Nerd News in Brief

After a few days of recuperation, all my Nerdapalooza peeps finally seem to acclimating to life outside the festival. It's a long and difficult road to recovery, but, as a PND survivor, I understand that further convalescence is required.

And the best medicine?

Reflection.

To that end, behold my boy MadHatter's exhaustive recollection of the event. Or if you'd prefer a more analytical approach, why not check out the summary piece at Reax? Sure, the event didn't exactly go off without a hitch, but good times were had. Memories made.

Even those who couldn't make it were properly remembered. (Check out my pal DataVortex's YouTube channel for some heartwarming shout—outs to yours truly and a ton of amazing concert clips.) Yes, even from miles away you could easily feel the love emanating from central Florida.

• Strange Magic: With the Half Blood Prince tearing up theaters, Wizard Rock has again returned to the forefront. Westchester Magazine's Marisa LaScala has compiled a list of New York-based WRockers, while the NY Daily News picked the brain of Paul DeGeorge regarding the scene and nerd culture. Reader Justin was even quick to point out that The Potters, The Malfoys, The Lupins and Whompy made it as far as USA Today, and even Newsweek got in on the act by covering the Harry Potter Alliance's WWDD campaign.
• Kirk and the Great Stone Phallus: Similarly, Church points out that The South African Times has also posted a lengthy musing on nerds. (Though Potter-philes are conspicuously absent.) It's little more than a fluff piece… Okay, it's actually nothing but a fluff piece. A really bad fluff piece, but it's worth reading just for the laughable accompanying side bar images and mangling of leetspeak.
• Wheezy: That was actually pretty dreadful. To cleanse the palate I offer this insightful interview from Talk with Tim. Therein Tim interviews geek funk pioneer and veritable nerdcore community adhesive OG Don Vito. Give it a read, and be sure to keep an eye on TwT for more great interviews.
• Hail to the King: On the subject of nerdcore, be sure to hit up LogicOne's MySpace to hear his new joint "Comic Shop Rock 2." It's the first single from his upcoming release The Fantastic Dr. Richards. Also, feel free to ask Logic about our proposed supernatural investigation television show. "Did you feel that? The room just got cold!"
• The Wonderful Land of Oz: I've been talking a lot lately about slept-on artists, so it seems only fitting that I point out a cat that I've been sleeping on my damn self: Stevie Kincade. Stevie is another fine Aussie rhymer who's made his presence felt amongst the Rhyme Torrents community, and his Six-Slug Singles is both highly recommended and totally free. If you, like me, have been negligent in this regard, get on that shit!
• The Magnificent Seven: Those in the mood for a more domestic flavor of nerdcore need look no further than Next Level, the newest slice of hip-hop bliss from Dual Core. int eighty and c64 (and everybody else that you love in the scene) make this one 13 tracks of pure perfection. It's so good, in fact, that I'm listening to it right now!
• Season Pho : Not nerdcore but certainly nerd-friendly is Lyrics Born. I mean, dude is the voice of Cartoon Network's Friday nights! Thanks to my bro Matt, I now know that his new Variety Show mixtape is available for download. Oh happy day!
• Keeping Secrets: And speaking of mixtapes, I got some interesting news from killsaly about his newest project. While I can't spill the details, I can say that his roster of collaborators is both expansive and surprising. Sadly, we won't get to hear it until next year.
• One more Time: On the chiptune front, Zen Albatross kindly directs your attention to Da Chip, an 8-bit tribute to everyone's favorite robotic Frenchmen. It's pretty much the best goddamn thing ever.
• Sounds like the Future: In other micromusic news, Nobuooo reports that 8 Bit Weapon is sponsoring yet another remix contest. The winning remixer will receive, among other amazing wares, a Commodore 64 music creation work station. Hit up ACIDplanet for full details.
• Rocktronic: And for those of you who prefer their music more in the geek rock vein, The Americans UK will be ripping shit up at Santos Party House in Manhattan on Friday, July 31st. Tickets are 10 bones in advance, and the AM-UK hits the stage at 9:00 PM.
• Song of the Fallen Soldier: On a sad note, this week fans were informed that I Fight Dragons is now one dragon-fighter short. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Mentzer has elected to leave the band to pursue his solo career. Thankfully, you can already keep track of his new venture via the magic of the Interwebs.
• Ninja, Please!: Taking us out this week is yet another winsome relic from the fallen kingdom of Nerdapalooza. It's Krondor Krew covering Vanilla Ice's "Ninja Rap." A song immortalized in a classic piece of cinema called The Secret of the Ooze. And while I may take credit for suggesting that Nerdapalooza participants perform a cover song, I'd like to see you pin this particular piece of madness on me. Go on, Masu! Try! I dare ya! ;)