Nerd News in Brief

If Twitter is to be believed, practically every artist in the sphere of nerdcore hip-hop is currently on a boat. Mutherfucker.

But even without invoking Incredibad, it's still been sort of an odd week.

Apparently the general public gets all bent out of shape and shit when their celebrities use drugs or launch into profanity-laden tirades. Thankfully, here-abouts all the entertainers do these things publicly, thereby neutering these particular taboos.

I'm not saying our ways are better. Merely that we are more transparent regarding our vices.

• I'm a Carpool Lane Outlaw: It has long been a dream of mine to have my theme song, Optimus Rhyme's "My Piroshky," play each time I enter a room. Thankfully, this technology now exists.
• NCR in NYC: Nerdcore Rising's two and only NYC showings are this Friday night. (Which is tonight, for those playing at home.). Come see the doc at the Tribeca Film Series, Friday, February 13th at 8:00 PM or 10:15 PM. Grab tickets here. And give Gaby my love.
• Bits & Pieces: Shael Riley has confirmed a pair of dates in locations not NYC. The first, as recently announced by my boy Ant, is March 14th at A&G Ohio. The second is March 25th at Baba Budans in Cincinnati. Has anyone noticed that these are both in int eighty's neck of the woods? I'm just sayin'.
• Neon Nightlife: Groundbreaking chiptune artist zircon has just released the Mass Media Constant EP via Protagonist Records. It's aggressive, electro-tinged drum and bass that Zen Albatross described as "full of breakbeat and win." Peep the hotness.
• It All Makes Perfect Sense: My pal Glenn Case is kicking his February Album Writing Month project into high gear. Check out his tracks "Think it Over" and "Reasons" over at FAWM.org, and then feel really unproductive.
• Fear the Beard: It appears as though the long-awaited live CD/DVD from Jonathan Coulton will soon be seeing the light of day. Boasting audio and footage from last February's San Francisco show, "a bit of documentary/interview type stuff," and an audio commentary track featuring JoCo, Paul and Storm, and Kristen Shirts, this one looks to be a must-buy.
• The Setup: And for those fans who desperately need to know about Jonathan's recording setup, check out his recent interview with waferbaby. Why don't I have a Mellotron emulator plugin?!
• Comic Book Rock: Whilst reading a Village Voice piece about New York Comic-Con, Church came across a reference to geek rockers Kirby Krackle. They write songs exclusively about comics and comic book culture, and their album cover was designed by my underground hero, Jim Mahfood. In short, they are the shit.
• Come, All Ye Faithful: Matt just let me know that the lineup for the 2009 WRock EP of the Month Club is fucking phenomenal! Last year, the project raised $16,000 for First Book and the Harry Potter Alliance, and I can seriously see this year surpassing even that. With acts like Harry and the Potters, The Whomping Willows, The Moaning Myrtles, RiddleTM, and Peeved onboard, this is $60 well spent. Sign up here. Immediately.
• WRock On: Also on the Wizard Rock front, Megan, from The Wizard Rockumentary, and Mark, of WRockers Marked As His Equal, have created a new project entitled From Beneath These Ashes. It's a 2-disk compilation with some 30 contributors split between light- (The Remus Lupins, Catchlove) and dark- (Draco and the Malfoys, House of Black) themed disks. All proceeds benefit Save the Children, and pre-orders can be made via the project's MySpace.
• Bring Your a Game: The Ranger was nice enough to point out that Rhyme Torrents is putting together another quality-controlled compilation. Nerdy Rotten Scoundrels is a heavily hip-hop oriented comp with Ranger, DJ Snyder, Entity, Super Dragon X, D-Form and Poopy Hands at the helm. It's due to be released on March 1st, and with those cats involved you can be damned sure it'll be worth your time to check it out.
• Get 'Em While They're Hot: Random is clearing out his cache of surplus beats. (No, not beets.) MCs are encouraged to visit Ran's Soundclick to peruse the selection.
• That Hocus Pocus Focus Juice: Remember when we all needed that green? Needed that Surge? Antisoc sure does. In fact, he directed me to a Tribute to Fallen Sodas that references the classic YTCracker masterpiece "Surgerunner."
• Extreme Close-up: Earlier this week, MC Lars was featured in G4's Freestyle 101. In addition to bringing the rhymes, he also talked a bit about nerdcore as a movement. Here's what transpired.