Might Makes Right

Maybe it's the beard, but lately I've been in a metal mood. After years of slowing things down, of listening to The Smiths and singing Replacements tunes to my kids in their cribs, I've once again gotten in touch with my inner shit-kicker.

This was a rather fortuitous development, as my recent return to heavier music just happened to coincide with the proper debut album from chaotic Californian clique The BossFights. Those with proper memories will recall that the crew wowed me at last year's Nerdapalooza, and they managed to channel the bulk of that stage energy into their self-titled LP.

"Ctrl_Z" opens the album with fire and fervor. The guys sound amazingly tight with ZeaLouS's lead rhymes and Awkward's smooth chorus weaving between the solid groove of the Juggernaut/Kevonious rhythm and Bishop's metal-tinged hook. The only problem is that the mix feels distant and, at times, paper thin, but while the production sounds rather demo-y the track itself is a marvelous monster.

"Shatterhand," on the other… uh... hand, feels grand, sweeping and weighty. A war(craft) anthem that's actually a subtle cry for peace, it plays well off the more prog-metal style of follow-up "Before The Dawn," a track in which Dr. Awkward shines thanks to appropriately soulful vocals. Sadly, it loses points due to some obnoxious over-modulation on the pre-chorus harmony vocals.

"Eye of the Rising Sun" fares much better. A triumph of lyricism and musical mechanics, it might not be my favorite song on the album, but it's likely the best. With inventive (but never over-the-top) use of a talk box and delicately layered guitar tones, this one is Bishop's song, but the rest of the boys do far more than just pull their weight. "Take it all Away" continues the album's thematic build with an intoxicating blend of soft-spoken lyricism and in-your-face instrumentation. Again, the production feels a bit too mid-rangey for my taste, but its bass line is so engaging that you have to listen hard to notice.

The album's first single, "The Cake is a Lie," certainly wasn't chosen on a whim. Pitch-perfect from top to bottom, it integrates the aggressive prowess of …And Justice for All-era Metallica with the musical acrobatics of Infectious Grooves. Less funk-metal than soul-metal, it's unique and accessible. Especially considering it was written by a group of guys who all look like extras from The Road Warrior.

"Dogfights & Dynamite," by contrast, brings the funk. Another musical highpoint, it all but abandons the group's traditional hip-hop leanings, but still somehow sounds at home on the album. It is followed by "When It Rains," a joint that takes things in a jazzier, more experimental musical direction. It could conceivably challenge the uninitiated listener, but to me it's just another example of The BossFights mastery of pop sensibility even within a distinctly underground framework. Relatable and inspiring, it's easily a personal favorite.

"Conspiracy Theory" takes things quickly back into metal territory, but, to the guys' credit, it's far from jarring. Dual guitars are the song's strength, but the back-and-forth between Z1 and the good Doctor is its heart. Follow-up "Six Feet Under" is the closest thing to a filler track across the album's 15 song arc. Atmospheric but plodding, it's an interesting diversion that mostly forgoes ZeaLouS1's trademark growl in favor of Awkward's ethereal crooning throughout. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, it simply feels a little distant from the album's other offerings.

The BossFights begins its final act with the abrupt melody of "The Banished Prince," a song that boasts and amazingly satisfying verse-to-chorus shift and some quick stops that serve both to punctuate and to power the song forward. Lyrically it's a powerhouse, but the complex interplay between the vocalists and musicians really drives home what superb songwriters The BossFights truly are.

"Beautiful Nightmare" stands out for its delicate instrumentation that borders on folk-metal. Doc probably gives his most earnest-sounding performance of the album and the guitar solo adds an eerie but nonetheless aggro element that would otherwise be missing, but the lack of ZeaLouS1 is certainly noticeable. A delicate transition brings us to the crunchy "3 Days," but a sloppy build causes the energy to wane before Z1's triumphant lyrical return.

"Left for Dead," a track originally included on the band's introductory EP, sounds as thick and resonant now as it did a year ago, and it certainly showcases the band at its most nerd-friendly. An instant crowd-pleaser, it ably makes way for the musical denouement "The Lion's Den." Trippy and groove-heavy, it's an excellent closer with stereo rapping from ZeaLouS1 and Dr. Awkward and a sound that beautifully builds, but sadly fizzles.

The BossFights are a band that, even while occasionally struggling with a consistent sound, possess an indubitable style. Though I, like others, was quick to call it rap-rock shortly after their big reveal at Nerdapalooza 2010, I am even now in the process of refining my premise. Presently I am content to say that The BossFights are instead a new school thrash band. And not merely a thrash band, mind you, but a goddamn excellent thrash band.

Moreover, their self-titled full-length is a phenomenal neo-thrash album. Yes, the predominant form of lyrical delivery is rap and, yes, there are times when the production is thinner and less aggressive than I would've preferred, but the bottom line is in a world where metal has again been relegated to the underground The BossFights stand out as an ideal example of its unique power, innovation and continued evolution. Like its frontman, The BossFights is big and loud, but at the same time subtle and thoughtful. As with any project, there are times on this album where one element or one member falters. The trick is that doesn't seem to faze The BossFights in the slightest.

They are an outfit that is more than the sum of its part, a construct sturdier than its raw materials. The BossFights are a bundle of sticks; at times one may bend, drop a beat or lose a note, but their cohesiveness, the sheer density of their combined strengths, renders them unbreakable. 

A dark fantasy analogue to the sci-fi majesty of the late Optimus Rhyme, The BossFights are a blessed union of traditional instrumentation and hip-hop lyricism. And though it shows the occasional chink in its tank-like armor, though it often recycles the same ending fadeout and sometimes zigs when it should likely zag, that doesn't make their debut full-length any less impressive.

An early frontrunner for my album of the year and a fucking steal at under 10 bones, The BossFights is all that stereotypical rap-metal is not. It is cohesive. It is groundbreaking. It is relevant. And, personally, it's likely the most fun I've had with an album of aggressive but accessible music since the skate rat days of Among the Living and How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today.

"You can trim off the waste and what's left? / Excess."

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 106: Just Because

For those of you that don't follow me on Twitter, I described the recording of this particular episode as "the biggest fucking pain in the ass" I've experienced in a great while. It's important to note, however, that this was solely because of difficulties with my spoken interludes. (I'm beginning to wonder if my laptop is not long for this world, but I'll save that panic for another day.)

The song selection, on the other hand, was a breeze. I mentioned in passing that I was taking request, and many of you let your voices be heard. Thankfully, these requests seemed to flow well with the tracks I already had earmarked for the show, and I'm pretty pleased with the final product.

Please let me know if you feel the same.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 106: Just Because [hosting provided by Antisoc] Size: 43.4 MB Running Time: 47:28

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – "Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)"
Because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Track 1: Kirby Krackle bumper / Kirby Krackle – "On and On"
Much love to Jim and Kyle for the intro bumper!

Z's 1st interlude: "Here's a brand new track that needs no introduction."
On account of it supplies its own.

Track 2: Mike Relm – "SCOTT PILGRIM 'Threshold 8 bit' vs. Ludacris 'How Low'"
Both Luda and @DataVortex are based out of Atlanta. Coincidence? I would imagine so.

Track 3: Harry and the Potters – "Horcruxes"
@kdnewton wanted some Wizard Rock, and I was more than happy to oblige.

Track 4: Parks and Recreation dialog / ZeaLouS1 – "Next Gen 2. (feat. Dr. Awkward)"
Several people asked for something from the new ZeaLouS1… as if I wasn't gonna play that shit anyway!

Track 5: crashfaster – "time"
crashfaster's disconnect EP is phenomenal. Any and all chiptune fans need to check it out.

Track 6: Powerglove – "The Simpsons (feat. Tony Kakko)"
Blame the inclusion of this delightful piece of lunacy on @Proz.

Track 7: mashmike – "I Want You 2 Want Me (Rihanna and Drake vs. Cheap Trick vs. Fat Joe vs. Busta Rhymes)"
How could I not play a Cheap Trick mash-up?

Z's 2nd interlude: "I'm not gonna bore you with any more talk."
The fact that my recording rig was moments away from going tits-up may or may not have contributed to this.

Track 8: Action Adventure World vs. The Plasmas – "They Kidnapped The Princess (Intro)"
@btypemusic asked for some Action Adventure World. I gave him The Plasmas at no additional cost.

Track 9: Being Human dialog / Beefy vs. Mikal kHill – "Sidekick (kHillmix)"
Been sitting on this little beauty since last episode.

Track 10: Chipocrite – "Bizarre Love Triangle"
As featured in a certain wildly popular YouTube vid.

Track 11: oki – "Bizarre Bottom Girls"
This seemed to be the only logical follow-up.

Track 12: Terp 2 It – "Backpack"
New listener David mentioned he was a fan of Terp, so I promised I'd toss him into the mix.

Z's final interlude: "Closing us out today is a special treat."
I get a lot of pre-release versions of upcoming albums, but it's rare the performers actually let me share 'em early.

Track 13: Sci-Fried – "Invasion"
You don't expect a southern geek rock band to bust out an electronic tribute to War of the Worlds, which is yet another fine example of the genius of Sci-Fried.

And that's another show in the bag.

It's kind of strange when I spell it out like this, but while the podcast creation is much more involved now than in its early years I have to admit that I enjoy it in spite of the hardships. Even more now than then, in fact.

I sometimes wonder what I'll do when I retire from this particular project, but I know I'll always want to do something along the lines of Radio Free Hipster.

Well, as long as there are a couple of people still interested in listening. ;)

A Very Special Episode

"Plat it loud!

As my frequent co-conspirator Matt was quick to point out, I have been going through a bit of a heavy metal phase of late.

I blame the beard.

Seriously, I challenge any of you guys out there – or any of you ladies, if you think you're up to the task – to grow a beard and tell me you don't feel measurably more metal. Shit, the only thing more metal than beards are tattoos, stripper girlfriends and abject poverty!

This inherent metalosity is important because just last week I continued my streak of managing to weasel my way onto podcasts I actually listen to with the most recent edition of the Heavy Half Hour – episode 20, for those of you playing at home. In case you are unaware of this little jewel, it's a weekly feature from my pal Steve (AKA: Bonehand) wherein he devotes 30 minutes to spotlighting independent music which skews more toward the heavy side of the spectrum. From thrash and death metal to hard rock and punk, the Heavy Half Hour is "Your Straight Shot of the Hard Stuff."

This time around the focus was on nerd metal, which I reckon explains my presence. Me and Steve talked about the geeky roots of heavy music, the might of the VGM cover and also how Klingon is metal as fuck.

It's actually nearly twice as long as a regular episode, and we play everything from The Bossfights to Year 200x. Steve even gave me ample opportunity to rep Seattle's late, great edu-core titans Blöödhag, and I know you'll wanna check that out!

If you dig music with a bit more of an aggressive edge, of if you just really wanna here me do my Lemmy impression, definitely give the show a listen. It's good stuff, and I had an amazing time contributing.

20-Sided Rhymes

Dave the Knave is a genius!

If I had any credibility at all, the 20-Sided Rhymes project would've blown it to hell. You see, this compilation hasn't been in the works for weeks or months, but for years – two of them, in fact. And like most things, what it ultimately became was not what I had initially intended.

The original idea that I pitched to a close circle of friends shortly before Nerdapalooza 2008 involved little more than a tribute album to the classic role-playing game (a la Dungeons & Dragons). But as tabletop gaming proved a bit of a limiting concept for our friends in the video game music scene I soon expanded the scope to include the electronic games that were the direct successors of pen-and-paper RPGs.

Since I was projecting forward it only made sense to also look back, and so the piece was altered again to encompass not only the more modern and technological flavors of role-playing but also the literary roots that inspired this entire movement in interactive entertainment.

But somehow that still wasn't enough. So in the end, 20-Sided Rhymes, this clean and simple concept that I thought I had totally hashed out years ago, somehow became something bigger. Because at some point I realized that the iconic die role and the eternal plight of Hyrule's green-clad hero and even the simple nerdy pleasures of seeing The Lord of the Rings series competently brought to life on a big screen weren't in and of themselves what I was looking to capture.

These were, if you'll allow me the luxury of hyperbole, merely manifestations of the true spirit of nerdom.
The thing that excited me about this project was the same thing that excited me about D&D and comics and sci-fi/fantasy and all the other trappings of my geeky adolescence – it all hinged on the ever-so appealing concept of losing yourself in a character.

Call me crazy, but I believe that we as nerds game and read and write and create more or less for the same reason. These activities are all about stepping outside ourselves, they are about exploring other lives and worlds and personalities. Some would likely attribute this to a sense of innate self-loathing, to the worst kind of escapism, but I have learned that playing another part or latching on to the experiences of a fully rendered external character actually serves to help me gain a firmer grasp on what it really means to be me. It allows me to further quantify my own motivations and reexamine my ideas and my attitudes.

From Nate's lament of his healer's lack of physical prowess to ZeaLouS1's gangstalicious take on CCGs, and even to Marc's rejection of the D20 in favor of a little transgender theatrical cosplay, 20-Sided Rhymes represents the musical equivalent of the fantastical character-driven narrative. Some of said characters may not belong to these performers outright, but the stories are all theirs. And that's the important part.

So please enjoy this fine selection of rarities, remixes, re-releases and more than a couple of tasty originals with my compliments. If you enjoy this project, please spread the word and support the artists represented.
As usual, I offer this compilation to you free of charge, although this time around I do ask that you consider doing one of the following:

Should any or all of the songs presented herein remind you of that magical journey you once took in the purely metaphorical shoes of another character, consider treating yourself to a new game or film or novel. And feel free to lose yourself within the power of an enchanting narrative. It's healthy.

You proceed to the local bazaar to gather supplies... 

More to the point, you could also donate a couple of dollars to the Child's Play charity to afford a sick kid that same opportunity to escape the drudgery of real life for a few scant moments. It's what a Lawful Good character would do!

You choose the path of righteousness...
 

And now that I've said my piece, on with the show.
---
Download 20-Sided Rhymes in its entirety
 
All songs mixed/mastered by The HT at Studio 6, Port Orange, FL except where otherwise indicated.
Individual track downloads:

1 – Videogame Orchestra – "Conan the Barbarian – Riders of Taramis"

2 – Beefy – "20-Sided Rhymes (feat. Snake Eyes)"

3 – The Four Eyes – "Painting Guys"

4 – My Parents' Favorite Music – "Rambo MacGyver (feat. Snake Eyes)"

5 – Spheres of Chaos – "Random Encounter in the Cereal Aisle"

6 – Glenn Case – "D&D at the Public Library (feat. Adam!)"*

7 – ZeaLouS1 – "I Get Mana"

8 – Nate Trier – "The Healer's Song"

9 – MC Frontalot – "Hassle the Dorkening (8 Bit Weapon Remix)"**

10 – Shael Riley and the Double Ice Backfire – "The Great Marbulu" [EXPLICIT]***

11 – The Ranger – "Stat Sheet (Massive DMG remix by Zen Albatross)" [EXPLICIT] 

12 – Brian Mazzaferri (of I Fight Dragons) – "Offering"

13 – Sinister Six – "Roll the Dice" [EXPLICIT]

14 – Uncle Monsterface – "LOTROMG"

15 – Epic-1 – "Sun Gem"

16 – Marc with a C – "Don’t Know a Thing about Role Playing"

17 – Krondor Krew – "I Play D&D (The HT Remix)" [EXPLICIT]

18 - Superpowerless – "120 Seconds to Save the World"

19 – Elfonso – "Retirement from Hyrule"

20 – Dual Core – "Natural 20s"

* Mixed and mastered by Adam! and The HT
** Mixed and mastered by 8 Bit Weapon
*** Mixed and mastered by Shael Riley and Ty Guenley

Amazing cover design by the one and only Dave "The Knave" White:

Wicked-awesome front cover

Equally wonderful back cover

Tiny little thumbnail

And don't forget my ridiculously lengthy liner notes!

The Gruesome Twosome

Next on our whirlwind tour of the notable YouTubery of uber-late '09 is a brand new video from MC Lars. It's his "O.G. Original Gamer" from the phenomenal This Gigantic Robot Kills LP. This one was directed by my homey Nigel Wallace, who many of you know as producer par excellence nYgel.

It was shot after last year's Nerdapalooza in scenic Orlando, and, in addition to co-vocals by our own MC Frontalot, it features another all-star cast of extras including int eighty, YTCracker, Emergency Pizza Party, ZeaLouS1, KABUTO THE PYTHON and Steffo from My Parents' Favorite Music. And there are more. Oh-so many more! This shit is like nerdcore Where's Waldo.

Rounding out the production end are Camera Operator Al Krakosky and Director of Photography Dan Reinecke. I think the trio did a helluva job, and I can't wait to see what else they have up their collective sleeve.

The only question remaining: who's gonna shoot a video at this year's 'Palooza?

In Da Club

There was a time when I viewed my annual year-in-review post with a kind of disconnected irony. I did it slyly. Wryly. Because it was easy and expected. But, somewhere along the line, all that changed. And I blame YTCracker.

You see, last year I recognized YT for his creative output, his dedication to craft and his undeniable hustle, and it's hard to go back to casual yearly observances after crowning a "Nerd o' the Year" like that.

Thus, from the very earliest moments of 2009, I have been taking notes. I have, to turn a phrase, been making a list and checking it twice, so as to discern who's been nerdy and nice. And this year's seen a number of notable ups, as well as a few downs.

Early in January, that bastion of mystical geekery, the Wizrocklopedia, changed hands. Lizz stepped down to pursue other artistic avenues, leaving Dinah and Freya to captain the ship. Suffice it to say they have kept the old 'Pedia spirit alive, while summarily injecting their own unique energies. Likewise, my pal Anthony launched a staggering array of VGM projects from his own Game Music 4 All, before eventually re-launching the site itself as a bigger, better entity.

Heavy-hitters like YT and Random continued to spit fire with nerdy projects all their own throughout '09, while artists like Shael Riley, Schaffer the Darklord, Epic-1 and Dual Core released what can undeniably be termed the finest albums of their respective careers. And lest we forget the amazing showing from Wheelie Cyberman's first post-Optimus project Supercommuter.

Musically-speaking, 2009 was a banner year for nerds across the board! For the community itself, however, things were rocky at best.

While events like Nerdapalooza, Nerd Invasion and PAX sought to further strengthen nerd solidarity, we still managed to busy ourselves with petty in-fighting. Even as mc chris once again found himself warming to the nerdcore audience (if not the term itself), MC Lars proudly proclaimed that nerdcore was dead. And while we worked ourselves into a collective lather regarding the nature, future and overall health of nerdcore-proper, misfits at large similarly dissected the culture itself. Yes, my friends, 2009 will long be remembered by our kind as the year that many decided that geeks and nerds had become two wholly different animals.

As such, 2009 also came to be the year in which I finally realized the transient, fragile nature of our nomenclature. Rather than attempt to use nerd culture as a galvanizing force, an inspired outreach engineered to embrace our fellow dorks, we reduced it to a set of buzzwords and house rules. Nerdcore wasn't a style that one could apply at will to his music or even a catch-all reference employed to proudly display one's quirky intelligence; it was a genre that you either fully bought into for an easy aesthetic crutch, or avoided like the plague so as not to be associated with those deemed less talented than yourself. Nerd and geek, likewise, couldn’t suffice as equal self-identifiers for the champions of overzealous passion, and instead became a pair of ill-tempered camps: one a slave to the mainstream's pet "geek chic" and the other a casteless cadre of social inepts.

In short, while we moved forward with music, this year we took a step backward with regard to heavy-handed bullshit doctrine.

And while I could easily preach on the ills of nerd-on-nerd violence – including my own unfortunate contributions to the blight – for another thousand words, I will instead jump from my soapbox to extend a congratulatory hand to those who truly wowed me in 2009.

As I said, I've kept a mental tally of geeky highpoints over the past 12 months, and, though it surely belies my obsessive-compulsive nature, I have seen an odd pattern emerge from my findings. In fact, I found a distinct thread that runs through many of my favorite artists and releases of 2009.

Surely no one can deny that a banner year was had by UK chiptuner Superpowerless. Not only was he the winner of an illustrious MTV/Vodaphone contest in early March that afforded him the opportunity to have a single and a music video professionally produced, but Oliver also went on to expand his musical horizons further into the realm of geeky folk-rock. Still, somehow, amongst public touring and personal experimentation, Superpowerless managed to continually release a positively staggering array of new tunes. Truly he is one of the most prolific individuals in our midst!

The same can be said for the mysterious artist that we know as KABUTO THE PYTHON, who, much like YTCracker back in '08, supplemented his own phenomenal yearly output with a nigh ridiculous number of cameos. Under various guises – Beefy once famously referred to him as "the Hannah Montana of nerdcore" – KABUTO has been involved, on one level or another, with nearly every notable geeky hip-hop release of the year.

And while established acts like Superpowerless and KABUTO have continued to rip shit up, notable newcomer Dr. Awkward quickly proved himself more than capable of spitting fire on par with nerdcore's best and brightest. His Next Gen EP was, to put it bluntly, a thing of beauty, a release as literate and self-aware as it was fiercely powerful. As a result, the listener response was equally astounding, on par with the rapidly-developing ZeaLouS1 fandom of '06.

Though the more astute among you have already connected the dots, let me explicitly state that the common theme here is Scrub Club. Over the past year, Scrub Club Records has shown remarkable growth and foresight, along the way bringing each of the aforementioned trio into the fold as well as well as longtime favorites like The Ranger, Benjamin Bear and Z1 himself. But Scrub Club has done so much more.

By embracing Superpowerless, the net label's first distinctly non-hip-hop artist, MadHatter and company sent a message that the Club was open to trailblazers of all striped, regardless of established musical dogma. If it is tuneful and nerdy, Scrub Club welcomes it with open arms.

Most recently, Hatter brought on board Seattle's Southside – winner of my own coveted See-Motherfuckers-I-Told-You-They-Was-Dope Award (originally bestowed to the legendary Schaffer the Darklord) – via an online contest designed to help rappers hone their craft. This, it seems, further elevated the Scrub Club mission by using its already community-centered focus to foster give-and-take between new and existing artists. In essence, they abandoned the a who is best mindset still plaguing much of the musical community at large in favor of asking: how can we all benefit from each other's specialized strengths and experiences?

For years I have spoken about cross-pollination, about the power of true community, artistic outreach and shared ideas, and I am thrilled to say that these are the ideals I see reflected in Scrub Club. Though their methods may seem strange – the "no dough" motto seems to be particularly disconcerting to some outsiders – they have coalesced into a genuine musical family, and I anxiously anticipate what's to come lumbering from the cornfields in 2010.

Nerd News in Brief

Once again I find myself apologizing for my blogging negligence. I won't bore you with details, but suffice it to say that, at the very time I believed things would become easier on the writing front, shit went the other way.

I'm doing my best to at least keep the podcasts coming out on a regular schedule, but I've fallen desperately behind on album reviews, news posts and the (long forgotten) features.

Bear with me folks, and hopefully I'll make it over this hump. And in the meantime, y'all wish me luck. I could certainly use it.

• Parlez Vous?: Otaku rapper Ultraklystron has just favored eagerly awaiting fans with a direct sequel to his 2007 concept album Romance Language. Dubbed, interestingly enough, Romance Language 2, it's currently available digitally for a mere $ 5, with hardcopies up for general sale mid-month for $14.
• Once Got Busy in a Death Star Bathroom: Speaking of follow-ups, earlier this month Bent TV released a sequel the original Star Wars Gangsta Rap. The flows are still a little weak, but this time the beat is definitely hot!
• Channel Changus!: Church hipped me to this Daily Mail piece about two inventors who crafted a Harry Potter-style "magic wand" remote control. He also gave me the snarky tagline. That guy is too nice to me.
• It's Gotta be the Shoes: Also from Church comes news of a new line of Star Trek-themed Airwalk sneakers. Of course, for those of you who prefer Padawans to redshirts, Adidas has similarly launched a Star Wars line.
• One of Us!: The Chicago Tribune reports that Bears' linebacker Lance Briggs is a comic book fan. Less newsworthy is his $154 habit. I see guys working construction dropping that much on books at my local shop!
• Rock of Ages: Spinner has compiled a list if the Biggest Geeks in Rock. Making the cut are such big names such as punk icon Henry Rollins and birth-control specs pioneer Buddy Holly. Oh, and our pal MC Frontalot also makes an appearance on said list!
• Equal Time: Thanks to the Mass Effect controversy, we are pretty much assured at least one weird coupling per BioWare title. Dragon Age Origins, for example, features the potential for some gay elf love, and I say its about damn time. Homosexual elves are notoriously underrepresented in popular media.
• Nerds Get Real: Last week Penny Arcade launched the two-part pilot of their reality web show PA TV. I'd love to be all clever and shit, but the bottom line is that the series is nothing short of heartwarming. Watch the PAX Q&A scene during part 2 to find out why.
• Don't Be Tripping: Nerdcore fans rejoice, for YTCracker has been dropping new tracks like crazy. From space jams to the "Hogg Theme Song" and beyond, the DG has been in full effect.
• Coming Back Around: After his spat with the scene earlier this year, our old friend MC Lars has returned to the nerdcore fold. At least in as much as he recently preached the nerdy gospel over at Current.com. Hit up the video to hear Lars drop knowledge re: Front, mc, YT, Beefy, STD and Wheelie.
• Know Your Roots: Last week Antisocial approached me with a revelation; he believes Roman poet Catullus 16 to be the originator of gangsta rap. Peep his sexcore jam Carmina for more info.
• We Are Family: Though I've already mentioned this in passing, Scrub Club has recently expanded yet again. In addition to signing my boys Southside, the winners of the Versus Mode competition, the Club also welcomed runners-up Diabeats, King Pheenix, and StarF. Immediately thereafter, ZeaLouS1 also came on board, further strengthening an already impressive roster.
• Audio Absolution: Taking us out of this much-delayed NNIB is a new video from the White Shinobi himself, T.Y.T. It's his track "Forgive Me (feat. Togo)," and it's from his new album Unusual. Enjoy the hotness.

Experience Nerdapalooza (All Over Again)

Word from the Nerdapalooza camp – and by "the Nerdapalooza camp," I mean my boy Hex – is that the live album from this year's festival is all set to go.

Priced at a scant 10 bucks and boasting some 19 tracks from everyone from MPFM and Doc Awkward to The Megas and Uncle Monsterface, it's a sweet-ass deal in its own right. Of course, when you factor in that all proceeds from the sale benefit Child's Play, it becomes even more of a must-buy!

And since Hex is all about giving back to the community, he also opted to provide a second disc worth of additional promotional tracks even to those bastards too cheap to spring for the album proper. This 9-tracker is available for free download, with an additional 10th song to be made available when/if you purchase the aforementioned charity comp.

Track lists and links are provided below, so as to whet your musical appetite:

Nerdapalooza Live CD 2009

1. My Parents Favorite Music - "Just a Game"
2. Devo Spice - "Platform Wars (ft. the great Luke Ski & int eighty of Dual Core)"
   
3. Captain Dan & the Scurvy Crew - "Yo Ho Ho"
4. Marc with a C - "Nerdy Girls"
   
5. Dr. Awkward - "Geekquilibrium (ft. Scrub Club) "
6. Krondor Krew - "Sneaking"
   
7. 3P!C-1 - "Sungem"
   
8. The Megas - "Annihilation of Monsteropolis (Airman)"
   
9. YTCracker - "Meganerd"
10. MC Frontalot - "Tongue-Clucking Grammarian"
    
11. mCRT - "Penis Monologues"
    
12. Emergency Pizza Party - "Zombie Jesus (ft. Funky49)"
13. Dual Core - "Hostage Down"
    
14. Fred Lives & the House of Black - "The Bleep Out Song"
15. ZeaLouS1 - "Headshot (ft. Benjamin Bear)"
    
16. Uncle Monsterface - "Lobster Building"
    
17. The Grammar Club - "Red Cyclone"
    
18. Schaffer the Darklord - "The Bender"
19. MC Frontalot - "Nerdcore Rising (ft. Beefy & MC Lars)"

Nerdapalooza Live Free Sampler

1. Scrub Club - "Nerd Party"
   
2. HDNinja - "FatFoot (ft. MC Wreckshin)"
   
3. The Spork - "Scoundrel"
   
4. MC COOL WHIP - "Hellen Keller in Space"
5. Dual Core - "Magnificent 7 (ft. Remmington Forbes, Beefy, YTCracker, Schaffer the Darklord, MC Lars, & MC Frontalot) "
6. UUDDLRL :: MAJA
7. Beefy - "You Can Call Me Beef (ft. Shael Riley & the Double Ice Backfire)"
   
8. MC Lars - "Bruce Campbell (ft. YTCracker, Schaffer the Darklord, & ZeaLouS1)" unlockable upon purchase of Nerdapalooza Live CD 2009
9. Shael Riley & the Double Ice Backfire - "Publishing Rights (ft. Schaffer the Darklord)"
   
10. Uncle Monsterface - "Triforce Mike Theme (Live from Nerdapalooza Southeast 2008)"
    

Nerd News in Brief

You know it's a good week when the geekiest music news is coming from well outside of our little community!

Personally, I love Danger Mouse's idea to release his next album as a blank CD-R. It's a big "fuck you" to EMI and a well-placed warning shot across the bow of a sinking industry. Plus, the novelty of it is nothing short of delicious.

The pay-what-you-want business model is still an unsure bet, but, by packaging the album's visual narrative in the commercial release, DM is making sure that folks get something for their money. In the end, I'll be interested to see how many folks shell out for the album simply as a show of solidarity.

• Change is Good: Church wanted me to remind you that if you're gonna change, change into something awesome.
• The Doctor is In: Also from Church comes a link to this amazing chiptune WhoMix. Complete with video.
• Boldly Go: Wasn't the new Star Trek kick-ass? Apparently it was even remarkable enough to continue to inspire the voice of fandom. In very unlikely ways.
• Tucks His T-shirt Into His Pants: MisterB has just released a song about none other than Nerdapalooza founder Hex Warrior. As you can imagine, it's pretty hilarious.
• Insert Name Here: And speaking of Hex, I've been informed that the Nerdapalooza crew has set up a travel fund to help in-demand artists get down to Orlando for this year's festival. Interestingly enough, this fundraiser will consist of a raffle competition, the rewards of which include a dinner date for two at a local restaurant and ample geeky merchandise donated by supporting artists, groups and organizations. Raffle tickets cost $10 for your first chance and $5 for each additional ticket, and the drawing will be held, not surprisingly, at Nerdapalooza. Details are sketchy at present, but I'll be providing links to relevant info in the near future.
• The Future Soon: The epic Jonathan Coulton concert experience can now be, uh, experienced by everyone thanks to his new CD/DVD combo release BEST. CONCERT. EVER. This bad boy is available for pre-sale right now, so head to JoCo's site for full details.
• Where's Waldo?: The mystery of Steffo's disappearance – or, rather, the mystery of what the great blue fuck is going on with My Parents' Favorite Music – deepened last week at Game Music For All. There are still more questions than answers, but now I'm pretty sure that Steffen, via his time-travelling shenanigans, accidentally created The Adventures of Lolo. Also, he's his own grandpa.
• New Game in Town: And speaking of music of the gamer persuasion, there's a new VGM remix site on the block. RemixSite is a place "for video game music synergy" where artists can share their work with the world and get valuable feedback from their fellow composers. Peep the new hotness.
• The 1 and Only: And on the subject of new hotness, there are a metric ton of amazing new releases from the nerdy hip-hop meta-community. The first is from my FLA-based brother Epic-1. It's his long-awaited full-length simply entitled 1, and it's available as a physical CD, 320kbs MP3 and FLAC file downloads for $10, MP3 and FLAC downloads for $5 and 128kbs MP3s for a buck. Get on that shit!
• He Got It: From the land down under comes The Ranger's new EP Evolution, a release that "kinda sums up [his] life over the last 10 years." And apparently the last decade has been simply fucking amazing. Musically-speaking, at least. Grab this one from RT ASAP.
• The Language of the Snake: KABUTO THE PYTHON's Scrub Club release PARSELTONGUE is also fresh off the virtual press. His full-length features a few joints you've heard and a whole lot you haven't, but you can be goddamn sure that all of it is gold! Head over to your favorite nerdcore label to snag it.
• Level Up: And lest we forget that your boy Random has also dropped his new freebie TeacherRapperHero, his first foray into the realm of the mixtape. Featuring Burg, ZeaLouS1 and tons of other top-shelf talent, it's more of Ran at his best. Hit up his spiffy new site for the DL link.
• Alive and Zombified: Thanks to Luzid for passing on an email he received from Eventful stating that ZeaLouS1 has a new gig lined up this summer. On Friday, July 24, he'll be hitting the stage at The Jumping Turtle in San Marcos. Z1's been quieter than usual lately, so it's great to hear him once again stirring from his California crypt.
• The Battle Rages On: Also on the horizon is the premiere of a new video from Uncle Monsterface. UMF will unveil the vid for "Mashed Potato vs. Vampire" at The Tank in NY on June 6! Of course the band will also be playing their other epic songs all live and stuff, so come for the video and stay for the sock puppets.
• This Diminutive Robot Stores Information: Help MC Lars pick the next single from This Gigantic Robot Kills and win a free 1 gig USB memory stick. That looks like a robot! 'Cause Lars is cool like that.
• Roots: Earlier this month, Lars popped up at the Musical Families blog to answer some questions about how his own mom and pop influenced his musical development. It's a great piece from a really fun blog, and I highly recommend you give it a look.
• Beware Canadia: Jesse Dangerously was profiled last week in the Ottawa Citizen. And while Ottawa may not yet love him as much as his native Halifax, it looks like they are coming around.
• Join the Fight: Chicago chip rockers I Fight Dragons are actively recruiting fans to help them spread their musical message… even though they aren't entirely certain what that entails. Still, it's a good cause and they're a great band, so sign up already!
• My Neck of the Woods: Any of my regional brothers and sisters looking to get their opensource on should hit up next month's SouthEast LinuxFest in Clemson, SC. It is important to note that my bro int eighty of Dual Core will be rocking the after party. So guess who else will be there? Yep; me.
• Mad Skillz: Taking us out is the very same int eighty from episode 513 of Revision3's tech super-show Hak5. Hackers and code monkeys will enjoy watching eighty extract Windows executables from packet captures, but the rest of us will simply skip to the 30:20 mark to hear him perform a preview track from Dual Core's forthcoming (and as yet unnamed) album. Technology is a beautiful thing.

Nerd News in Brief

In a week that's seen the (thankfully non-fatal) YTCracker/MC Lars/MC Frontalot tour van crash and mc chris (once again) apologize to the nerdcore community, things can not conceivably get any weirder. Or can they?

Such events have led me to one simple and irrefutable conclusion; the end is nigh.

To further drive home this point, I will now call to your attention that today is the birthday of one Schaffer the Darklord. If my star charts and sacred geometry are accurate, Schaff is, by my rough calculations, 666 years old. This, of course, means that he will soon rise to power and govern for seven years of peace. Before, y'know, eventually gathering the masses of his father's black army to charge headlong into the battle of Armageddon.

Bow before the son of perdition! Also wish him a happy birthday!

And while we wait for what will surely be our bloody and painful end, here's some Nerd News in Brief.

• Kiss and Make Up: As previously mentioned, mc chris has started what can be casually termed an atonement thread over at Rhyme Torrents. His wish is to "squash every shred of beef before the new year," and to that end he is answering questions and explaining his sometimes inflammatory actions of the last year. For those of you who only make an annual pilgrimage to the RT forums, this is certainly the thread to plumb.
• Short:Also from the mc chris file comes this piece from Charleston's The Post & Courier. It's a (very) brief interview with mc. It's important, however, because therein he mentions his current cartoon project, which also comes up in his RT thread.
• Gonna be His Man: As a result of the aforementioned auto accident, MC Frontalot is looking for a replacement tour keyboardist. (NPR wasn't hurt in the accident, but his nerves were far to frazzled to carry on.) Do you play keys? Are you familiar with Front's catalog? Are you looking for work? Give the bespectacled one a holler!
• Watch Out Boy, She'll Chew You Up: Church points out that the University of Missouri – Columbia Maneater loves Frontalot's new album. It does, however, erroneously name "Wallflwoers" the album's best track when we all know that title goes to "A Skit About Vocations."
• There be Dragons: Also from Church is this link to the Googlemaps version of Cloverfield. It's like watching the movie all over again. Only much more awkward.
• Something Old, Something New: This week's releases are what you may term "exciting". On one hand we get a collection of classic Metamystiks material (i.e.: all their shit) compiled in one simple package in the form of Children of the Sword. On the other we get brand new hotness from Able-X's concept album The Butterfly Effect. Can you get them both for free? Yes you can!
• Special Guest: The newest edition of The Geekly Weekly features an interview with anime voice actor Kyle Hebert. He's worked on shows such as Dragonball Z and Bleach, which I assume everyone save my anime-illiterate ass already knew. Take a listen.
• Tonight's the Night: Oh, to live in Gotham! It seems like I miss out on all the good shit due to my not living in New York. Wait, you live in NYC, don't you? Then, by gods, you better head out to Otto's Shrunken Head at around 10ish tonight for a free show from my friends Uncle Monsterface and Shael Riley and my not-really-a-friend-but-I'm-sure-he's-a-great-guy Sudden Death! Yes this free show is free! Go there. Get drunk. Buy stuff. Kiss Marty! This I command!
• Sins of the Father: And while you're buying shit, be sure to pick up the new limited edition "Father of Death" 7" from The Protomen. The vinyl also comes with a digital download code that lets you get the single and b-side (in this case "No Easy Way Out" of Rocky IV fame) to boot. Get 'em now while they can still be got.
• And Lest I Forget: Tomorrow is the big day for my pal Anthony's West Coast Wigout, a nerdcore and VGM show featuring The Megas, ZeaLouS1, and… wait… Sudden Death? How the fuck is he pulling that off? At any rate: 10 bucks, 7:00 PM to 1:00 AM, CIA. Be there.
• An Icy Chill: How else could we end a week so genuinely fucking odd than with this submission from Matt? It's Jonathan Coulton performing "Creepy Doll" live in Manchester with special guest Neil Gaiman. Be afraid.
  
  
  

3 Albums You Need. Right Now.

It's a wonderful time to be a nerd!

The last few days have seen three very high profile music releases, each in a distinctly geeky vein. Moreover, each is also what you might term "affordable."

Oh, and they fuckin' rock too. Though I guess that went without saying.

The first is another compilation from my friends at Game Music 4 All. The GM4A crew cranks out these discs at a clip that, honestly, puts my meager efforts to shame, and I'm glad to say that this release is even better than the superlative efforts that have come before it.

LOSER: A Sega Genesis Tribute celebrates the music of those 16-bit masterpieces that graced so many of our dens/bedrooms in a 39 track monolith of Grade-A VGM. It features some fantastic work from old favorites like Spheres of Chaos, Videogame Orchestra, Elfonso, This Place is Haunted, Doctor Octoroc, Temp Sound Solutions, and many more. Of course, the highlights are many, with my early favorites being the smooth Jazz of The Runaway Five in their live reinterpretation of "Casino Night" from Sonic The Hedgehog 2, 8-Bit Duane (of The Adventures of Duane and Brondo) belting out a chippy cover of "Billie Jean" from Moonwalker, and NESMetal's blistering take on "Idaten" from the Shinobi III soundtrack. But in the end it's The Red Wing's punked up cover of the "Wilderness" theme from Golden Axe and Big Head Mode's unlikely "Here’s Johnny (John Madden Football)" that take the cake. And you can have all these amazing selections for free!

Sure, I would've like to have heard some tracks from favorites licensed games like Shadowrun and The Pirates of Dark Water, but, all things considered, it's an amazing effort from 32 fascinating artists with only one drawback: a relative dearth of nerdcore. With only a handful of MCs – MisterB, MC Cheshire Grin, HipHopMcDougal, and the aforementioned Duane and Brando – it's a little light on the hip-hop. Thankfully, there's an easy solution.

Inspired by YTCracker's pivotal Nerdrap Entertainment System, Entity created the 8Bit Boys: a perfect marriage of contemporary rap and classic NES-era chiptunes. In a community quickly filling up with supergroups, the Boys manage to hold their own by boasting an all-star lineup comprised of YT, T.y.T., The Ranger, and Entity himself. Their long-awaited debut 8-Bit Diagrams proves itself a near-perfect example of the all-too frequent and, sadly, often miscalculated nerdcore/VGM crossover. For those with the intention to launch a similar gamer rap concept album, this title joins N.E.S. and Mega Ran as an example of the right way to proceed.

Classic 8-bit fare like the infectious hook from Bad Dudes (in the song of the same name) has never sounded better, but it's on more understated joints like "1 Life" and the title track that the listener can't help but really fall into 8-Bit Diagrams. And even atypical tracks like "Gangster Gamers," which looks forward to the literal console wars of the future, prove that the 8Bit Boys can bring ample aggression without losing their clever edge. Hell, even a song like "Controller Hog," which I didn't feel at first, easily grew on me on a second listen.

The album excels on many levels, but it's easily at its best when it truly connects gaming nostalgia with sharp but relatable lyricism. "8-Bit Blisters," which aptly displays T.y.T.'s ever-improving and always distinct flow, is an easy high point that describes the folly of the non-ergonomic controllers of yore. "Faulty Controller" does the same by recalling the great lengths we sometimes had to go to keep our old cartridge-based systems functional, and tosses in an almost System of a Down-style chorus that both surprises and delights.

There's a 10-track freebie version of this album floating around that you simply must check-out, and I'd go so far as to say that dropping 10 bucks on the full version would be a wise investment.

And for those of you not yet content with the recent volley of other high-profile YTCRacker collaborations, the YT/MC Lars project The Digital Gangster LP is currently available for download. Released under the pay-what-you-like model, this album can be purchased for as little as $1, and uses a sliding scale of awesome for increments thereafter. Ten bucks nets you high quality .wavs, and $15 gets you the physical CD to boot. Thirty dollars scores you the disc, downloads, and a t-shirt; $50 bumps that up to three shirts; and $100 lands you the entire commercial catalog from both artists. Oh, and for $1200 they'll perform the LP live in your house.

Yes, that's a real offer.

The only thing more interesting than the manner in which the album is sold is its actual contents, as it's already proven itself a shoo-in for one of my top albums of 2008. From the opening bars of "We Have Arrived" to the closing strains of "Paul is Dead," The Digital Gangster LP represents what could accurately be described as the finest output thus far from both artists. It's fun, topical, and loaded with special guests like Beefy, int eighty, Schaffer the Darklord, and ZeaLouS1. It also formally introduced me to Oakland area rapper K.Flay, who punctuates some of the album's most amazing material.

But perhaps more important than its superlative cast of players and inspiring musical selections is the simple fact that The Digital Gangster LP is a perfectly constructed album; it starts gingerly enough, builds to and rolling boil, and then cools itself down without ever losing (or boring) the listener.

"Manifest Destiny," which I'm sure you've already checked out, serves as a perfect example of the project's straight-forward charms, but it's the tracks of the album's robust middle third that make this a must-own. The smoothed out "Nerdcore Players," which is the geeky lover's anthem the genre's been missing, and it's follow-up "Guinevere," in which YTCracker raps with an accent, represent the epitome of its subtle strengths.

The powerful "911 AM (Rudy Giuliani)" featuring the incomparable Doctor Popular, however, is the single to beat. An outright damnation of American fear-culture, it seems all the more poignant after last night's political housecleaning.

Album of the Year? Probably. Song of the Year? Definitely.

In short: Buy The Digital Gangster LP now. Or the terrorists win.

5 Halloween Treats

As we find ourselves mere days away from Halloween, I feel it is my duty to remind you that there are sinister forces at work. Yes, there are shadowed figures in dark and furtive corners who would seek to sully this geekiest of holidays, to bend it to their own will. Our enemy is varied, they represent a veritable hodgepodge of social, religious, and political elements with but one common goal: to ruin our fun.

While some prefer to subscribe spiritual significance to October 31st, I, personally, like to see it as the last great bastion of immaturity. You see, each of our other major Western holidays – your Thanksgivings and Christmases, your Valentine's and Independence Days – are resplendent with responsibility. You are expected to buy gifts, cook food, visit family, etc. Halloween, comparatively, asks for very little. You simply need to buy some candy and cut some eye-holes in a sheet.

Shit, you can even avoid that by simply putting off your porch light and refusing to open your door!

What I'm getting at is that Halloween is about tricks and treats, candy and booze, silly costumes and scary movies. It is, in short, dedicated to the things we already hold dear in our glorious state of retarded adolescence. All it takes is a little motivation to get your average nerd into the swing of things. And perhaps the best motivator is music.

To that end, here are my picks for your seasonal soundtrack. Each is delightfully dorky and hot off the press. Check the out. If you dare!

The Triple Six Mixtape:
The Triple Six Mixtape isn't without its rough spots, but it gets extra credit for being the first nerdcore Halloween album out of the gate. The brainchild of Rhyme Torrents regular Mad DPS, this project boasts some fun, creepy, and just plain weird work from YTCracker (who celebrates the dastardly pastime of candy snatching in "Bag Snatcher"), T.y.T. (whose "Hypmotized" is a disturbingly chipper recount of fratricide), and Epic 1 (who takes us on a supernatural killing spree in "Talk 2 The Reaper"). Also of note is Ham-STAR's "Nevermore," which helps to reinvent the artist as well as much of Poe's best source material. Probably the comp's best work comes in the form of DPS's own "Vicious Attack" that features 3rror and The Ranger. It's a Halloween anthem that combines great rhymes and a totally seasonal-appropriate beat.

This one is still available for free download over at RT.

Invasion of the Mic Snatchers:
While not exactly Halloween-themed, The Sinister Six's Invasion of the Mic Snatchers weaves a plot of terror and otherworldly domination amidst a number of epic cuts from this nerdcore supergroup. The thematic elements – in this case spoken-word or sample-based bumpers that tie together the overall narrative arc of the album – seem almost overly abundant, but the polished production and unique musicality of each lends itself well to the cohesion of the work.

The real meat of Invasion of the Mic Snatchers is, of course, the songs themselves. From the skillful blending of Ben's frantic braying and the amazing scratches that punctuate "Break Down" to YTCracker's motor-mouthed musings in "Rise Up," this is an album that's nothing short of inspired. The lyrical wealth is equally spread amongst YT, BBear, ZeaLouS1, MadHatter, Chester, and Loki, as well as a few high-profile guest MCs. And on subjects as varied as gaming ("Roll the Dice") and the power of the underground ("Deeper"), the Six take things to another level in the most Sinister manner possible.

Pledge your allegiance to the Six at the Scrub Club Records site and snag this one for the meager price of your immortal soul.

Before It's Too Late:
Zombies! Organize!! easily won me over at this summer's Nerdapalooza festival, and their demo has been in heavy rotation ever since. Thankfully, this month saw the release of the final product: Before It's Too Late. Including everything I loved about the demo plus a handful of fresh cuts, it's an album not to be missed (even if some of the newer material isn't quite as inspired as I'd hoped). Tracks like "Trioxin" and "Sycophantic Drudgery" are still as creepily charming as they ever were, and a few even feature a little added polish. Blending politics with pop culture, Z!O!! paints a world where zombies are both brave iconoclasts and mindless political pawns, heroes and villains. It's a world where the mall is cast as the high temple of the church of consumerism and the Nike Swoosh is the exploitative angel on your shoulder. In a word: brilliant.

This is album is for sale via the Zombies! Organize!! MySpace. It's also available for free at the Zombies! Organize!! MySpace. The choice is yours.

Halloween 3.0:
The Rhyme Torrents compilations are, by nature, a mixed bag, and this one is no exception. Still, it offers an amazing selection of styles for every taste. Antisocial blends hip-hop and futurepop in "Emergency Evacuation," Sudden Death brings the funny in "PC Halloween," and Wholemilk's "Colonel in the Study with a Pipe" manages to make Clue fun again. There are a couple of interesting covers (MC D20's take on "Sleepwalker" and High-C's spoken-word retelling of "Mind of a Lunatic)," but it's new originals by the likes of Myf and MC Loki that make this an easy sell. It's noteworthy that The Ranger also has a song on this comp called "Trioxin" which is not a Zombies! Organize!! cover. Trust me. Just as well, it's hard to bitch about more great songs thematically centered on Return of the Living Dead.

Like those that came before, Halloween 3.0 is a free release from your friends at Rhyme Torrents.

Zombie Emergency Defense:
Perhaps the most surprising of this year's crop of Halloween releases is this zombie-themed project from Orlando's Emergency Pizza Party. Though EPP made no secret that it had something big planned for 2008, they were fairly tight-lipped about the specifics, and Z.E.D. comes through as an interesting blend of disparate elements. Part concept album, part radio play, part b-movie, and part promotional tie-in for A Comic Shop's proactive zombie response program of the same name, it manages to inject some much need charm into the undead apocalypse. By blending good music with (intentionally) bad acting, Z.E.D. stalks the line between the frightening and the fun, the sublime and the silly, and along the way it boasts some of Emergency Pizza Party's best work to date.

While it opens with a pair of retreads ("Lost in the Woods" and "Necronomicon Ex Robotis" from RT's original Halloween EP), it quickly blossoms into "Safety Cabin," an early highpoint that features some great rhymes from Fanatical and guest rapper funk49 Dr. BassWave. Speaking of, this album marks the return of both Fanatical and Benjamin Bear to the EPP fold, which helps to take the sting out of the fact that Betty Rebel is missing from much of the action. MC Wreckshin and Sir-Up, who act as hero and villain respectively, are in abundance, and really help to power the story on, all the while redefining the zombie epic.

Touching on everything from zombie preparedness ("The Escape") to undead homophobia ("Phone Frantic Panic") to surprise guest stars ("Journey Ongoing!!!!"), Zombie Emergency Defense is a fun ride that succeeds more often than it flounders. Sure, the dialog and narration can get a little cheesy, but that's sort of the genius of it.

For a very limited time you can check this one out for free, so grab it while it's hot… or cold… or whatever sort of clever corpse reference floats your proverbial boat.

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 52: Just Drunk Enough

It's simple podcast math: The more individuals involved in a podcast, the longer it is. Further, the more you drink, the more you talk. These truths are invariable.

Thusly, this podcast is long as shit.

I'm serious.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 52: Just Drunk Enough [hosting provided by Antisocial] Size: 55.2 MB Running Time: 1:20:31

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – "Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)"
I hear Beefy was totally sloshed when he recorded these vocals. Maybe.

Track 1: Space Ghost Coast to Coast dialog / Mary Prankster – "The Bottle's Talking Now"
Matt picked out this most fitting intro track.

1st drunken interlude: "A fake holiday season of my own imaging."
In honor of Drunken Podcasting Month, Matt joined me via Skype and Church contributed via chat. They simply couldn't stand the thought of me drinking alone!

Track 2: Southside – "Vibrate"
Church mentioned that this song should be played before the feature presentation at movie theaters. I concur.

Track 3: Optimus Rhymes – "Obey the Moderator (Remix)"
You can check out the OR video footage I mentioned here.

Track 4: Strange Brew dialog / The Sprites – "Modern Gameplay"
Complaining about new school controller design isn't exactly unusual, but The Sprites sound good doing it.

Track 5: Strange Brew dialog (cont.) / Hayseed Dixie – "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"
I picked this one out. Surprising, no?

Track 6: The Mudbloods – "I Wish You'd Be My Witch"
It's hard not to love The Mudbloods. This song is the reason why.

2nd drunken interlude: "Will you drink to that?"
Of course they will. These boys will drink to anything!

Track 7: Jonathan Coulton – "I Feel Fantastic"
Didn't Matt do a great job introducing this song? Seriously. If I paid him he'd totally get a raise for that.

Track 8: Beefy – "Minimum Wage Slave"
Beefy no longer works two shitty minimum wage jobs, but he's still down for the common man.

Track 9: Doug Stanhope – "He's Just Drunk" / Computerization – "Collars"
Wait, are we implying that it's oaky to get drunk at work?

Track 10: Fountains of Wayne – "Bright Future in Sales"
Yes, I believe we are.

Track 11: Dual Core – "Unplug"
Nobody sings the programmers blues quite like int eighty.

3rd drunken interlude: "There were a lot of work songs in that set, wasn't there?"
Can you tell we're getting sloppy here?

Track 12: Eddie Murphy – "Drinking Fathers" / PC Speaker – "Scheduled Rhymes"
According to PC, nerds have the best drugs.

Track 13: Severely Snaped – "Petrified"
It's like a Black Sabbath cover band fronted by Severus Snape. Don't gimme that look; you're just pissed 'cause you didn't think of it first.

Track 14: No Kill I – "Tranya"
A repeat from episode 20.

Track 15: Eddie Murphy – "Drinking Fathers (cont.)" / myf – "Homebrew"
I am amazed at the number of people who don't know how to pronounce myf's name. It rhymes with "stiff."

Track 16: Catchlove – "Legacy of the Fallen Wizard"
Let it be known: there is no "the."

Final drunken interlude: "Y'all are now my official unofficial co-hosts."
They are. For realsies.

Track 17: nYgel – "1to3for" / Space Ghost Coast to Coast dialog
Feist + YTCracker? You wouldn't think it would work, but it does!

And there you have it, folks: my first official Drunken Podcasting Month podcast. I'd like to make this a yearly celebration, but only time will tell whether or not the concept strikes a chord with the general populace.

I'm hoping to get in another drunkcast before month's end, although my vacation plans may complicate matters. Still, if you want to hear more of my friends and me swearing, making gross generalizations, and otherwise babbling incoherently, just let me know.

We'll be glad to oblige.

Either way, thanks to Church and Matt for pitching in. Gentlemen, it was a pleasure!