Nerd News in Brief

I’ve spent years writing about nerdy music and culture, and I’ve met with moderate success. My readership isn’t overly broad or anything, but I’ve got a solid collection of regulars who are passionate about music and perfectly comfortable within their own geeky skins. I’ve been involved in some projects that’ve gotten some decent press, I’ve interviewed some really interesting people, and I’ve been party to some truly great endeavors.

So who the hell would’ve known that the thing to push me into the lower echelons of Internet celebrity would be a ridiculous tattoo?!

The Web is truly a weird and wonderful place.

But my fifteen minutes seem to have come to an abrupt close, and now, as I breathe a sigh of relief that my tiny arms will no longer be the topic of discussion among the geek elite, I’d like to thank everyone who talked my D20 up with little or no snarkiness. I’d also like to thank Church for setting off my brief brush with geek-fame. But mostly I’d like to thank Emily Hulme from AMNY for acknowledging that this is actually a music blog. :)

And now, because a week without nerd news is like a week without sunshine: NNIB.

• Like Highlander, but with music: The Crate Digger Death-match is set to kick off tomorrow, and we had no problem at all filling our dozen artist slots. Shit, we actually had to turn people away after a point, which was both unexpected and a bit of a downer. Still, this looks to be a competition for the ages, and I implore you all to keep your collective ear to the ground as musicians of all stripes beseech the thrift store gods to bestow upon them a bounty of workable sound sources.
• Part of this nutritious breakfast: This round of the Crate Digger Death-match is sponsored in part by Rap Snacks, the only cheese puff made with real Yung Joc. No. Not really. I’m lying. About the sponsorship. I can, however, neither confirm nor deny that any Yung Jocs were harmed in the production of this snack food.
• Nerdcore folk-rock?: Long ago when the earth was a simpler place, Doc Popular launched a campaign to not only get MySpace to include nerdcore as a selectable artist genre for musician and band accounts, but also to adopt the term as a catchall classification for nerdy music. Church discovered this recent Computer and Videogames interview with Jonathan Coulton that leads me to believe that Doc was ahead of the curve with this idea.
• Gift-wrapped up in plastic: Myf is one of my favorite MCs. Here’s why: over my lengthy holiday break, the Metamystiks rhyme-smith dropped a new demo over at Rhyme Torrents. It's simply called “110 Bars,” and it was actually recorded in a single take. A full version of this track is set to appear on the forthcoming MMI album The Nanking Mixtape Vol. 1, but don’t act like you don’t feel it even in this raw form! EDIT: Snyder even made a YouTube fanvid for the track.
• When tiny, Aussie B-girls attack!: In other YouTubery, The Ranger posted a clip of his daughters dancing to LogicOne’s “Give ‘Em More.” Kids love the Logic. They also love leaning with it and/or rocking with it.
• To seek out new life and closer parking to the food court: Let’s counteract all that cuteness with some hardcore nerd tech. Church found this Star Trek air horn for use in your car, boat, or spacecraft. The price seems a bit excessive, but it’s still a real geek gem.
• World of Nerdcraft: Apparently Dennis and Denika aren’t alone; nerdy crafting has officially become a thing. Toronto’s The Globe and Mail has a pretty interesting little piece up on the phenomenon that actually sums up the nerd mentality really well.
• Most valuable scenester: Dan (of Nerdcore For Life fame) has put together his second annual Nerdcore MVP thread over at RT. Last year, High-C was a scene favorite, but who made the biggest impact in 2007? Head over to the forums and speak your piece.
• Deals so good they’re INSANE!: Random’s label RAHM Nation has decided to give fans a break for the New Year. For a limited time, all 2007 RAHM releases (like the pivotal Mega Ran album) are only $3.99 and 2006 albums like Ran's The Call are only $2.99. But this is offer's only good for a bit longer, so get ‘em while you can.
• “If we cannot be free, at least we can be cheap.”: So said Frank Zappa, and I’m not about to disagree. This quote could well be motto of computer music blog This Is Not A Label, the perfect place to go for reviews of free and inexpensive music and recording applications. It’s also got a ton of great music news, information on topics like fair-use, and other such crunchy goodness that’s both entertaining and informative.
• The year in mash-ups: Now that’ you’ve finished reading all of the mandatory year-end blog wrap-ups, it’s time you turn your attention to the obligatory year-end mash-up compilations. The Best of Bootie 2007 CD continues the fine Bootie tradition of wrapping all of your favorite dance tracks up in one simple package. Mashup Town has also released it’s take on the year in bootlegs called, aptly enough, MashupTown Best of 2007. (Trust me; you want this one too.) And this year DJ Earworm decided to do a totally different take on the subject by mashing up the 25 most popular songs of the year into one meta masterpiece.
• They tried to make me go to Wii-hab: Straight from the pages of Joystiq comes news of a CNN story about the Wii’s use as a physical therapy device in places like Ohio State University Medical Center. But mostly I just wanted to use that headline.