and Negin, and former scene staples High-C and MC Router. Nerdapalooza - and its cousin Nerdapalooza UK - gets some well deserved love. YT also gets a nod, reminding us that he truly is our king.

Take a read and share your thoughts. As press goes, this one is a biggy!

Them's my boys!

Congratulations are in order for Hipster, please! pals Anthony and Dan Plus Add. Anthony’s on top of the world – and rightfully so – after finding out that the Here Comes a New Challenger compilation that he helmed recently got some pub in Australia’s Rave magazine. Well deserved praise for a fine album.

Likewise, Dan’s Coultometer, a delightful device for quantifying one’s nerd fame, just got the nod from the titular Jonathan Coulton himself. Have you checked your current level of Coultonosity? You totally should. It’s all the rage.

Nerd News in Brief

After a week on top, the traffic around ol’ Hipster, please! seems to be slowly shrinking back to normal.

It was really cool to have so many people visiting to check out the Old Nerdy Bastard compilation, and, moreover, I was genuinely pleased with the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the project. All parties involved did a bang-up job, and I’m glad fans acknowledged that.

Still, it’s hard not to feel a slight sense of relief at this return to normalcy. I mean, it’s just us again, just the regulars.

This means we once again have the freedom to walk around in our underwear and stop sucking in our guts.

You can’t put a price on shit like that.

• A water-tight case: Church just hit me up with a link to this letter of complaint directed at Arizona State University. Personally, I think Mr. Lacrampe’s case seems fairly cut and dry.
• Like regular gamers, only brainier: Are you interested in taking a one -semester seminar course devoted to the history of the RPG? Of course you are! Now meet the man who’d like to teach it.
• Magic Missile: And speaking of RPGs, we GeekDads are hosting a new contest. The challenge? Create self-portraits of yourselves and your children as D&D characters. The spoils? A handsome D&D 4E prize pack! See this post for the full skinny.
• As if you don’t get enough of me already: A new edition of the HipTrax podcast is now available. This one features Brad Sucks, The Weasel King, and Maja. It also features me babbling. Even more so than usual. What can I say? I’d just finished the new comp and was totally burned out. Thankfully, Ken was there to keep me on track.
• I am a WRock. I am an island: For those of us unable to attend, the Wizrocklopedia crew has provided ample pictures and videos of last weekend WRockstock. And thanks to Matt for catching a brief mention of Old Nerdy Bastard in this vid from The Wizrockateers. You WRock, Lizz!
• The Clambon’s connected to the foot bone: For those of you still trying to figure out what Hidari’s “Clambon” – the song masterfully remixed by Glenn and Justin on ONB - is really about, I present Mr. Bacon’s own translation. That clear everything up for ya? Didn’t think so.
• (Finally) Ready to Launch: The newest Game Music 4 All compilation, Heavy Troopa is Ready to Launch! became available last Sunday. On the off chance you haven’t head over to GM4A and download this massive 3-disc set of musical goodness. It’s got all the music you love from the Nintendo/Square classic in new and exciting forms.
• Captain’s log, supplemental: And while you’re at it, be sure to check out episode 20 of the Into the Score podcast wherein the net’s only podcast dedicated to the academic study of game music takes on the original Super Mario RPG soundtrack. Be amazed, enlightened, and summarily educated.
• Oh, Canada!: On the subject of free releases, you would also be wise to peep Hand’Solo Records new mixtapes Hokey Religions & Ancient Weapons (are no match for a good blaster). This mix is freely downloadable, but those with a taste for physical media can snag the CD for $10. It features Jesse Dangerously, Wordburglar, and Myf, and if that’s not enough to get you excited, then I judge thee unexcitable.
• Practically giving it away: Also freely available is the Motherboard Compilation featuring id obelus and Wordburglar (again!), another hip-hop mix worth your valuable time. It’s available from Canadian meta-collective Secret Cloud and will most probably cure what ails you.
• Endsville still burns: Straight from the portal of a seemingly resurrected Rhyme Torrents comes news that Attack Slug has released isolated acappellas and background tracks from his new album Endsville is Burning. Remixing is encouraged.
• Get your hack on: Despite the fact that I’m only 1/3 of the way through Mario Kart Wii – and feel free to shoot me your friend code if you wanna race – I’ve become enamored with the concept of the Wii Homebrew Channel. Don’t get me wrong, WiiWare is cool and all, but this puppy’s got potential!
• You are what you (b)eat: And while we’re talking about Nintendo and homebrew apps, I’ve just been informed by Gorgull that Protein[DS] v080522 is now available. Judging form Pierre’s new video, the program has been noticeably beefed up. Make some room amongst all those bootlegs on your slot-1 cart for this one.
• mc still lives: Those of you looking to buy mc chris’s new release mc chris is dead from Indie Merch Store are (temporarily) out of luck. The album is presently sold out, although mc promises that a second pressing is underway, and that it should be in stock later this week.
• How we do it on Cyphertron: While your waiting on that to become available, why not check out the latest communiqué from the Autobeat Command Center? In addition to news of a forthcoming album, you’ll also be hipped to new non-Optimus projects from Wheelie, grimROCK, and Stumblebee.
• The nerdy James Bond: For those who haven’t been keeping up – and shame on you if you haven’t – YTCracker has been providing color commentary concerning the YT/Front/Lars/Del commercial video shoot for G4. Some great footage and the obligatory nis references can be found at his blog.
• Bea Arthur!!!: To take us home today, let me leave you with another slice of madness from our pals Uncle Monsterface. The guys from Monsterface Industries, you see, are brining back their weekly YouTube feature Monsterface Mondays in a big way, starting off with a promo video/infomercial for the Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo. See you there!
  

Wheel O' Mad Scientists

I arrived home from work this evening to find my mailbox positively overflowing with cool (free!) shit. I received the 10 year anniversary retrospective, a DVD sampler, and a swank bumper sticker from New Orleans's Consortium of Genius, as well as a copy of Wheel O' Exgirlfriends and a fine selection of buttons and stickers from my Tennessee brothers My Parent's Favorite Music. Plus, Steffo let slip that their new album Testing the Waters is almost here. Great news and a great haul!

Radio Free Hipster EP. 45: Black and Blue

I’m always a little wary of “effortless” episodes of the podcast. You know, the ones that just come together easily from beginning to end. This is such an edition.

The playlist, for example, was assembled from memory, which is odd in and of itself. I simply thought to myself, self, these are the songs we’re going to play next ep, and, lo and behold, this info was still there in mental storage when the time came to put this bad boy together.

Likewise, my spoken interludes were pretty easy to record. Hell, even the upload process took less time and effort than usual!

Despite all this, I’m not quite willing to write this ep. off. Though I tend to believe that your enjoyment of a podcast is directly proportional to how much of a pain in my ass the actual assembly and dissemination of the episode is, I’ve got a little faith in this one. The musical selections may be a bit different from what you expect, but I think that each song has ample merit.

Take a listen and lemme know what you think.

Download Radio Free Hipster EP. 45: Black and Blue [hosting provided by Antisocial] Size: 49.5 MB Running Time: 54:07

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – “Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)”
There is, after all, no better place to start.

Track 1: The Weasel King – “Red Hair (2DefMice Nerdy Gospel Mix)”
This is easily one of my favorite songs from the Old Nerdy Bastard comp.

Z’s 1st interlude: “Something I rarely do so early on.”
I tend to reserve the rocking out for the second set, but it’s good to mix shit up.

Track 2: Southside – “Blackout”
I’m not sure how I’m just finding out about Southside, but I suppose it’s a “better late than never” type of thing.

Track 3: Mindscape Music – “Other Side of the Mirror”
I love that there’s someone out there making soundtracks specifically for tabletop RPG sessions. It all but restores my faith in humanity.

Track 4: Consortium of Genius – “Bow 2 Me (Dr. Z version 2001)”
This song is funny to me on an additional level as “COG” refers, in my local parlance, to the ultra-conservative Pentecostal Holiness group the Church of God, in whose taut and hoary clutches I was reared.

Track 5: Videogame Orchestra – “Doctor Who Theme”
I’m currently resisting the urge to throw this in with a couple of songs from Ep. 20 to form a RFH mini-mix.

Track 6: Danimal Cannon – “Maybe We Should Stick to Football (England)”
If you haven’t already, check out the amazing remix project No Balls, No Glory, brought to you, of course, by super producer Mustin, please do so.

Track 7: DJ Morgoth – “Take Your Mutter Out”
Sorry for forgetting to include this one last episode, nerdy moms. I’m a bad boy.

Z’s 2nd interlude: “And here’s another track.”
I think I have an unintentional motif in this episode: the twofer. We got two songs from ONB, two songs from Mindscape Music, two songs from the Southside guys, two songs suggested by Ant, two songs suggested by Steve BC, and two tech-y indie pop tracks.

Track 8: Metaforce – “Subliminal (Style Wars Part 1)”
Metaforce has my new favorite name for a geeky hip-hop outfit. Embarrassingly enough, it took me a while to get the clever pun.

Track 9: Animal Style – “Medieval Blues”
Wikipedia seems to quantify the madrigal a bit differently than me. It’s description is probably much more accurate.

Track 10: Steve BC – “Kfr-friend ed.”
I am on a real Steve BC kick at present!

Track 11: Computerization – “1.14me”
You need this song. Trust me.

Track 12: Tullycraft – “Every Little Thing”
A little twee pop compliments of Matt from free_geek, a fine blogger, a sanctified music connoisseur, and a helluva pal.

Track 13: Hidari – “Clambon (Glenn Case’s Campfire Singalong mix)”
Justin and Glenn really made this mix something special. It’s got an uplifting quality that I just can’t accurately describe.

Z’s final interlude: “I’m gonna have some guests.”
Next episode will be a special Nerdapalooza-themed event. I am very excited!

Track 14: Del tha Funkee Homosapien – “Proto Culture”
An old school nerd rap track if ever there was one.

Thanks so much for checking out this edition of the podcast. Your support means a lot, and your company is always appreciated.

I hope you dug this ‘cast despite its dubious distinction of being, y’know, not a holy fuckin’ terror on my end. Failing that, I hope you were at least turned on to some new stuff.

I’m already working on episode 46, and you can expect it to be a bit longer and more involved than usual. Hex and mCRT are really fun, interesting cats, and I can’t wait to pick their brains about Nerdapalooza.

Until next time! :)