Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Daddy Issues

You know those times when I ask you guys for money? Not for me, of course. I mean, what use do I have for your filthy lucre?

No, I mean those occasions when I point you toward a project that could maybe use some funding or a track you probably oughta pick up.

Yeah, this is one of those times.

A few weeks back my buddy Mikal kHill hit me with a song that he figured would resonate pretty strongly with me. He was right, but that isn’t surprising.

Me and kHill tend to grok each other more often than not, most likely because we’re from the same area, are around the same age and have similar family backgrounds. That family part is particularly relevant here.

Mikal’s known for, well, what you might call musical bleakness. We jokingly refer to him as the Elliot Smith of nerdcore hip-hop, only we’re not really joking. But his latest joint, "Daddy Works" – while not a party jam, by any stretch of the imagination – is tempered with an odd brand of optimism.

It's a song about fathers and children and the sacrifices we make for our art and our dreams, but even you swinging singles should be able to appreciate the track and its cleverly concealed dose of inspiration. So give it a listen; it's two and a half minutes well spent.

Also, and this goes back to the money thing, while the single is name-your-price, any cash you kick in goes directly to pay kHill's travel expenses as he heads back up to Brooklyn for this Friday's epic gig with Adam WarRock and Schaffer the Darklord. So, y'know, dig deep so my brother can get home to his wife and little ones as quickly and safely as possible.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Radio Free Hipster Special Edition: I Want Your Parsecs (2012 Parsec Awards Sampler)

I'm pleased to announce that I was once again nominated for a Parsec Award for Best Speculative Fiction Music Podcast, and of course I have you to thank for it! I always stress way more than I should over putting together these 10 minute awards samplers, mostly because I feel like I only have 3 songs with which to show the full scope of what I've played throughout the previous year. This time around, however, I came at it a different way.

I realized that a lot of my favorites cuts, a lot of the very best songs, tend to blur the lines between nerdcore hip-hop and videogame music, electronica and geek rock, fantasy and fandom. And so I simply chose a trio of tracks that represent various facets of the geeky music meta-community all on their own.

Download Radio Free Hipster Special Edition: I Want Your Parsecs (2012 Parsec Awards Sampler) [hosting provided by Antisoc] Size: 14.1 MB Running Time: 10:23

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah - "Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)"
Not only a kick-ass theme song, but also appropriate back-up for my little spoken introduction.

Track 1: The BossFights - "The Cake is a Lie"
From RFH ep. 113, 7/12/11. I know there are strong undercurrents of hip-hop and VGM in this one, but I still hear it as a thrash song. And amazing, dynamic thrash song.

Track 2: Adam WarRock – "Leaf on the Wind (feat. Mikal kHill)"
From RFH ep. 117, 9/13/11. kHill's unique production managed to turn a rap song about Firefly into a pained, filk-style ballad, and the interplay between him and Adam still hits me hard every time I hear it.

Track 3: KABUTO THE PYTHON - "My Baby Left Me (for Skyrim) [feat. Schaffer The Darklord]"
From RFH ep. 124, 12/28/11. An electro country-blues banger about an RPG from two of the strangest cats on the more studious end of underground rap. What's not to love?

As I'm writing my little blurb for you regular listeners I am also uploading this sampler to the Parsec Award Steering Committee. So, y'know, wish me luck. With distinguished competition like The Bonebat Show, I'm definitely gonna need it!