Nerd News in Brief

I sometimes worry that my role as a father has cut into what I like to term my “creative time.” That is, of course, that variable window of time in which I blog and work on podcasts and special projects.

Lately, though, I’ve begun to find this fear unfounded. Mostly, it just cuts into my “thinking about weird shit time,” which isn’t really a loss for any of us. And, thankfully, other people seem to be tackling the weighty issues too which I find myself too preoccupied to attend.

You know, stuff like Pac-feces and corporate drug branding.

• Hobbits and bunnies: Today’s episode of Nerd Ink is brought to you by Church Hates Tucker and lit geeks everywhere. It also makes me wonder why I haven’t gotten a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy tat yet.
• Nerdcore Idol: High-C recently released some information about the quality control methods in place for Rhyme Torrents Volume 7. Among the new submission processes touted was a three-man judging panel consisting of Chozo Ninpo, MC Inadequate, and High-C himself. He then admitted that he was just fuckin’ with folks and encouraged everyone to submit tracks as per usual.
• Totally not kidding: High-C also dropped some knowledge concerning a tie-in contest for Nerdaplooza. Artists are invited to craft their finest nerdcore tracks about event sponsor Troma Films, and the winning submission will be featured on Troma’s own site. Plus, the winner will get to perform his track live on-stage at Nerdapalooza with none other than the Toxic Avenger. For entry info, check RT.
• Just playa-hating: Ever wonder what a video representation of MC Hawking’s interview segments from A Brief History of Rhyme would look like? Wonder no more.
• What, no lemonade?: funky49 and five of Florida’s loveliest young ladies recently began shooting the video for funk’s track “Milk & Doo Doo.” How he managed to convince these gals to not only put on matching funky49 jerseys and Kool-Aid socks, but to actually appear in a video for a song with doo doo in the title is a mystery upon which I invite you each to ponder. Production stills are available for your perusal. You sweaty-palmed, filthy-minded perusal.
• Old No. 7: Whore Moans will be taking the stage at Nashville’s Café Coco this Friday night with Black Atticus and Call It Anything. This 18-and-up event is $5 at the door. It kicks off at 8:00 PM, so show up early, get real drunk, and sing along.
• The Great Chase: Congrats to current King of the Crate Diggers and all around nice cat D-Form and his crew The Chubby Chasers. The Chasers made it into this month’s Blender Magazine, which is kind of a huge deal. Look for the issue with Alicia Keys on the cover.
• Full Frontal: The full seven minute version of Random’s interview with MC Frontalot – the abridged version of which was recently presented on the RandomBeagle podcast – is now available for download. Check it out to get a full serving of Front’s on unique brand of goofiness.
• As opposed to duct tape: In album news, Random’s Patches and Glue is now available for purchase. You can score the disc for a mere $7 right here, and you can read a bit about the project at the Music Industry News Network. Ran’s been on a creative hot streak for a while now, and I’m gonna go ahead and predict that this album will be hailed by fans and critics to the same degree as his previous efforts The Call and Mega Ran.
• You’ve gotta shoot straight: Likewise, killsaly has dropped an EP of songs based around some of his favorite movies, video games, and television shows. The source files for these tracks were lost due to hard drive failure, but killsaly is a trooper. As such, the existing versions were remastered and uploaded. The first track is about Blade Runner. That should be all you need to know. Download Now Playing... uh... now.
• NPR on VGM: In his constant search for things with which to amuse me, Church also found this piece on game music from NPR. It’s more focused on Uematsu and Tallarico than, say, The Megas, but it’s still a good read.
• Sadly, I am not an unlockable character: My pal Anthony from Game Music 4 All has finally announced a solid release date for the site’s next compilation album Here Comes a new Challenger. As if the prospect of 30 artists collaborating on over 20 songs wasn’t enough to get you excited, Ant also got this wicked Flash trailer put together by the one and only Doctor Octoroc. Hit “Play” an watch the madness unfold.