Nerd News in Brief

This week’s NNIB is a bit later than usual. Because of the dreaded technical difficulties!

*DUM DUM DUUUUUUUUUUUUM*

It’s hard sometimes for me to grasp how wholly shackled I am to my PC, and, indeed, to all technological trappings. Of course, the universe elects to totally fuck my shit up from time to time so as to remind me.

Oh universe, you’re such a cad!

• Spell Chek: Obviously tired of hooking me up with new nerd ink to feature, Church instead sent me this list of fabulously misspelled tattoos. Remember, its only funny because it’s not you.
• Your Greatest Battle: MC Frontalot has announced the official release date for his next full-length, Final Boss, as November 1st. He’s also dropped news concerning a national tour with MC Lars to coincide with the release. Exciting, no?
• Too Much Nerdy: You can expect new albums from Beefy and uber producer nYgel slightly sooner. As in, within the next few weeks. Yes, Beefy’s Rolling Doubles and nYg’s Free To Good Home mixtape are both nearing release. I’ll have interviews with the artists and reviews of the albums as soon as I can get my metaphorical shit straight.
• Join the Alliance: In other event news, Anthony has just turned me on to the Chiptune Alliance Tour, a series of shows throughout the UK featuring the talents of Anamanaguchi, Random, Sabrepulse, Firebrand Boy, Syphus, Henry Homesweet, We Are The Future, Spheres of Chaos and Unicorn Kid. A couple of the scheduled event dates for late August are as yet unattached to venues, so hit up Sabrepulse if you can help in that regard.
• They Really Are: And don’t forget the 4th annual I Am 8-Bit music and art show currently going on in Hollywood. The event runs until September 7th, and is sponsored, in part, by our friends at Capcom.
• Do it for Ran: And speaking of, one of Random’s contacts from Capcom, a cat named Shawn, just created a Capcom Music site. His Royal Randomness cordially requests your joinage of said project. So do your man a solid and check it out.
• There Can Be Only… Two?: If you like your nerdy rhymes with a side of old school battle rap, you should make your way to Rhyme Torrents for the forthcoming 2-on-2 Rap Battle competition. Teams include everyone from international duo The Ranger & T.Y.T. to the pride of the UK Category & MisterB. Think of it as the Olympics. With more rap and less pesky nationalism.
• This week on COPS: A recent gig at B Natural in Ofallon, MO featuring our own Whore Moans boasted an amazing closer: the local police force. Yes, and if you look closely, you can see Johnny Law creeping into frame in this video of Moans’ “Mecha Mechanics.” Good times.
• The Last Boy Scout: On a personal note, I’ve recently found out that I qualify for a merit badge. Well, two, I guess.
• DJ Spock: And taking us home is another great find from Church. It’s a cleverly edited Star Trek vid provided by CBS itself. Live long and prosper.
  

Drunken Podcasting Month

I love faux holidays. (Fauxlidays, if you will.)

They are the Styrofoam packing material of the modern calendar. Meaning, of course, that they help to protect and insulate the all-too infrequent real holidays that liven up an otherwise drab year.

Moreover, I've always wanted to start my own. Not for personal glory or untold wealth, but for sheer shits and giggles.

The question was what. Followed immediately by when.

And then, while listening to a moderately belligerent MisterB on the pair of Nerdapalooza special editions of the Letters vs. Numbers podcast, I was struck with a revelation:

Alcohol and podcasting go hand in hand!

It's an outright truth, an undeniable fact. Most podcasters - myself included - tend to drink on the mic. And there's nothing wrong with that; it limbers the vocal cords and sharpens the wit.

But what if we had a season specifically dedicated to podcasting under the influence? What if we had an officially designated month for drunkcasting?

And so, it is with great pleasure that I invite my friends and fellow 'casters to join me this September in celebration of the inaugural Drunken Podcasting Month.

Your task is simple. Record a podcast at least once during those 30 days. Drunk.

If you want to get a little tipsy, that's cool. If you want to get totally shit-faced, that'll do as well. Your choice.

Hell, if you wanna record multiple drunk podcasts during the month-long celebration, that's fine too. It's your liver.

All you really need is an urge to podcast, a functional means to record and disseminate said podcast, some booze, and, of course, to be a legal drinker in your principality.

I'm sure this isn't gonna rival Talk Like a Pirate Day or anything, but it could provide some interesting entertainment options. It's my simple hope that a few of my friend's from the podasting community will join me in the alcohol-fueled revelry. And maybe a few podcasting backsliders will use this as an opportunity to return to the fold. (I'm looking at you, Beefy.)

So buy a bottle, find a friend, and fire up your microphones. Drunken Podcasting Month is coming. And it's totally gonna be a thing.

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 50: The People and What They Want

You guys are the greatest!

I mean that. That's not meant to be pandering or sharply ironic; it's just intended to express my gratitude.

This podcast and this blog stay afloat because, for whatever reason, you folks keep coming back for more. And while I don't wholly understand what it is about my hillbilly ways that continually attracts your interest, I feel fortunate that something does.

Thanks for giving me something to do with my spare time, and for proving that even a lowly nerd can find likeminded individuals through the power of the internet.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 50: The People and What They Want [hosting provided by Antisocial] Size: 45.7 MB Running Time: 49:56

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – “Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)”
If this episode is all about special requests, consider this one mine.

Track 1: unknown – "Smurfs Theme (Techno Remix)"
This one is for funky49. He is, apparently, a Smurfs fan.

Z's 1st interlude: "Each song I play is a special request from a special listener."
Meaning, essentially, that you guys did my job for me this time around.

Track 2: 2 Skinnee J's – "Irresistible Force"
This one is for Alex. And also for ADeadHeart; she didn't ask for it specifically, but I know she digs it.

Track 3: Attackslug – "Earth Defense Force"
As requested by DON VITO, the glue that holds RhymeTorrents.org together.

Track 4: Superpowerless – "Swimming With Sharks"
MisterB requested some Superpowerless. I obliged. We cool like that.

Track 5: mc chris – "DQ Blizzard"
This one is my personal favorite classic mc chris track. It's going out to my brother Shael Riley in NYC, long-distance dedication style.

Track 6: Truckasaurus – "Supercopter"
Krys actually requested MC Router's "Unwired" or some Truckasaurus. For some strange reason, I couldn't locate my copy of the former.

Track 7: Dual Core – "Fantastic Four Remix (feat. Beefy, Wheelie Cyberman, and YTCracker)"
La Bete requested some "obscure Dual Core." That's sort of a tall order, so instead I gave him this great remix from the new Lost Reality album.

Z's 2nd interlude: "DJK, otherwise known as Ken Denmead."
You can hear more of Ken's work at his site.

Track 8: No Kill I – "Captain's Log"
For my pal Church; he's our obligatory Trekkie.

Track 9: The Hungarian Horntails – "The Cave"
I couldn't find the exact Horntails track that Snidget wanted, so I substituted this one.

Track 10: Ultraklystron – "Fashionable"
Antisocial says this is his favorite Ultraklystron track. I can see why.

Track 11: Chromelodeon – "Polygon Sun"
With the dissolution of Optimus Rhyme, I join Anthony in the My Favorite Band Broke up Club. We meet the first Tuesday of the month.

Track 12: IllGill – "Hatin'"
This one's for Thugmasta J of Magitek. It's always nice to see east coast artists give some love to those on the west.

Track 13: Marc with a C – "Classic Country Wasn't Multitracked"
mCRT is all up on Marc with a C's musical jock. As well he should be.

Z's final interlude: "Check out Radio Free Hipster's sister podcasts."
Just as there are a number of other blogs that I consider to be in a similar vein to my own Hipster, please!, so are there other podcasts that I consider tonic to the nerdy musical message of RFH. There's HipTrax, of course and Letters vs. Numbers, the Gamewave podcast, and new addition Vagina Deep in Podcast. There are countless others, but those are the ones that came immediately to mind.

Track 14: The Grammar Club – "Alternate Ending"
This was an anonymous request. I like that. it gives us that air of mystery we've been longing for!

And there you have it folks: 50 episodes of Radio Free Hipster. I know it's really just a drop in the bucket compared to bigger podcasts, but it's quite an achievement in my eyes.

Next episode will be a return to (free) form, but hopefully I'll have some nice surprises in September. There've been a number of requests for a dedicated chiptune/VGM podcast, which should be doable, and I'm also going to try and get Church and Matt to help me celebrate a new grassroots holiday I'm calling Drunken Podcasting Month.

If you're a podcaster and would like to participate it's a simple two step process:

1. Get drunk.
2. Record a podcast.

I reckon it might catch on.