More Nerd News in Brief

I grew up a punk rock kid, so the passing of Hilly Krystal probably hit me harder than many other residents of rural America. It’s amazing to think that one simple man and one dive bar could serve as such a strong catalyst for a musical revolution. Amazing but undeniable.

One of my many music-related regrets is never making it to CBGB before its closing last October, but those are, as they say, the breaks. Still, I can’t help but think of Country, Blue Grass, and Blues as a sort of holy place, a focal point of sacred geography where many of my favorite bands coalesced.

It is thoughts such as this that remind me how amazing it is that the music to which I devote so much of my time – simple, truthful, nerdy music – has sprung up in less a physical locale and more a virtual one. When artists come together, whether for a night of nerd rock, a nerdcore tour, or a VGM festival, I’m always amazed that many of these acts who have so long admired and collaborated with each other are often meeting face-to-face for the first time.

Such is the power of the Internet, the stomping ground for geeks musical and otherwise.

• Case in point: I wanted to devote a lot of textual real estate to last weekend’s Nerdapalooza SE, but it looks as though, well, damn near everyone in attendance beat me to the punch. Behold Random’s take on the event, Zealous1’s ruminations, Sir-Up’s exhaustive account (which starts here and encompasses several chapters), and some really great pix from Denika and Sangriaa.
• Return of the King: Brothers and sisters, Hex Warrior is back again with some more college radio goodness for your monkey asses! His schedule is as follows: Monday from 5:00 – 6:00 PM [PST] Any Way You Want It (100% requests – nerdy music and otherwise); Thursday from 11:00 AM - Noon [PST]: News Humboldt (student-run news about campus and community issues); and, of course, Saturday from 2:00 – 4:00 PM [PST]: NeRPSID (the Nerdapalooza radio program show.)
• Technical difficulty: As many of you know (and have been so kind as to inform me), Radio Free Hipster is experiencing problems with ye olde server. The podcast feed is currently… not… feeding… maybe? Anywho, suffice it to say that episode 29 has been recorded and will be made available to interested parties as soon as any funkiness is resolved. Thanks for your patience.
  
• Stuff you should rightly be listening to: Last week I stewed in a musical soup of The Cult, The Pogues, and Uncle Tupelo. This week’s listening list is a little nerdier but no less entertaining. On the freebie side I’m gonna recommend Nullsleep’s Electric Heart Strike; it’s like a tiny, electronic house party in your headphones. I’m also gonna go for broke and all but insist that you purchase MAJA’s The Amalgam Project. My copy arrived a couple days back, and I’ve been listening non-stop ever since. It’s got a unique appeal to those of us who prefer our hip-hop straight from the underground, those of us who like our rhymes a little nerdy, and me, who fits neatly into both columns A and B.
• Not to be confused with The Breakfast Club: You love Shael Riley, right? Of course you do! Okay, then could you tell me what the fuck this is about? Thanks.
  
• Tetris Attacks: Matt sent me this vid under the tagline “Jack was right.” This is a form of video game violence that I am totally mystified by. Maybe it’s a cultural thing.
• Street Team or paramilitary organization?: Will you be amused – or tickled as we say in the solid south – by the tale of a Portland-area Frontalot fan who spent the night in jail for posting flyers? Yes. Yes you will.
• Look! More videos: Here are three clips from a recent Year 200x gig that you really need to check out. Nobody rocks some Duck Tales like the boys from Michigan!
• Even more!: Matt and Church have both been raving about The Mudbloods cover of “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.” I finally checked it out for myself, and I have to agree that this is probably the most inspired Wrock cover of all time.
• A brief respite: Okay, so everybody loves Bioshock; that’s sort of a given. Well, now 2K Games has made it possible for you to hear the atmospheric (read: creepy-ass) string-based soundtrack from the land of Big Daddys and Little Sisters even when you’re not in Rapture.
• Back to YouTube: The madness surrounding PAX ’07 (and, indeed, the greater Seattle area) spawned a number of memorable video clips. Hell, we got to see Router kick a ninja in the balls. Not to mention her and YTCracker Rick-roll an entire audience. But for me, the defining moment was when, like the fulfillment of some Old Testament prophesy, Beefy took to the PAX stage. Sure, he was backing up Wheelie Cyberman on “Sick Day,” but it still counts. It still totally counts.