More Nerd News in Brief

I am a horrible suburban homeowner.

Case in point: yesterday my neighbor informed me that I had a mole living in my front yard and I was elated! My brother-in-law offered to set up some sort of barbaric trap to snare the poor creature, but I wouldn’t fuckin’ hear of it. Without Mole, how will Ratty and Mr. Badger ever keep Mr. Toad out of trouble?

Fronting far more than can be reasonably expected: MC Frontalot has a number of shows lined up for the month of August. Specifically: “Aug 23, Seattle w/ Optimus, Goondocks, Router, and Beefy; Aug 25, PAX in Seattle with the usual luminaries (Minibosses, we expect); Aug 29, [JUST ANNOUNCED:] Brooklyn with Jesse Dangerously; Sep 14, Richmond IN, Earlham College (Earlham ppl only, sorry); Sep 15, Tempe AZ, Kingdom of Loathing Con.”

Get your Gabe on: Nerdcore News’s Gabe has thrown out an open invitation to anyone in the Seattle area for this year’s Penny Arcade Expo to meet him, Syn, and a gaggle of other nerds at Gameworks on the evening of Thursday, August 23rd. Straight from the horse’s mouth: “From 9 p.m. 'til they close, you pay 10 dollars and you play all the games you want for the rest of the night. Plus there are some drink specials and the bar menu is half-off. So there's that. Food, games and cheap drinks! I'm also thinking - hopefully Thursday - of getting as many people as will come (please let me know here or via e-mail - dystopia.is.now at gmail) together for a bit of a 'round table' interview.” Gabe also promises that a new edition of Nerdcore News will be available soon.

From the vault: Super Dragon X has just added another hot track to his MySpace player, though I hesitate to use the term new. “Back in the Day” is another collaboration with Aussie MC Grandmaster Pink, but this one is just now seeing the light of day. Check it out; it’s well worth your time.

Not necessarily nerdy, but…: Whether you know it or not, you’ve doubtlessly seen the work of photographer Neal Preston. In his decades long career, Preston has photographed some of rock ‘n’ roll’s most important artists… and also Madonna. Spinner.com recently “gave [Neal] the space to collect his favorite photographs into an online gallery where he recounts personal anecdotes with each picture.” Music dorks will want to pay special attention to the iconic images of the late, great Frank Zappa and his childhood friend Captain Beefheart. Thanks to Jake for hipping me to this.

Third-hand Information: According to Beefy’s blog, syndicated morning drive-time DJs Bob & Tom have been talking about nerdcore of late. I don’t listen to Bob & Tom - or, y’know, radio in general - so can anyone confirm this seemingly outlandish claim?

Get in the ring!: BOSSFIGHT’s Dark Prince was nice enough to put up “some quick and dirty uploads of a few of the performances from San Diego Comic-Con at the Capcom booth.” You can check out Ultraklystron performing “Open Source Lyricist,” Ultraklystron and Nursehella busting out “Shoujo n' Shonen,” and my man Beefy doing his new track “Tabletop” all over at Bright Cove.

Hyperwhite?: Earlier this week my pal Church hit me up with this NY Times article that explores, among other things, linguist Mary Bucholtz’s belief that self identified nerds are, in fact, “white to the point of excess.” In response, Journalista chimes in with the idea that “one shouldn’t discount the possibility that nerd culture is pro-something, rather than anti-black culture, or that it may in fact have nothing whatsoever to do with race.” Finally, Jason (from my new favorite blog Geek Studies) supplies a more even-handed assessment of the intermingling of racial identity and nerd culture.

Seriously; everywhere!: And lastly, here’s another jewel to Church directed my attention. It’s a YouTube clip of the handiwork of some cat who mods old Chuck E. Cheese animatronics. Unless you’re bereft of free time (like me), you probably caught this on Boing Boing.

Ninja Steffo

There’s a lot to talk about today. I mean, is Resident Evil 5 inherently racist? Will a staggering drop in the prices of super computers ultimately aid in the eradication of lingering disease? Will Eminem take Apple to court (for real this time)?

But, y’know, fuck that noise! I’m much more concerned with getting my man Steffo (of My Parents Favorite Music) on Ninja Warrior.

Here’s the skinny: G4 is sponsoring the American Ninja Challenge. Through this contest, one lucky(?) contestant will win the chance to be on the always ridiculous Japanese gameshow.

Now, we won’t know if Steffo even made it into the semi-finals until Friday, but that’s no reason not to enjoy his ninja skillz (note the “z”) right now.

So behold my man in all his greatness. And, should you see his submission floating around the G4 Web site come Friday, be sure to vote for him.

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 27: More Than Meets the Eye

I’ll go out on a limb and say that this may be the most eclectic edition of Radio Free Hipster to date.

“Eclectic,” of course, is simply college-boy speak for totally fucked up.

Between the hip-hop, the j-pop, the buttrock, and the filk – not to mention the extended instrumental sub-set – I can’t help but feel that this ep. may lose a couple of you, but that’s the price I pay for refusing to limit myself to the canon of G1.

I know some of you probably feel my affection for ‘toons like Beast Wars Neo and Headmasters is blasphemous at best, but, as I’m no stranger to blasphemy, your cries fall on deaf ears.

Still, I produce this podcast not merely for my own amusement, but for yours as well, and I hope you find this episode enjoyable, even if you are a purist.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 27: More Than Meets the Eye Size: 42.5 Running Time: 46:30

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – “Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)”
Spellah and Beefy are robots in disguise. No foolin’.

Track 1: MuteMath – “Transformers Theme”
I actually could’ve done an entire episode of just different versions of the Transformers theme. I chose to do otherwise.

Z’s 1st interlude: “Far too distracted by the rampant product placement to notice.”
The new Transformers movie was a two and a half hour commercial… and it wasn’t even a commercial for the Transformers!

Track 2: Stan Bush – “The Touch”
“When all Hell’s breaking loose / you’ll be riding the eye of the storm.”

Track 3: Stunt Junkies - “This is Cybertron”
The Stunt Junkies were nice enough to let me bum a copy of this track specifically for inclusion in this episode. The degree to which they rock for that simple gesture is nigh incalculable.

Track 4: SOS Wheeljack dialogue / mc chris – “Dare to Be Stupid”
Planet Junk?! Were the writers even trying at that point?

Track 5: Jarek Zabczynski – “Transformers Theme”
See? I told you.

Track 6: Current of Air – “Space Dreamer”
You demanded more J-rock, and I listened. Sort of.

Z’s 2nd interlude: “I’m about as mature as your average 8 year old Japanese kid.”
Before you judge me, I would like to point out that, in the Beast Wars II and Neo series, Optimus is a Lion and Woolly Mammoth respectively. If you aren’t enticed by that prospect alone, check you fuckin’ pulse.

Track 7: Maja – “Transformer”
Maja is another cat who was nice enough to let me bum a song for this ep. Everything on his MySpace player is required listening. It’s geeky, but still totally accessible.

Track 8: Kazunori Maruyama – “Atrocious Offensive”
Yup. Their Super Link is our Energon.

Track 9: Dane Cook / Patrick Cowley – “Megatron Man”
Listen to more Patrick Cowley.

Track 10: Vince DeCola’s – “Unicron Theme”
I love the fanboy applause as this track commences. Great stuff!

Track 11: The great Luke Ski and The Nick Atoms – “The Ballad of Optimus Prime”
I’ve always wanted to play some filk on RFH, but I could never find a track that worked within a given show until this one. I know filk might not be your thing – shit, it ain’t mine either – but you gotta give it up for the nerdiest of all nerd music.

Z’s final interlude: “Dane Cook is generally about as funny as a prostate exam.”
I withdraw the above statement; I’ve had prostate exams far more entertaining than your average Dane Cook bit.

Track 12: Optimus Rhyme – “Precogni2”
By all rights, Optimus Rhyme should’ve been included on Michael Bay’s Transformers soundtrack. Don’t act surprised. You knew I was gonna say that.

Super Fire Convoy was the Optimus of Japan’s Car Robots line (known to us as Robots in Disguise), and I was always fond of that particular figure. I mean, it’s no Tako Tank, but it’s pretty boss.

Anywho, thanks for allowing me to indulge my inner Transfan with this episode. I have a couple more themed eps in mind, but then I think I might head back to the free-form shows for a while. Only time will tell, and I’m totally open to suggestions so gimme a yell.

Nerd News in Brief

We nerds are seemingly warlike by nature. We tend to pick our ponies early on and ride ‘em out as long and as far as possible. We tend to disagree and debate and, let’s face it, bitch incessantly, but we seldom let shit get out of hand.

Except for this guy; this guy flipped the fuck out. Which begs the question was he really a nerd after all? Maybe he was just a psycho.

I’m sure they have their own music and culture blog. Somewhere.

• Return of the Robot Masters: Riding high on a recent wave of (much deserved) publicity, Random’s Mega Ran album got a very favorable review in Canadian music magazine Exclaim. Always nice to see a deserving artist get some love.
• Rage in the Cage: On another Capcom-related note, Beefy leaked some pics from last week’s Nerdcore For Life show at the San Diego Comic-Con. That Chun-Li is acceptable. Ryu? Not so much.
• Do the right thing: The Spork of FL nerds Rocket Propelled Geeks is actively seeking other groups and artists to take part in a charity event for a recently disabled employee of Daytona’s Speed Park, a local arcade and go-kart track. The event is slated for Saturday, August 4th and RPG are looking for “any other bands who’d be willing to play as well. The music will start at 11:00 AM and go on all day. […] The gig will be free, but you'll get to put up a merch table if you so desire, and it's going to a good cause.” If you and yours’ll be down Florida-way next week, holler at Spork if you wanna lend a hand.
• Take that, Fox Network!: Game rockers Armcannon are in the running to appear on Fox’s newest mutant reality/talent show hybrid The Next Great American Band. Armcannon was chosen one of the top bands in the Buffalo area, but they need your help to go all the way. Click on this handy dandy link to vote for your boys and help them make it to Vegas for the show.
• Shame on a nerdguh!: RZA is running a contest with Loud.com through which some lucky bastards can open for Wu-Tang on the forthcoming tour. Basically, you just download the instrumental, rap over that bitch, and then submit the results. Matt has “this crazy mental image of Ultraklystron opening for Wu.” Let’s make that a reality, shall we?
• On the subject of songs: After a fairly lengthy solo hiatus, Super Dragon X is back with a new track called “Apoc;” you can peep it at his MySpace. Consequently, if you’re feeling adventurous and looking for something that is new to the very Nth degree, try the first ever nerdcore track from Luzid; it is, not surprisingly, at his MySpace.
• Getting Pooooo-litical: Today, I’m gonna close with a vid by my pal Church. It’s political, and y’all know my slant, so be forewarned. Take it away MC AG!

Nerd News in Brief

I’m getting slow. Age is taking its toll. That’s the only reason I can think of to explain why both Matt and Church essentially lapped me reading Deathly Hallows. They’re both finished, and I’m still hanging around the half-way mark.

Sure, I didn’t actually start reading until late Saturday night. And, yeah, I did tear through 450-some-odd pages in a day and a half, and that’s not too shabby. But those fragile excuses are cold comfort at best; saving face simply isn’t an option.

So all I have is the age thing…

Even though technically both those cats are older than me…

You build with the bricks you’re given, people!

• Don’t Curse: The genius that brought us the Mega Ran project, Random himself, was just interviewed by the fine folks at Capcom. Ran talked about his music, his love of video games, and the plight of the American educator. Personally, I dig how he didn’t play down the lack of violence and profanity in his tracks… thus the Heavy D reference.
• Because I don’t bother artists enough on my on: Speaking of interviews, my brothers from GM4A have asked me to help them write a series of profiles of the artists on the finalized Nerdapalooza roster. Of course, I couldn’t think of anything more fun/nerdy to do than to tag team with my boys Anthony and Hex Warrior, so I was, as the kids are saying, “all up ins” this offer. What? The kids aren’t saying that? Shit.
• Better late than never: My girl MC Router has just dropped a new pair of cover songs, and, honestly, the only thing bad I have to say about them is that I’m a little bummed they didn’t surface early enough to be on Nerdcore Undercover. Check out her take on Uffie’s “Pop the Glock” and Retard-O-Bot’s “I Don’t Think You Really Mean It.” Good stuff.
• Ain’t too proud to beg: Okay, so here’s the deal: I’m currently looking for some kindhearted individual to do me a solid. John Allison, creator of my all-time favorite Web comic Scary Go Round, is gonna be at the Dumbrella booth at this year’s COMIC-CON, and I’m looking for someone to pick me up a t-shirt. I’ll totally give you the cash for the shirt and shipping – I ain’t tryin’ to screw you into lavishing me with free shit or nuthin’ – I’m just looking for someone to take a few minutes out of their con schedule to pick it up for me. Any takers?
• What it’s all aboot: Let me wrap up today’s news with a couple of pieces of footage from last week’s nerdcore debut on MTV Canada. They feature some Q&A with Dan, YT, and ‘Hella, as I’m sure you were expecting, as well as a brief history of nerdy rhymes by the great Jesse Dangerously. In verse, no less.

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 26: Let’s All Go to the Movies

I’ve gone to the movie theater on two separate occasions this month. That’s, like, a record for me.

I’m slightly intimidated by the whole cinema experience. At home, if a movie gets a little slow and I lose interest I can easily do something else (like play DS or drink a beer or, and stay with me here, play DS while drinking beer), but at the theater I am beholden to stay for the long haul. That shit ain’t cheap.

Still, despite this minor neurosis, I do dig movies, and, moreover, I dig movie music. This episode is all about that. So grab some overpriced popcorn and settle in. I’m’a turn the lights down low and break out the projector.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 26: Let’s All Go to the Movies [hosting provided by Antisocial] Size: 42.4 MB Running Time: 46:20

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah (feat. Beefy) – “Radio Free Hipster Theme”
If Radio Free Hipster was a feature film, this would be the opening credits.

Track 1: Richard O’Brien – “Science Fiction/Double Feature”
Say what you will about Riff Raff, that cat’s got some pipes.

Z’s 1st interlude: “A slightly belated edition of Radio Free Hipster.”
A certain compilation project put me a little behind schedule, but I am trying my best to catch up!

Track 2: Disfuntional DJ – “You’re the One That I Want in the Next Episode”
I really don’t want to love this song, but I do. I really, really do.

Track 3: Talons & Tea Leaves – “Halleluiah”
This is a Wrock duo formed by two cats from two different bands. Their style is really unique, and I find their sound fascinating.

Track 4: The Advantage - “Goonies II”
It felt wrong not to include this track, despite its noncanonical nature.

Track 5: DVDA – “Now You’re A Man”
“No; it’s probably the titties.”

Track 6: Dual Core – “War Games.”
Dual Core have a lot of tracks on their Zero One album that are movie related, but I settled on this one because it played so well against the rest of the songs in the set. It’s got such a thick and complex texture.

Z’s 2nd interlude: “If you’ve seen the film I’m sure you get the joke.”
If you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and watch Orgazmo. It’s delightfully quotable.

Track 7: Futuristic Sex Robotz – “Back to the Future.”
Hotel Coral Essex is an album that has, in my opinion, aged well. I still really enjoy it.

Track 8: The Cars – “Moving in Stereo”
Phoebe Cates. Need I say more?

Track 9: Lords of the Rhyme – “Black Riders”
I can’t believe I don’t play more LOTR. Shame on me!

Track 10: Emotron – “The Bethune Theory”
Angus is my hero.

Z’s final interlude: “But don’t hold yer breath or nuthin’.”
I’m trying to crank out this month’s podcasts as quickly as possible so as to get back on schedule. I’ve already started putting together the sets for ep. 27, and they are looking pretty damn good if I do say so myself.

Track 11: The Greenskeepers – “Lotion”
In lieu of providing my normal paltry post show notes wrap-up, I’m just gonna include this fan-vid for “Lotion.” I know everyone’s probably seen this but me, I figured I’d throw it out there just in case.



Now wasn't that more enjoyable than me prattling on?

More Nerd News in Brief

To say that I am chomping at the bit to read the new Potter book is an understatement. I am consumed. What will happen to Harry? To young Hermione? To poor Ron? To token dork Neville? We’ll all know in a couple of days.

I hear tales of spoilers available on the ol’ Intertubes, scanned pages and what-not, and I can’t help but wonder why?

Is the urge to ruin the ending for the rest of us – not to mention the urge to be sued within an inch of one's fuckin’ life – so overwhelming that this somehow presents itself as an option?

The world may never know.

• Hail to the Queen: Somehow, despite the time-consuming and, no doubt, nerve-wracking task of appearing on MTV Canada, Nursehella has found the time to craft what may well be the most fantastic nerdcore track of 2007 thus far. Peep “Geekend Freakout” over at PureVolume.
• Short notice: Nerd rocker Glenn Case and his band The Half Racks have stepped in (on very, very short notice) to play a show at The Comet in Spokane on Saturday, July 21st. If you’re in the greater Spokane area that evening and would like to have your socks rocked right off, I highly recommend attending.
• I’m pretty sure he’s from earth: Alienbobz has a shit-ton of new vids up of everyone’s favorite foulmouthed malcontents, Futuristic Sex Robotz, from their June 30th opening gig for the venerable mc chris. Take a look and enjoy the rampant profanity!
• Hopeless and Romantic: Church has a much publicized knack for finding weird shit. This, for example, is a veritable how-to guide for creating the perfect geek date using editing software and NES ROMs. I’m serious.
• What the fuck is this?: Just… what… what the fuck? Jaylyn found this and posted a link in a thread over at Rhyme Torrents, but, truthfully, I thought she was joking. She’s not. It’s real. Undeniably real.
• Slice-of-life: My main Australian homie Pink has taken up the challenge of producing a comic a day, but this ain’t no Family Circus. Nope, while Pinky is taking inspiration from the daily lives of his pals, he’s focusing on, shall we say, the more geeky and ridiculous happenings. This strip, for example, features an uncomfortable exchange, while this one is a delightful peek into the lives of yours truly and his noble brood.
• Welcome back!: Church, Matt, and I have been trying to figure out why the hell we didn’t come up with this final bit. I mean, c’mon, it pretty much writes itself. Plus we’re all old enough to appreciate both pieces of source material. Since I’m in full-on Hogwarts mode, I thought this’d be a fitting vid to wrap up with.

A League of Our Own

We live in a big ol’ country. As such, some things better serve the needs of American nerds when they employ a two-pronged approach, an east-west approach.

So, in that grand tradition - started by such geek mainstays as The Avengers and the Teen Titans - allow me to present to you the line-up for an event called Nerdapalooza Southeast.

This mini-festival, taking place on August 25th in Gainesville, FL (between the hours of 1:00 PM and 1:00 AM) at local watering hole Tim and Terry's, features the following acts repping our little corner of the US:

funky49
Bushido Stylus
Emergency Pizza Party
MagiTek
Rocket Propelled Geeks
MC Wreckshin
ProjectZero
mCRT
CSHC
Random Beats
Sir-Up
Select Start
High-C
Krondor Krew
and special West Coast guest ZeaLouS1

For those of us on the east side, this one is not to be missed!

Crack is wack!

Okay, I realize this isn’t at all entertaining, enlightening, or pertinent, but I feel the need to bellyache a bit. Y’all’ll indulge me, right?

Anywho, in August of ’06 I was shocked to discover that my beloved Nintendo DS Lite – a system that I purchased on launch day despite the fact that I had a perfectly functional DS Fat – had a nice-sized crack in the left screen hinge. Now this defect is far from unheard of with this particular model and it certainly didn’t effect gameplay, but my OCD compelled me to have it repaired.

Apparently repair for such a minor cosmetic flaw proved to costly or labor intensive, so Nintendo simply replaced my system with another unit. No harm no foul, right?

Well, unfortunately I just noticed that my replacement system now has a hinge crack all its own. I called NOA and they agreed to ship me another pre-paid label so that I can swap this system out for another non-cracked version via one of their service centers. I’m just sort of wondering if I’m gonna have to swap this one out in a year as well.

It’s kinda hard to get pissy when I’m essentially receiving a new handheld for my trouble, but I must use the power of the Internet to ask the following question:

There are tons of DS Lite owners out there, and a good many of them have suffered the unkind fate of a hinge crack, but am I the only two-time loser? Anyone? Bueller?

Insert Clever John Waters Reference

I don’t get out much. That shouldn’t exactly come as a huge surprise, but I felt like reiterating. And even if I did hit the club scene regularly, there is a definite dearth of dorky entertainment here-abouts. Thankfully, I have my own private army of geeked-out operatives who act as my eyes and ears when nerd culture rears its homely head in their individual locales.

Church is my Baltimore area point-man, and he recently caught an mc chris show at a neighborhood bar. He was even nice enough to do a little post-gig write-up.

Behold his nerdly musings:

Thanks to Z's NNIB post, I got a late heads-up that MC Chris was coming to town, and better yet, was playing up the street from me. I don't hit the clubs much these days, but I had to check this out. Ideally, I could get some video.

There were three opening acts, and I was deliberately trying to miss them. Partly because I had never heard of them, but also because that meant fewer parties who could object to me wandering around with a camera. I did the math: three bands, figure 30 minute sets and ten minute changeovers... Chris should be on about 11:00. As it turned out, I got there ten minutes later than I planned.

The Ottobar is set up a bit odd. The main entrance can be either the front or the side door. When it's the front door, as it was today, the entrance is right next to the stage. This was good on one hand, because the place was packed, but it made it hard to converse with the doorman. I asked when Chris went on and the doorman said something and pointed to a note taped up behind him, "MC Chris 11:05." Cool, I had only missed five minutes!

I asked if there were any objections to shooting video, and he ruffled through his papers. That was a good sign, since it meant the club didn't have a blanket policy. To my surprise, though, Chris apparently allowed only still photography. What? I double-checked. The guy has a fan video section on his web site. How are people getting footage? Nope, still photography only. Maybe it's some kind of nerd arts challenge. Once you snatch the footage from the club you get your blastic belt. I decided I was content with Padawan status.

I walked up to the stage, which took about four steps. There's a wall by the entrance that blocks the back half of the stage, so I was at extreme stage right. The stage is spacious, in club terms. The area directly in front of the stage held the most enthusiastic attendees, naturally. The back connects to an elevated room that holds the main bar and a few tables. That was well filled also. On stage left there is an odd balcony that is taller than the main room, so you can look down onto the main floor and stage area, but you pretty much have to be sitting. That was full as well. I noticed a bit wryly that some people with newer digital cameras were spending a LONG time framing their shots. (Congratulations, grasshoppers!)

Chris was bantering with the audience. I don't know if he had messed up, or if he just really knows Charm City, but he went into a spiel about how he saved his "A" stuff for California, and we only rated his "B" material. It's an odd way to play an audience, but it works in Baltimore, which has a bit of an inferiority complex. He then moved on to a hypothetical situation involving himself and some lovingly described pot.

Naturally he resumed his set with “Wiid.” He continued on covering a lot of older material. “The Tussin” got huge cheers, as did “Fuckin Up My Christmas” and “Fett's Vette.” He was cueing the audience to do various gestures, and everyone followed enthusiastically. When he got to “Dare to Be Stupid” he "fucked up" halfway through, restarted, and did it again seconds into it. I didn't catch the mistake, so I'm not sure if it's part of the act (screwing up a song about being stupid?) Either way, it's an interesting way to engage the crowd, and they were fully with him.

And then it was over.

An EN-CORE chant went up, while I double-checked the time. Half an hour? He's the featured act and it's 35 minutes long? No wonder I misjudged how long the opening acts were. And he only did one song from his last album? Waitaminute... that start time must have been Bar Time. Fuck! I missed twenty minutes of his act!

Of course, he got up for an encore. This seemed even more loose than his main act. He'd ask for requests, and work off that. He'd tease a song, such as the opening of Transformers theme, or abandon one that he wasn't liking. He had everybody do the robot, and then did “Robot Dog.” It wasn't a direct lead-in, more like he reminded himself that he had that song. It was obvious that he was having fun, because if he wasn't he'd just stop and start doing something else. It was very punk rock in that sense.

One girl was fading as the night wore on, and she became the object of some light ridicule from Chris, which she was thrilled by. One of the groundlings had made it up to the balcony and was managing to rock out while hanging over the edge. About this time I realized that his encore was lasting at least as long as a normal set. Is this planned? Does he just go on until he's tired? I have no idea, but I loved it. It's like flipping through the radio would be if Clear Channel only played MC Chris. It's a hell of a lot of fun.

Chris promised us a return visit in the fall to support a new album. He ended with “DQ Blizzard,” and the crowd went wild. (Note to other performers: good reason to have some of your stuff available free. Everyone in the club knew the song.)

I'm probably showing my age, but I was struck by the fact that after the show he just jumped back on stage, stuck his mike in his pocket, put his laptop in a backpack, and headed over to the merch table. (Yet another adjustment to my set-length math.) I was going to hang around afterwards and talk with Chris, but I had to be at work in about eight hours. I just bought a CD (free sticker! I love free stickers!) gave him a thumbs-up and a "Good show," and headed home.

-- Church

Postscript: After I got home, I gave the GF the recount - she didn't come along because she assumed I'd be "working" (filming) — and expressed my surprise at how many people were there. I attributed it to a "pent-up demand for Nerdcore in Baltimore." She found that phrase hilarious, and insisted that I include it in my review, so there it is. I'll grant that that was likely an overstatement, but it's friendly territory at least.

Nerd News in Brief

July is the quintessential month of nerd merriment. No shit. And in addition to all of the other nerdy happenings, this month also boasts the 25th birthday of the computer virus.

Ah, you sneaky little bastard; I knew you when!

• Poor Impulse Control: Geeky tattoos are a bit of a passion of mine. I love how they combine nerd iconography and the hipster ideal of body modification. It’s a marriage, says I: a lovely marriage of disparate forces. Oh, and this one is also a vague endorsement a certain nerdcore hip-hop documentary.
• Nerdcore Hits the Washington Post: Following hot on the heals of, y’know, all those other major media nerdcore articles, the Washington Post has just favored us with a little piece called "Geek Pride Blooms Into a Real-World Subculture." It hits all the highlights: mc chris, MC Frontalot, the Penny Arcade guys, and even Nerdapalooza. Good stuff!
• A funky Fire Sale: funky49 is known for many things; he raps, he produces, he sends delightful care packages and even the occasional drunken email. And right now funk is known for his unabashed poverty. Following his recent cross-country jaunt to open for mc chris, funk is a little light in the ol’ wallet. Of course he counters this the same way as any nerd: eBay. Why not check out his auctions?
• It ain’t exactly Herbology: My pal Church knew that I was hitting up the new Potter movie this weekend – it was good but not great IMHO – and as such, he knew I’d come outta the theater with a thirst to get my craft on. Sensing my need to bust out the ol’ glue gun, he directed me toward this Hogwarts-themed Instructables challenge. The more adept among you may want to throw your (sorting) hat in the ring for the contest, and the rest of us will busily paint our paper wands.
• Lingering Anti-Nerd Sentiment: Meanwhile, Matt passed on this piece about cops harassing defenseless (read: naked) nerds. I could try and explain the situation myself, but you’ve no doubt just went back and re-read the naked part, so lemme just throw in a link.
• The Zed Word: And lastly, ZeaLouS1 has made an appearance – albeit in voice alone – in the most recent Monster By Mail video. Listen to some Z1 and watch a dude draw a zombified comic shop owner. Good times. Good times.

Nerdcore hits MTV

Okay, so maybe not our MTV - MTV Canada - but that still totally counts! Dan dropped the knowledge over at the Rhyme Torrents forums yesterday, and the response was... a tad underwhelming. Suffice it to say that this is, perhaps, the biggest thing to happen to nerdcore as a whole in the ( admittedly brief) history of the scene.

Peep the unbelievable:

In case you ain't heard the word, Nerdcore is finally set to hit MTV. MTV Canada that is. A few weeks ago a producer from the network's "flagship" show, MTV Live contacted me and asked if I was interested in calling in and doing a phone interview about Nerdcore and the doc. He also asked if any nerdcore rappers lived in Toronto (home of mtv live) or planned to be there sometime this summer. If so, they would be interested in devoting more time to nerdcore and Nerdcore For Life.

Long story short, two nerdcore megastars, Nursehella and Ytcracker stepped up and volunteered to head to Toronto to do a live appearance....on mtv. Is that some crazy shit or what?

The producer described MTV Live as a more cerebral version of TRL. One of their gimmicks is to do remote interviews via webcam. That's how I'll be doing my interview. They asked me to send a copy of the trailer so they'll air at least a bit of that too. This whole thing is so absurd that I've been apprehensive to mention it to anyone in case it fell through. But the plans seem to pretty solid at this point. It sounds like they're even going to let me send a camera guy to get some behind the scenes footage.

Now I'd really, really love to see this episode as soon as possible or at least get a recap. Does anybody here get MTV Canada? It'd be great if parts of the show were to make it on to youtube long enough for we Americans to see it. And it would be even better if someone in canadialand could tape it or dvd record it for me. The show could probably get me a copy but that could take weeks and in my experience, when people say they're going to send you a copy of their show or footage, they usually forget to do it.

But anyway, yeah, Nerdcore on MTV Canada;
Tuesday, July 17th,
sometime between 6 and 8 pm EST.

Now move to Quebec and watch it.

More Nerd News in Brief

All in all, I’ve had a pretty fair week.

Sure, Li’l X. has taken to some late night hall wondering – always a dangerous hobby in the home of a rampant zombi-phobe – and E3 hasn’t yielded quite as much earth-shattering news as I’d’ve liked.

Plus, y’know, it’s not like I haven’t discovered yet another reason why Japan is cooler than the States.

But still, not a bad week at all, especially for Nerdy News.

• First-Person Gothloli: MC Handler scored a head-shot for nerdcore fans everywhere by not only getting some music in the newest iteration of open-source FPS OpenArena, but also helping to have a character named after our own Rai! Apparently, she has hover-boots. No good can come from Rai having an ability to fly; mark my words!
• A new dimension of awkward: In other gamer-centric news, Halo fans are no cooler than the rest of us. Ya hear that ya homophobic, face-humping ingrates? Cardboard Mjolnir armor ain’t gonna earn you any extra tail at the Greek mixer!
• WizRockStock: There’s something in the water in Washington. How else do you explain the high concentration of nerdy artists therein? Why, that state is even home to WizRockStock, which is a lot like Woodstock… only not so offensive to the olfactory sense… maybe. Anywho, check out Harry and the Potters at the Central Branch of the Seattle Public Library on Friday the 13th and The Parselmouths at University Book Store Mill Creek on Saturday the 14th.
• The Nerdcore Beach Party Massacre: The following Friday, July 20th, check out Optimus Rhyme at Alki Beach. OR will be performing at The End’s Beach House (2530 Alki Ave. SW in West Seattle), right across the street from the beach as part of the station’s summer festivities, and they’ll be doing it “BBQ style (think acoustic guitars and ocarina's).” The set’s only open to the first 40 folks who grab a spot, so come early and help the boys celebrate the release of their new album He Dies In Rocket School.
• Fuck-to-the-yeah!: The Advantage on tour! Check some high-quality game rock at one of the following events: 08/14 Salt Lake City, UT (Kilby Court); 08/15 Denver, CO (Hi-Dive); 08/17 Omaha, NE (Sokol Underground); 08/18 Minneapolis, MN (Triple Rock); 08/19 Chicago, IL (Beat Kitchen); 08/20 Detroit, MI (Magic Stick); and 08/21 Cleveland, OH (Grog Shop). Check their MySpace for more dates and locations.
• Nerdapalooza FTW: In other concert news, my brothers from the Nerdapalooza crew have just announced the final line-up for the nerd music festival to end all nerd music festivals. The (alphabetized) list boasts a most impressive array of artists:
  8 Bit Bandit, 8-Bit w0nder, 8bit bEtty, The Alphabetics, Beefy, Big Beat Battalion, Category, Decepticon-19, Drown Radio Therapy, Dual Core, Dungeon Master, Electro Static Discharge, Freezepop, The Great Luke Ski, Hot Waffles, Josiah the Messiah,
  Love You Long Time, MC Gigahertz, MC Lars, The Megas, My Parents Favorite Music, The OneUps, Optimus Rhyme, Pixelh8, Powerglove, Random, Rappy Mcrapperson, Robotronica, Rocket Propelled Geeks, Shael Riley, The Stunt Junkies, Super Barrio Bros, Temp Sound Solutions, Uncle Monsterface, Wordburglar, Worm Quartet, YTcracker, & ZeaLouS1
• Thank Church for This One: In lieu of further pimping this site's first ever free-to-download nerdy cover song compilation album, let me shift focus to another inspiring cover artist. Stand in awe as cutewithchris’s Chris Leavins recites the ever-poignant lyrics to T-Pain’s “Buy U a Drank.”

Nerdcore Undercover

The title of this compilation is totally misleading.

First off, not all of the submissions are hip-hop, and some of the artists themselves actually eschew the nerdcore label. Second, it’s not simply a collection of covers; it’s more a selection of reinterpretations ranging from covers to parodies to full-on rewrites.

Of course Nerdcore Undercover has a much more pleasing aesthetic than An Anthology of Song Reinterpretations by Artists That Are Nerdy But Not Necessarily Nerdcore. That shit just sounds silly.

I’ve been working on this compilation for the last few months, and I have to say that by “working on this compilation” I mean haphazardly emailing artists to ask for submissions. They did all the real work. This is their project. Clearly, I’m just here to hijack the credit.

Let me reiterate: a lot of hard work went into putting this release together, and very little of it was on my end. Guys like funky49 and Ultraklystron did more than their fair share by creating excitingly fresh covers and helping others do the same. Cats like Doctor Popular and My Parents Favorite Music scoured their back catalogues for old gems. Hell, artists like Shael Riley and Goondocks even went so far as to have brand-spanking new songs deftly recorded and competently mastered, almost as if this were a legitimate album and not just a downloadable freebie from some hick’s blog.

I truly can’t thank them enough.

The same can be said for folks like my pal Brüx (who tried to distill years of recording and sound engineering experience and instruction into a half-dozen emails for my benefit), my faithful comrade Church (who helped me wade through my text-heavy elucidations concerning the project), and my friends Dennis and Denika (who put together the cover art amid moving cross-country.) Truthfully, I owe tons of thanks to a bunch of people. So much so that I gush over them in the liner notes, so please read ‘em.

If you're still scratching your head concerning where, exactly, this album came from, that's totally understandable. I obviously didn’t do a lot in the way of pre-release promotion for this project, and that was due to a number of reasons.

The most straightforward is that I had to forgo an open submission process in order to limit the number of tracks I was dealing with. Even though mine was the easy part, there was no feasible way to get more than a single disk’s worth of music together and still meet my self-imposed deadline. I started down a list of nerdy musicians – beginning with those with which I already had a working relationship – and then stopped when I got close to 20 interested parties. As a result, a lot of really deserving artists got left out, and that’s the only thing about this comp that saddens me.

The most compelling reason, however, is that I’ve developed a recent allergy to hype. Okay, so maybe I’m exaggerating, but with all the publicity nerdcore’s been getting of late I thought it might be fun to work in secret, to simply focus on putting together what I hoped would be a really fun CD and not worry about making too much preemptive noise along the way.

That’s what this is all about: fun.

I had fun putting it together, and you can tell the artists had fun with their individual submissions.

I hope you have fun listening.

Moreover, I hope you hear some material from some folks you know and love as well as some you might not be so familiar with.

Mostly, I hope that some part of this compilation strikes a chord with you and reminds how much fun it is to sing someone else’s song at the top of your lungs as you motor down the highway with the windows rolled down.

Thanks for reading, and happy listening.

-- Right-click and Save Link As --

Download Nerdcore Undercover (in its entirety)

Individual track downloads available for the finicky and those poor bastards still on dial-up:

1. My Parents Favorite Music – “Just Try and Sue Us”
2. Beefy – “Move Somethin’”
3. Shael Riley – “Umbrella”
4. mc chris & Modd Jobs – “Dare to Be Stupid”
5. Nursehella – “Keep It Real (Represent My Nuts)”
6. funky49 – “Intergalactic Pizza Party”
7. Glenn Case - “Alex Chilton”
8. Goondocks – “Posse Needs Upgrades”
9. Ultraklystron – “Daydreamin’”
10. LogicOne – “You Don’t Know Me”
11. ZeaLouS1 – “Paparazzi”
12. funky49 – “Everything (I Own)”
13. Drown Radio Therapy – “Vapors”
14. myf - "Paid in Full (feat. Kal-L & DJ Snyder)"
15. Shael Riley – “I’m Yours”
16. Dual Core – “What Have We Done”
17. Optimus Rhyme – “Train in Vain (live)”
18. Rai – “Shiki No Uta”
19. YTCracker – “Summer Girls”

Brilliant front cover
Equally brilliant back cover
Tiny iTunes cover

And don’t forget the liner notes!

Nerd News in Brief

Last week: Transformers. This week: Order of the Phoenix.

I’ve got high hopes for the latest Potter movie. First off, the book itself was an excellent read, and that definitely helps. Plus, I find it hard to believe that it’ll be plagued by quite as many ridiculous product placement spots as Transformers.

Then again, you never know. I’m sure they’ll work a plug for the new iPensieve in there somewhere.

• I’m in yer projects choosin’ their titles: Last week I got an interesting email from my pal Beefy. He was bummed to report that his summer tour plans had fallen through, and, truthfully, I was a little saddened as well. And yet, he was happy to report that this extra free time will permit his new album, formally called Fighting Crime but now entitled Rolling Doubles, to be pushed up from September. That album will be “sellable and whatnot and released by Nerdy South Records.” It will also be accompanied by a free album called – wait for it –The Adventures of Beef Thompson: Private Dick that will “collect sample-heavy songs … recorded since Tube Technology as well as a private investigator story for the ages!” I win! I fuckin’ win!
• The show that was: Of course I’m not gonna let this opportunity slip by without mentioning the recent mc chris show in Eugene, OR that featured HP supporters Beefy (whom mc recently described as “polite, gracious, [and a performer who] nailed his set, and didn't come off like a tool”), the lovely and talented Nursehella, and the equally lovely and talented funky49. funk himself was nice enough to do a really in-depth write-up about the show and its surrounding events that he posted over at his blog. Take a few minutes and check it out.
• Musical weirdness: In other nerdy music news, Shael Riley just dropped a cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” I’m not even joking. Listen for yourself.
• Even weirder: Church found something too strange not to share. I know: shocking! ;) Apparently, PowerFX has just released “Vocaloid Sweet Ann, a Saucy Virtual Vocalist Who Sings Your Words and Music.” It gets better; Annie’s got a MySpace. Is it me, or does this whole thing reek of some obscure perversion? Some very, very specific fetish? Oh, just me, huh?
  
• Back to reality: The fine folks at the Sedgwick Avenue Alliance had their own good news/bad news scenario this week. The good: they've added 2 new artists to the group. One being the undeniable YTCracker, and the second being “a very talented rapper/singer/musician from Chicago by the name of Savant.” Unfortunately, they also lost founding member, Q. Ledbetter due to a current inability to contribute.
• W-R-O-C-K in the U.S.A.: Wrockers Harry and the Potters have some show lined up in the nerdy Northwest this week. Check ‘em out July 9 in Spokane, WA - Caterina (All Ages); July 10 in Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom; July 11 in Tacoma, WA - Tacoma Armory; July 12 in Olympia WA - Olympia Timeberland Library; and July 13 in Seattle, WA - Seattle Public Library.
• Mama said knock you out: Probably the biggest nerdcore news of late came from the Nerdcore For Life camp this weekend; nerdy perfection, thy name is NERCORE HIP-HOP LIVE AT THE 2007 SAN DIEGO COMICON! Oh yeah, kids, Capcom approached Dan Lamoureux about this early in the year thanks to all the buzz generated from the YouTube trailer. And, after some deliberation, a “full-on nerdcore concert” was settled upon “and eventually one concert turned into two.” The pertinent info is as follows: “two Nerdcore concerts featuring YTCracker, Beefy, The Sucklord, Ultraklystron, Nursehella, and The Former Fat Boys….in a boxing ring…at the Capcom booth…in the middle of the San Diego comicon….during peak afternoon hours.” Huge, huge news! Congrats all around, guys. Make us proud!
• Sparing for change: With that in mind, Beefy is currently trying to get some scratch together to make the long trip down the coast. Originally Beef had planned not to attend, what with the tour and all, but since that turned into a no-go he’s very fortunate to have this opportunity to play at the Capcom booth for the Nerdcore For Life event. But don’t think of it as charity; think of it as a purchase! “[T]o anyone who donates $5 or more [Beefy] will e-mail him/her [the] song "Tilt" from [the] upcoming album Rolling Doubles. If you donate $10 or more [he] will send you both "Tilt" and "Ball Pit".” Sounds like a solid investment to me.
• “They have not told me that this is going to happen…”: Today’s closing clip comes from my boy Matt. I had actually picked another piece of mc chris footage, but, upon closer inspection, I do believe that this is one packed with more nerdy goodness. Enjoy!
  

Inclement weather

Due to yesterday’s little power outage – and thanks to a helpful suggestion from my man Church – I’ve elected to postpone the official release of the Hipster, please! no-longer-so-secret cover song project until Tuesday.

Sunday didn’t seem like such a great time to launch and album. And Monday? Well, Monday is Monday. So Tuesday it is.

The artists involved seem cool with that, and that’s good enough for me. Thanks for bearing with us through this minor logistical snafu. Your patience will be duly rewarded. Trust me.

Technical difficulties

Hi, all. I am currently blogging - beer in hand - from the back yard of scenic Chez Z. An unpredictable round of summer weather has caused some recent power outages, and I'm afraid that's gonna delay the release of the comp a bit. Sorry to disappoint, but it should be up tomorow. I was hoping shit would be resolved before midnight, but the chances look slim. :( Again, I am truly sorry.
--Z.

More Nerd News in Brief

Michael Bay’s Transformers is equal parts slapstick, horny teenagers, ham-handed politics, slow-motion collateral damage, sketchy science, even sketchier dialogue, and old-fashioned Hollywood racism.

Was it a fun summer film? Sure! A good film? Eh… maybe. But was it a Transformers film? Nope. Not in the slightest.

Our beloved “robots in disguise” were, for the most part, merely a convoluted plot device.

In addition, the movie was full of characters that didn’t do anything and set pieces that existed simply for the sake of destruction. It was a summer popcorn move, plain and simple.

And yet I had to see it. Because I am a huge dork.

• Front to the rescue!: My pal Matt from Headphone Sacrament recently brought to my attention that our own MC Frontalot has made a guest appearance in Jonathon Rosenberg's Web comic Goats. His purpose within the narrative is to protect and defend all nerds. Just like in real life!
• Put ‘em on the touch screen: Not to be outdone, my man Church countered with news that Suicide Girls has just dropped some exclusive iPhone wallpapers. ‘Cause, y’know, that particular piece of tech was sorely missing tattooed boobs.
• For those oh-so-fresh days: Down Underdogs, MetaMystiks Inc., LogicOne, Zealous1, Kal-L, and Grandmaster Pink – otherwise known as pretty much half of the recently formed Sedgwick Avenue Alliance – have just dropped a new track called “Heavy Flow Day.” I could tell you of its glory, but why not take a listen for yourself? You’ll be glad you did.
• Lather, rinse...: The final preview track for nYgel’s forthcoming nerdcore mixtape has been officially leaked… which is damn near oxymoronical. You can check out “Repeat Again (feat. Cyanide Soda and MC Shinigami)” at Shin’s MySpace. I could tell you more, but then I’d have to kill you.
• Moving on up: If you’re in Brooklyn this Friday and wanna get tanked with some real nerds, Shael Riley has got your hook-up. Mr. Riley and his lady-friend Ivy are moving out of their old digs in Bed-Stuy and into a new place in Williamsburg. In honor of the move, they’re “throwing an all-expenses-paid, booze-bash at our soon-to-be old place and you […] stand a very good chance of being someone [he] would like to invite!” The party starts at 5:00 on Friday, July 7th and goes until everyone leaves. If you'd like to come, shoot Shael a PM through MySpace and he’ll give you either A) the specifics or B) a heart-rending rejection message. If you go, have a drink for ol’ Z.
• Below the Sea-Town: And lastly, my main Seattle home-skillets the Goondocks, have just released the video for their fantastic track “1st and Yesler.” The clip was recorded over the span of 2 months across 18 locations, and was directed by Raffaele Riconsciuto, Jr. And it is awesome-sauce, although I reckon you already knew that.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 25: Cover Me

Scarface, 1983’s Al Pacino cult classic, is really just a remake of the 1932 film of the same name. Think about that for a minute. When’s the last time you saw Paul Muni’s mug on a t-shirt?

I reckon what I’m getting at here is that sometimes a remake can be more influential (or at least as influential) as the original. Certainly, this isn’t always the case. Some remakes pale in comparison. While other beg the question why the hell do that again anyway?

But, within the realm of music, the remake, the cover, has always held a special place in my heart. This episode explores that love with the help of some nerdy artists and their reinterpretation of others’ material.

Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? You decide.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 25: Cover Me [hosting provided by Antisocial] Size: 37.2 MB Running Time: 40:41

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah (feat. Beefy) – “Radio Free Hipster Theme”
Someone needs to cover this track. It’s my favorite.

Track 1: Able-X – “OutFox’d”
There seems to have been some debate of late concerning Jesse Dangerously, his skills, and his attitude. Personally, I’ve got tons of respect for Jesse both as an artist and as a person.

Z’s 1st interlude: “ I’m a big fan of covers songs, parodies, reinterpretations of all sorts.”
Which should go without saying, but, y’know, I said it.

Track 2: Beefy – “Roommate From Hell”
In this track, Beefy plays the parts of both narrator (MC Lars) and roommate (mc chris). Please save your weight jokes for a later date.

Track 3: Ultraklystron – “Nerdcore For Life (feat. Beefy)”
Covers are a big part of 2nd gen nerdcore hip-hop, and to hear Karl cover Beefy’s track is pretty entertaining in and of itself, but the quality of the cover and the participation of Beefy himself make it even more so.

Track 4: Shael Riley – “Bizarre Love Triangle (Peculiar Affection Isosceles)”
Shael has a ridiculous number of cover available, and I have yet to find one I don’t like.

Track 5: The Lonely Island – “Bing Bong Brothers”
“And then I’ll show you my penis.”

Track 6: Switchblade Kittens – “I Fought My Mum”
Hearing the Kittens cover The Clash covering The Crickets may be too much for some people. I am not among those people.

Z’s 2nd interlude: “He thought I’d dig it, and I definitely, definitely do.”
I think the biggest perk surrounding doing this podcast is that folks often direct me toward tons of cool-ass music that I might otherwise miss. Thanks, and keep it up!

Track 7: Dread Zeppelin – “Whole Lotta Love”
Un-Led-Ed < 5,000,000 Tortelvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong. I’m just sayin’.

Track 8: The BossHoss – “Hey Ya!”
Just so you know, “Country Trash Punk Rock” is their designation, not mine.

Track 9: Jesus H. Presley – “Doctor Rocks”
Jesus H. Presley is surely in the running for best artist/group name ever!

Track 10: The NESkimos – “Double Dragon 2: Cutscene”
I don’t recall ever playing Double Dragon 2. I can’t imagine it broke any new ground.

Track 11: Glenn Case – “Let’s Stay Together”
This classic track was going to be Glenn’s submission to my forthcoming compilation, but Glenn was nice enough to record an exclusive track just for me, and by request, no less!

Z’s final interlude: “The reasoning behind this particular ep. is the following announcement.”
Could y’all tell I was reading that announcement? My wife says everything I say on this podcast sounds scripted. It’s because I’m using my try not to sound like such of a goddamn hick voice. It's quite ineffective.

Track 12: Totally Radd! – “Runaway Train”
Totally Radd! have a new EP. They also have the greatest MySpace profile pic in the history of the world.

And there you have it, folks. Thanks for listening. I hope your appetite was properly whetted for the covers comp, and I hope you hit me up again this weekend to check it out. I honestly can’t thank the artists involved enough for contributing.

Nerdy musicians are good people. They’ll talk with you at shows and IM with you on MySpace and sometimes they’ll even let you use their songs for a poorly planned compilation album for your sub-standard blog. I am embiggened by the simple fact that they lower themselves to associate with me.

Nerd News in Brief

Query: why is that when Sony launched a $600 gaming console we were all up in arms about the exorbitant price, but when Apple sold us a $600 cellular phone we were totally cool with it?

There’s a bit of disparity there. I’m just sayin’.

And now, my fellow consumers: Nerd News in Brief.

Come correct: What band of nerds dare summon the most hallowed landmark in hip-hop history? Only the most deserving: Random, Zealous1, MetaMystiks Inc., Jesse Dangerously, Maja, Grandmaster Pink & Diabolik, LogicOne, Down Underdogs, Dirty Taz, Q.Ledbetter, Siver, Valentin, and C-Enes. Collectively known as The Sedgwick Avenue Alliance, these sixteen rappers and producers have recently joined forces, and rap will never be the same. Your hip-hop education begins now.
El nerdcore: Nerdcore hip-hop (and the Nerdcore For Life documentary) got four glorious pages worth of coverage in the latest issue of Spanish magazine Calle 20. To hear Dan tell it, “What started as a little interview about a quirky little indie film evolved into a really expansive piece. I always try and plug a lot of artists when I do an interview but this reporter went buck wild and worked in a ton of people.” You can check out the whole issue via the magazine’s Web site, and even download it in PDF.
Legitimacy, here we come!: On the subject of Web sites, it looks like our pals from Nerdapalooza have finally got their official presence up and running. You can catch all announcements concerning the project via the new blog, and Hex Warrior has been kind enough to remind me that the biggest of big announcements, the finalized band roster, will be posted on July 9th.
Brief respite: It looks as though our anguished cries have been heard and headed. Well, sort of. SoundExchange has recently proposed a $2500 cap on advance payments for Internet radio stations licensing and The Digital Music Association immediately agreed, but “only if the term for the new arrangement were extended to 2010 — or, preferably, forever.” Chalk one up for the good guys? We shall see.
This Blog is Not Punk Rock: MC Lars’s newest project, a DVD “jam-packed with over an hour and a half of […] old home [videos], backstage antics from his Bowling for Soup and Simple Plan tours, a full episode of his college TV show, a special behind the scenes feature on the "Ahab" video, and complete audio commentary” is now available for pre-order. I wonder if you’ll ever be able to purchase it at your local Hot Topic? That would be deliciously ironic.
Super Shinier Metal: Optimus Rhyme’s much anticipated He Dies in Rocket School is now available! The album can be downloaded from Dig Station, or you can buy the for-real CD from the fine folks at CD Baby. How good is it? Do you even have to ask?!
More Gabe. More mc. More madness.: Nerdcore News is at it again, this time Gabe and Syn caught up with mc chris at Seattle’s Chop Suey shortly before Saturday’s gig. Wackiness ensued.