Radio Free Hipster Ep. 61: Dare Not Speak Its Name

A certain oft-cited religious text tells us that love is patient, kind, and neither envious nor arrogant. What it doesn't say is that love is volatile, complicated, and, more than occasionally, messy.

That's why we have music.

Songs put a human face on what is a fairly spiritual concept. Sometimes that face is content. Sometimes it is incensed. And sometimes it is Patrick Swayze.

Each of these bases is covered herein.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 61: Dare Not Speak Its Name (hosting provided by Antisocial) Size: 49.5 MB Running Time: 54:06

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – "Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)"

There's a lot of love in this song.

Track 1: Shael Riley – "I'm Yours" / Say Anything... dialog
I actually heard Shael's cover long before I ever came across the Mraz source material. Therefore, I tend to associate it more with him than the original artist.

Z's 1st Interlude: "I wanna know what love is."
I want you to show me.

Track 2: Switchblade Kittens – "Valentine's Day Massacre"
The Kittens recently released their 3rd album, Rebel Princess. Check it out.

Track 3: Party Ben – "All the Single Ladies in Mayberry"
You probably won't see fat dudes on YouTube dancing to this version, but you should.

Track 4: The Grammar Club – "Girl Trouble"
Will The Grammar Club's follow-up release be on par with their debut EP. My sources say yes.

Track 5: Snoopy Come Home dialog / Zen Albatross "No More Oceans"
I really wanted to drop this Charlie Brown sound bite into the ep. Thankfully, it played well into this fantastic track from Zen Albatross.

Track 6: Schaffer the Darklord – "Nerd Lust (Peeved Remix) (live)"
Whether you made the trip to Orlando or not, I highly recommend picking up The Nerdapalooza Tapes. It manages to catch a ton of highlights from a weekend made entirely of win.

Track 7: MC Lars & YTCracker – "Nerdcore Players"
A true player does, indeed, always wrap it up.

Z's 2nd interlude: "For extra credit on this subject, check out YTCracker's 'Hardly Tell.'"
This episode's background music is nYgels' instrumental remix of the aforementioned song. You can grab it on his latest release.

Track 8: Jonathan Coulton – "Shop Vac"
There's just really no way to describe how amazing this song truly is. It's one of JoCo's best.

Track 9: DJ FOX – "Hypnotized Gypsy"
This one was included to help me get in my requisite level of smut for this edition.

Track 10: Metaforce – "Stepmom Fox"
This track also helped on that front.

Track 11: The Whomping Willows – "In Which Draco and Harry Secretly Want To Make Out"
Slash-fic Wizard Rock. I'm kind of surprised we haven't gotten a veritable avalanche of such songs.

Track 12: Ted and the Gooch – "Screw You"
This was a last-minute addition, and I think it caps the set well.

Z's final interlude: "Totally useless insights into the phenomenon of coupling."
I should really incorporate that phrase into my business cards.

Track 13: The Four Eyes – "Dirty Dancing Medley"
This was one of those songs I heard and I knew I had to save for the Valentine's ep. Love me some Four Eyes!

I don't for a minute think that this show will ever teach anybody anything about any subject, particularly love. But it's fun to operate under that pretense.

There's this basic human need to try and pass oneself off as an enlightened expert in matters well beyond one's grasp. I call this the Dr. Phil effect.

Still, while I can't teach you anything about life, love, or relationships, I genuinely think that music – that art – can. Maybe that makes me an idealist or a hopeless romantic, or simply just a run-of-the-mill dumbass, but it's a belief to which I fervently cling.

The romantic verse is a subtle language all its own through which information, especially uniquely personal information, can be disseminated to the rest of our tribe. So whether it's the metaphysical poets or The Grammar Club, it pays to take note. How else can we learn to appreciate each other's passions, or the raw power of each other's heartbreaks?