Nerd News in Brief

Any outlet can promise you tomorrow's news today, but what about yesterday's news?

If no news is good news, then what about old news? Isn't that still newsworthy?

I am of the opinion that just because you already know it doesn't mean it's no longer important. As such, here is last week's Nerd News in Brief.

Take that, traditional journalism!

• Shtick to It: MC Lars's This Gigantic Robot Kills received a favorable review from AllMusic, which aptly pegged the release as having some of his "catchiest songs yet." But then again, you already knew that.
• The Cropduster: Shael Riley is rocking the Chester A. Arthur. If this means nothing to you, you are deficient in your knowledge of American presidents. And you also obviously don't follow our Twitter exchanges closely enough.
• Styrofoam Peanuts: Recently, nerd rock luminary Weird Al Yankovic dropped a new Doors-flavored single called "Craigslist." My only complaint? No allusions to prostitution.
• Wizards & Warriors: I typically characterize our Wizard Rocking brothers and sisters as the most civil of our kind, but let there be no mistakin'; they too can let the claws out. For example, last week Dinah wrote a piece about the evolution of The Parselmouths, which culminated in a suggestion that perhaps the band should change their name to reflect their new style. At that point, shit got real. Thankfully, it looks as though the community has managed to work things out amicably.
• Smarten up Your Playlist: GeekDad Brian recently turned me on to the Skeptic's Mix Tape 2009, a collection of delightfully geeky tracks about science, skepticism and critical thinking that are kid-friendly, catchy as hell and also free. And no, "Origin of the Species" did not make the cut.
• Taking it Back: Meanwhile, GeekMom Natania passed on this jewel. It's a piece from artist Erik Stell about our tenuous ownership of the word "geek." I was pleased to find that Eric seemingly takes a similar stance as me with regard to the essence of nerd culture, and I especially like his parallel of surviving abuse as "paying one's dues." Well said, my brother.
• You're Gonna Like the Way You Look: And on the subject of "geek chic," Church sends in this abomination. As a nerd, I am offended by this dissection of our apparent "style." As a fan of fashion, I am equally offended that the AP quotes some dude from Men’s Wearhouse.
• A Woman Scorned: The Geek Girl Diva got some props last week from NewsARama for her scathing criticism of the LA Time's wholly insulting "Girls’ Guide to Comic Con." Go ahead and read the whole thing. It's totally worth it.
• He's Feeling Numb: Also from Church comes this link to an audiobook version of William Gibson's Neuromancer. It's read by Gibson and includes music by U2. I imagine listening to it will somehow alleviate Third World debt. Probably through clever manipulation of the Matrix.
• BattleStarTrektica: It's a summer of glorious performances of sci-fi music as far as the eye can see! Assuming, of course, that your eyes only see SoCal and Texas.
• 1.21 Gigawatts: Also on the road this summer is your boy Random. Capcom has sponsored Ran's "Back to the Future Tour," which will be bringing videogame-based hip-hop to the nation. Look, some dates! June 22, 2009 @ The Cavern, Dallas, TX; June 25, 2009 @ Café Coco, Nashville, TN; June 26, 2009 @ Tacony Billiards Club, Philadelphia, PA; July 3, 2009 @ Dubland Underground, Rochester, NY; July 9, 2009 @ Midtown Tavern, Harrisburg, PA; July 17-18, 2009 @ Otakon (Baltimore Conv Center), Baltimore, MD; July 25, 2009 @ Comic-Con (San Diego Conv Center), SD, CA; August 15, 2009 @ San-Japan, San Antonio, TX.
• Because You Demanded It: You look sad. Are none of the aforementioned events near your locality? Then why not use Eventful to request Chicago's chip-rocking powerhouse I Fight Dragons hit up your zip code? It's super easy.
• Giving the Devil His Due: mc chris's latest EP, Part 1 Part 6 is now available on iTunes. As iTunes is inherently evil, it's really a nice match.
• Shameful: Meanwhile, the venerable MC Frontalot has released a new single from his latest Final Boss. "Shame of the Otaku" is available for download right the fuck here. He's also made a couple of commission pieces available over here.
• Corny Elmo T-shirts: At their recent Hot Topic in-house, funky49 , Krondor Krew's Shinobi Onibocho and EPP's MC Wreckshin covered MC Lar's "Hot Topic (is Not Punk Rock)." And funk read the lyrics off his phone. Which is also not punk rock.