Nerd News in Brief

Anyone with reproductive organs and an interminable need to seem profound is apt to tell you that having kids changes you. This is, of course, true, as I, a breeder, can attest. But what these arm chair philosophers don’t tell you is how having children changes you.

While I can’t speak for the whole of humanity, I can tell you in which magical and oh-so subtle ways fatherhood transformed me. In short, it made me a pussy.

Within weeks of Li’l X’s, birth I found my CD collection suddenly home to a warren of proto-shoegazer wimp pop (most of the Cure and early Smiths variety). I’m not sure how it got there, but I confess that I was singing him to sleep with “Ask” before we’d had him home a week.

Considering that our second child is on the way, I can’t help but wonder if my continued pussification will be incremental or exponential. As this one’s a girl, I fear the worse.

• A fighting chance: This week marks the release of New Liver, New Life: The Tim Jackson Liver Fund. This disk is a labor of love from the folks at the Rhyme Torrents community that exists purely to help generate more money for T.Y.T.’s father’s forthcoming organ transplant. It features id obelus, funky49, LogicOne, Myf, and scores of other talented artists, and, at fifteen bucks, it’s both a wise investment and a charitable contribution.
• I love that line: Speaking of id, here are a couple of reviews of his latest release flyourfavorite. Exclaim! and Insomniac Magazine both have really nice things to say about the album, and I can’t help but concur.
• These ill-bred people's gillslits showed: In his continuing mission to delight (and confuse) me, Church found this sample track from the H.P. Lovecraft-themed holiday album A Very Scary Solstice. It’s a keeper. (Look, ma, I made a fish-people pun!)
• The Young Stunna: T-byte recently dropped some demos over at RT that you must check out. The first is a phenomenal live set he’s working on, with perhaps the greatest lead-in in the history of live music. The second is a mash that incorporates the themes from both Doug and Growing Pains. Tanner is your master now.
• Don’t say anything!: T-byte isn’t the only nerdy producer with new teaser tracks out this week. killsaly also dropped this little jewel that takes his eerie, surreal sound the next level. Download “Look At Me” to understand what, exactly, I’m talking about.
• Super-Ultra: Since his regular host is currently down, Ultraklystron has thrown a couple of hot new tracks on his MySpace player. Head over to his profile to peep “Duplicate” and “Fashionable.” Then, immediately thereafter, go buy his new album.
• The wrath of Mallow: I recently received word from my man Anthony from Game Music 4 All that’s he’s putting together a vanity project of sorts. Anyone who’s ever exchanged more than a couple words with Anthony knows of his deep affection for Super Mario RPG, and, in celebration of that epic title, he’s currently soliciting submissions for the Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Compilation. Several high-profile VGM acts have already signed up and space is limited, but I happen to know he’s quite interested in getting some hip-hop on there as well. If you’re a fan of the title and think you have what it takes to make the cut, check out the GM4A MySpace for details.
• On pirate satellite: Five years ago this Monday, the world lost, perhaps, the greatest songwriter of my lifetime and I lost my first musical hero. To commemorate the life and music of Joe Strummer, Tim from the Radio Clash podcast has assembled This One’s for Joe, an amazing collection of tracks from the bastard pop community that celebrate Strummer’s legacy. With contributions from Celebrity Murder Party, World Famous Audio Hacker, and, of course, Instamatic, this one is not to be missed!
• She’s a pinball wizard: Rather than leave you with another seasonal vid, today I’ll wrap things up with the latest submission from our friends at PBC Productions. Here’s the first part of a two-part episode of Little Miss Gamer in which Z learns the finer points of pinball, as well as a little history lesson. Just because we’ve all ceased working in anticipation of the looming holidays is no need to stop learning!