Nerd News in Brief

The Internet has fostered many changes in the life of contemporary man, but perhaps none as stark as his observance of April Fools' Day. Let's face it; that shit was a lot less complicated when we only had to worry about crank calls and TPed lawns.

Interestingly, Church pointed out that a couple of this year's most industrious pranks were perpetrated before April 1st.

Oh, Internet, you so crazy!

• An Odd Brand of Legitimacy: Also from Church comes news that Wizard Rock is now an official subject heading in the Library of Congress. A pair of dedicated librarians were able to navigate the all-too treacherous red tape to have the term officially adopted. Of course, probably the coolest part of this is realization that there are actually WRock CDs cataloged in the Library of Congress!
• The Same Coin: Also on the WRock tip comes this post from the 'Pedia about the rivalry/bleed-over between Wizard Rock and Twilight Rock. Give it a read to discover the unlikely vampire-wizard collaboration that is this year's AccioCon.
• What's Your Anti-Nerd?: You know what I'm sick of? The nerd vs. geek debate. Still, I am not so sick of it as to let this link pass by. The folks at io9 want to know if it's time to retire the word "nerd." Feel free to resume your regularly scheduled semantic nitpicking over there.
• The Roster: Arguably the biggest news in nerdy music circles this week was Hex's announcement of the first round of acts to be featured at this year's Nerdapalooza. The list includes festival alumni Schaffer the Darklord, Krondor Krew, mCRT, Rocket Propelled Geeks, and marc with a c, as well as newcomer My Parents' Favorite Music. Rock!
• Case in Point: And since I stole that closing interjection from my pal Glenn Case, let me point out that he's recently launched a new podcast. Case No Point is 24 minutes of musical awesomeness that occurs at random intervals. Hit up the show's site for an episode list and the all-important RSS feed.
• Dope Rhymes for Smart People: You should also peep the new project from my Aussie brother The Ranger, who has assembled an amazingly skilled cabal of nerdy MCs under the banner Nerdy Rotten Scoundrels. The site exists to "showcase a stable of underground hiphop artists, some who identify themselves as part of the Nerdcore genre and some who do not, but all producing quality music." The site will be updated with weekly playlists and tons of free downloads, so check back often.
• Psssssssssst!: Did you know that volume 3 of Game Music 4 All's Hey! Listen! Monthly mixtape project dropped last week? Did you know it is fucking awesome? See for yourself.
• Gameboys! Music! Interesting Hair!: Thanks got out to Zen Albatross for letting me know that the playlist from WFMU's recent chiptune event Solar Bits on the River is now available for download. Explore the chippy goodness.
• Classically Trained: You can also score some live audio from the University of Maryland's Gamer Symphony Orchestra via their site. Seriously, dude, you kind of need to class up that tired-ass iTunes playlist of yours anyway.
• Slayer!: And rounding out this triad of live game music, you can hear I Fight Dragons' semi-acoustic set from their recent Live in Studio 11 show here. They are unplugged… and yet still plugged in.
• Guitar tab is not Punk Rock: MC Lars has assembled a collection of guitar tabs for a number of his songs. He is sharing them freely via his site, as Lars is always about sharing things freely.
• Gruesome Twosome: Lars is also great about freely sharing information. (See what I did there?) He even let me know that he and fellow MC Jesse Dangerously have recently begun work on their new album. In fact, they've already seen to the important task of "picking beats and stuff." If you loved the two-pronged approach of The Digital Gangster LP – and I know you did – then this one will surely not disappoint.
• Touching is Good: This weekend I will finally receive my new DSi, and to that end I have already had to order a replacement flash cart. If you too are rocking the homebrew, Doc Pop has a suggestion for you; the DS Kama Sutra.
• The Same in French: Canadian hip-hopper the Wordburglar has dropped a new pair of videos at YouTube. The first is for the posse cut "We Have Come for Your Children" featuring More or Les, Ghettosocks and several other high-octane contributors. The second is a live version of "Yo Canada" from CBC Radio's GO, which, being that I am a wannabe Canadian, will close out this week's NNIB. With true patriot love.