Gone Fishin'

Hi, folks.

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone for your support during these very difficult last few days. Your thoughts and prayers and condolences have served to remind me that I am, in fact, a full-fledged member of this geeky musical community, and not just the idle observer I sometimes feel myself to be. You have helped me more than you could know, and certainly more than I could properly express. So while thank you doesn't exactly cover the full scope of it, it's all I've got. And I give it to you, my friends.

As I've previously mentioned, the family and I are heading down to the coast for the remainder of the week. It's an annual pilgrimage that we make each fall, and, honestly, I find it fortuitous that it came along when it did, as I can surely use a little idle time.

While I don't plan to be blogging whilst on vacation, I will be making a concerted effort to update my Twitter regularly, so if you want to know the manner of foolishness in which I am currently engaged feel free to check me out over there. Likewise, should you wanna holler at me, I'll be auto-forwarding all my direct messages to my cell phone. So don't be afraid to shoot me a tweet if you feel the urge.

Oh, the glory of the digital age!

Radio Free Hipster Ep. 50: The People and What They Want

You guys are the greatest!

I mean that. That's not meant to be pandering or sharply ironic; it's just intended to express my gratitude.

This podcast and this blog stay afloat because, for whatever reason, you folks keep coming back for more. And while I don't wholly understand what it is about my hillbilly ways that continually attracts your interest, I feel fortunate that something does.

Thanks for giving me something to do with my spare time, and for proving that even a lowly nerd can find likeminded individuals through the power of the internet.

Download Radio Free Hipster Ep. 50: The People and What They Want [hosting provided by Antisocial] Size: 45.7 MB Running Time: 49:56

Show Notes:

Intro: Baddd Spellah – “Radio Free Hipster Theme (feat. Beefy)”
If this episode is all about special requests, consider this one mine.

Track 1: unknown – "Smurfs Theme (Techno Remix)"
This one is for funky49. He is, apparently, a Smurfs fan.

Z's 1st interlude: "Each song I play is a special request from a special listener."
Meaning, essentially, that you guys did my job for me this time around.

Track 2: 2 Skinnee J's – "Irresistible Force"
This one is for Alex. And also for ADeadHeart; she didn't ask for it specifically, but I know she digs it.

Track 3: Attackslug – "Earth Defense Force"
As requested by DON VITO, the glue that holds RhymeTorrents.org together.

Track 4: Superpowerless – "Swimming With Sharks"
MisterB requested some Superpowerless. I obliged. We cool like that.

Track 5: mc chris – "DQ Blizzard"
This one is my personal favorite classic mc chris track. It's going out to my brother Shael Riley in NYC, long-distance dedication style.

Track 6: Truckasaurus – "Supercopter"
Krys actually requested MC Router's "Unwired" or some Truckasaurus. For some strange reason, I couldn't locate my copy of the former.

Track 7: Dual Core – "Fantastic Four Remix (feat. Beefy, Wheelie Cyberman, and YTCracker)"
La Bete requested some "obscure Dual Core." That's sort of a tall order, so instead I gave him this great remix from the new Lost Reality album.

Z's 2nd interlude: "DJK, otherwise known as Ken Denmead."
You can hear more of Ken's work at his site.

Track 8: No Kill I – "Captain's Log"
For my pal Church; he's our obligatory Trekkie.

Track 9: The Hungarian Horntails – "The Cave"
I couldn't find the exact Horntails track that Snidget wanted, so I substituted this one.

Track 10: Ultraklystron – "Fashionable"
Antisocial says this is his favorite Ultraklystron track. I can see why.

Track 11: Chromelodeon – "Polygon Sun"
With the dissolution of Optimus Rhyme, I join Anthony in the My Favorite Band Broke up Club. We meet the first Tuesday of the month.

Track 12: IllGill – "Hatin'"
This one's for Thugmasta J of Magitek. It's always nice to see east coast artists give some love to those on the west.

Track 13: Marc with a C – "Classic Country Wasn't Multitracked"
mCRT is all up on Marc with a C's musical jock. As well he should be.

Z's final interlude: "Check out Radio Free Hipster's sister podcasts."
Just as there are a number of other blogs that I consider to be in a similar vein to my own Hipster, please!, so are there other podcasts that I consider tonic to the nerdy musical message of RFH. There's HipTrax, of course and Letters vs. Numbers, the Gamewave podcast, and new addition Vagina Deep in Podcast. There are countless others, but those are the ones that came immediately to mind.

Track 14: The Grammar Club – "Alternate Ending"
This was an anonymous request. I like that. it gives us that air of mystery we've been longing for!

And there you have it folks: 50 episodes of Radio Free Hipster. I know it's really just a drop in the bucket compared to bigger podcasts, but it's quite an achievement in my eyes.

Next episode will be a return to (free) form, but hopefully I'll have some nice surprises in September. There've been a number of requests for a dedicated chiptune/VGM podcast, which should be doable, and I'm also going to try and get Church and Matt to help me celebrate a new grassroots holiday I'm calling Drunken Podcasting Month.

If you're a podcaster and would like to participate it's a simple two step process:

1. Get drunk.
2. Record a podcast.

I reckon it might catch on.

Wheel O' Mad Scientists

I arrived home from work this evening to find my mailbox positively overflowing with cool (free!) shit. I received the 10 year anniversary retrospective, a DVD sampler, and a swank bumper sticker from New Orleans's Consortium of Genius, as well as a copy of Wheel O' Exgirlfriends and a fine selection of buttons and stickers from my Tennessee brothers My Parent's Favorite Music. Plus, Steffo let slip that their new album Testing the Waters is almost here. Great news and a great haul!

Totally commercial

Last month I got a really nice email from the guys over at Rocket Propelled Radio. RPR, as you well know, is a 24 hour geeky music internet radio station that has just moved to some fancy new digs. The crux of this missive was that the station has a longstanding policy of offering free advertising for nerd-friendly music sites, and I was given the opportunity to submit a 30 second MP3 advert for Hipster, please! to be tossed into the rotation. Unfortunately, I have been totally bereft of ideas concerning what to submit. As longtime readers can certainly attest, promotion is not my strong suit, so it is to you, faithful friends, which I turn in my hour of need.

Ideas. I need ‘em. Gimme gimme.

Sharing is caring

Not to state the painfully obvious, but I have not done a great deal of blogging this week. There are a number of reasons for this, but two stand out at the forefront.

First, I have been doing a lot of “micro-blogging” over at Twitter. That service is addictive, not unlike heroin or Animal Crossing. It occurs to me as I type this that it might be a good idea to put one of those Twitter update blocks here Hipster, please! That way you too can enjoy the utter minutiae of my life. I, you see, am a giver.

Secondly, I have been enjoying a number of new and exciting things. Sights and sounds that are both nerdy and delicious. I will now share these items to the best of my ability. As I said, I’m a giver.

Earlier this week, I sang the praises of Seattle hip-hop outfit Southside. No sooner had I done so than a parcel arrived at my doorstep containing both Southside’s Please Southside Don’t Hurt ‘Em – an album that is tough on the outside yet full of flavor and substance, like a fine baguette – and the delightfully titled Gangsta Nerd by Southside rapper Thunderball’s other project Metaforce. Both are masterpieces worthy of the geek rap legacy of Sea-town. Expect tracks to begin creeping into the podcast by month’s end.

I also spoke highly of Trier Music – who will, I must reiterate, be appearing two times on the forthcoming Old Nerdy Bastard compilation. Trier likewise responded by hooking me up with some of his amazing soundtrack work. Both of these, created under the guise of Mindscape Music, can be purchased at a very reasonable price along with a set of related tabletop supplements from DriveThruRPG. These too will make their way into my podcast shortly.

My hot streak continued when I received a message from Derek Dobson, otherwise known as Computerization. Derek shared with me his debut album, a work that can be described as lo-fi indie pop with shades of electro. The site compares it to acts like Postal Service and The Magnetic Fields, which I can totally see. Derek also crafts custom songs for a nominal fee, the cost of which includes a free copy of the album in question to boot. Not surprisingly, these tracks will also be included in future editions of Radio Free Hipster.

Changing gears into the non-musical, I have also become a fervent fan of internet sitcom Dice Jockies after simply viewing the pilot. Writer/producer Charlie Brown caught wind of my tattoo at Boing Boing and rightly assumed that I’d be down to watch a web show centered around the lives of four of New Orleans’s dorkiest denizens. I’ve embedded the premiere episode below for your viewing pleasure.

Yep, I'm a giver.

Xmas miracle

Holy flurking schnit! Yesterday, Hipster, please! got a mention over at Tiny Nibbles for, oddly enough, namedropping Violet Blue in that day’s NNIB. Yes, I am well aware that me referencing Violet referencing me referencing her is kind of meta, but realizing that an actual writer is aware of my existence is easily the best Christmas present I received this year. (Although the slot 1 card my wife got me was pretty boss too.)

Here’s hoping that all of you had an excellent holiday as well!

Making my money work for… us

So apparently - totally unbeknownst to me - I recently took part in Paypal’s Spring promotion. I won’t bore you with the details, but bottom line: I just got a $15 credit to my account. Suffice it to say, that shit didn’t last long.

(I know right now most of you are wondering why, exactly, you should give a damn, but bear with me; it’ll become relevant momentarily.)

There have been a few notable nerdcore releases of late, and, sadly, I’ve been a little lax in picking them up. I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to remedy these oversights.

Therefore, I just ordered “Secrets from the Future” by the venerable MC Frontalot and “International Metamorphosis” by those delightful friends of Hipster, please! The Goondocks.

But wait. There’s more.

I also bit the bullet and picked up Optimus Rhyme’s first album. I really needed a copy in my collection anyway.

The grand total out o' pocket for this mini shopping spree? $23, which ain’t bad at all for three disks I know I'm gonna love.

This, of course, means that multiple tracks from each of these releases will be making their way into upcoming editions of the podcast.

That way we all win!

Baby Learns to Crawl

Hi, folks.

Well, I have some good news and some bad news.

The bad? My Top Nerdcore Artists feature isn't quite ready yet. I'm sorry. I know I said I'd post it on the 25th, but I have a couple of last minute tweaks that need to be made to help flesh it out.

Which brings me to the good news: Dan (of Nerdcore For Life) was nice enough to give me free reign over the various pictures and videos he's collected of nerdcore artists in action to help dress the piece up. The fact that his team's got pics and footage of damn near everyone, coupled with nerdcore artists' penchant for self-promotion, means that this feature will have some pretty pictures and helpful links to accompany my misuse (and outright abuse) of the English language.

Big up to Dan for helping out! If y'all haven't already, be sure to friend his film over at MySpace.

Of course, this still leaves the minor issue of how, exactly, to celebrate Hipster, please!'s first birthday sans Nerdcore Top 10 .

I hope you have suggestions, ‘cause I got nuthin'.

I mean, in a week that's seen real life Kryptonite discovered in Serbia and the mysteries of a Galleon-based economy unfurled – not to mention that little matter involving the Pope loosing all of those tiny, unbaptized souls from limbo – I truly have nothing of genuine consequence to add.

And so, I shall celebrate this day in the same manner as my own birthday; I'll crawl into a dark corner and weep silently.

You know how I do.

Thanks for being here, and for supporting my little foray into nerd music and culture for the last twelve months. It means more to me than I could ever hope to put in words.

Hipster, please!: your source for nerds news and interviews… and counterintuitive jubilation.

Nerd News in Brief

So what did you do this weekend?

The wife and I spent most of our time (and energy) in a continuing endeavor to potty train Li'l X. Unfortunately, despite the combined efforts of me, Em, Elmo, and MC Frontalot, he's still got a-ways to go. There were a lot of false alarms, a lot of “uh-ohs,” and a ridiculous amount of mopping. Such, I suppose, is a parent's lot in life.

And now that you've all had an uncomfortably close look at the Family Z's biological functions: Nerd News in Brief.

• Best. Cover. Ever.: Nerdrap Apostles ComputerScienceHardCore (comprised of Conyeezy and Inubito) have just dropped their album Rule #1… Make it Not Suck! The only remaining question is, of course, is the music as good as the album art? I'm gonna give that a yes, but I encourage you to download it and see for yourself.
• And if that's not enough: Speaking of releases, shortly forthcoming from my friends at Game Music 4 All is a music compilation to rival the gods. The gods, says I! The Music Exp comp. will feature everything that is good and pure about video game music including chiptunes, classical reinterpretations, and, of course, the rock. More information and a final release date are forthcoming.
• But wait, there's more: Also looming in the none-too-distant future is a new album by nerdcore giant Beefy . The Beefster recently let slip to me that his follow-up to the amazingly good Tube Technology should be dropping in June, and I'm letting it slip to you mostly because I am a shitty friend who can't keep a secret. The title is still up in the air, but I'm pulling for a gritty, film noir, detective-themed album called Beef Thompson: Private Dick. He's not gonna do it, but I'm pulling for it nonetheless.
• Clothe thyself: You have nipples; the secret's out. And what is there to do but cover up those filthy chesticles? Nuthin'. With this in mind, I humbly suggest that you peep the glory that is the new Benjamin Bear & Betty Rebel t-shirts. Aren't they nice? Wouldn't you like one? I thought so. I mean, if you gotta cover up your shameful parts, why not do it in style?
• Chi-Town gets its geek on : Last week a nerdcore army stormed the streets of Chicago. Frontalot, MC Lars, Optimus Rhyme, Former Fat Boys, and a legion of fans tore Abbey's Pub to the ground and danced upon the splendorous ruins. Dan was nice enough to provide some pictures of the geek-tastic slaughter.
• Wow: And lastly, a word of thanks to all of you who've contributed your lists to the Nerdcore Top 10 project. The response thus far has been staggering, as evidenced by the fact that I am, y'know, staggered . The lists have run the gamut in both scale and content, and I genuinely appreciate the thought you've all obviously put into ‘em. Y'all rock.

Calling all dorks.

There are three phases within the life of the blogger.

In the first, you consider the Top 10 list. In the second, you mock the Top 10 list. Finally, you accept the Top 10 list.

I have recently reached the acceptance phase.

With all that’s happened in the sphere of nerdcore hip-hop over the past year, I can’t help but feel this damnable urge to innumerate, this hankering to list in ascending order. I try to deny it, but still it haunts me like a wispy ghost on a rainy night or a popcorn fart in a crowded movie theatre.

The problem, of course, is that such lists rarely hold water. They are insubstantial. Yet, while I sat lamenting the fact that such a project could never be definitive, my pals Dan and Matt reminded me that it could, in fact, be collaborative.

And so I beseech you, oh nerdcore community to aid me in my quest, to help me uncover the Top 10 Nerdcore Artists of All Time.

Now admittedly, the phrase “of All Time” is a bit of a misnomer. Since we’re not, at present, on the cusp of the end of time – despite what your minister may tell you – that all-time greatest shit is pretty hollow. It essentially boils down to the far less weighty “so far.” And while “so far” lacks that true ring of authority, it’s a bit more accessible and a fair bit more accurate.

But this matter of semantics is neither here nor there.

All I’m looking for from you is a list: a simple list of your personal top 10 nerdcore artists or groups. You can do so right here, at the related thread over at Rhyme Torrents, or (if you’re the secretive type) via the handy email link in the sidebar.

According to my trusty desk calendar, it is, at present, Wednesday, April 11th. I will be actively accepting lists, through any of the aforementioned channels, until next Wednesday, April 18th. After that time I will begin to weigh the collected data, and I will post results the following week.

Aside from your own submission, all I ask is that you be truthful to yourself. Your individual criteria for inclusion are your own business (as are your likes/dislikes and personal prejudices), but I hope you’ll at least give this a little bit of thought.

At least as much thought as a request from a diminutive hillbilly that writes about nerdy rap genuinely warrants.

Concerning Anniversaries

Next month marks the legitimate one-year anniversary of Hipster, please! Sure this blog was around for a bit before that, but it was mostly just me fucking about, a lonely man-child trying to find his place in this big ol' Internet.

Once I settled on a tangible purpose, I began working. Alone.

If you'd asked me back then where I'd be with this project a year later, I would've remarked the same: alone.

I would've been greatly mistaken.

Some people actually read this blog. It's a fact I try to deny, but I know it to be true. And though their number is far from legion, they are – you are – good, decent, nerdy people whom I appreciate greatly. But there's more than that.

Hipster, please! has become, I'm both pleased and surprised to say, a legitimate team effort. Fine folks like Beefy and Antisocial provide me with storage space and bandwidth for Radio Free Hipster for no other reason than to help out. I'm also fortunate to have new friends like Denika, Church, and Matt who share with me their music, pass on tips concerning nerd news happenings, and are always quick to hip me to any new artists they happen to come across, and old homies like my boy Brüx helping to keep me on top of events that I couldn't possibly attend myself.

I guess what I'm saying is that Hipster, please! wouldn't be possible without all of you. Whether you're a reader or a direct contributor, I humbly thank you for your time and for making the past year so damn much fun. You're too good to me.

But there's one person who helps more (in a way that is both more palpable and more nebulous) than anyone else, and that's my wife Em. Now, as a rule, she doesn't read the blog – hell, the odds of her actually reading this are slim, at best – and she has only the vaguest idea what, exactly , it is I do when it comes to my writing. Still, she supports me, even though the concept is foreign to her.

She works harder than I do and makes more of a financial contribution to our little family, but she never gives me any shit about it. As I'm whiling away my lunch hour in my little office, ignoring my real duties in favor of trading emails with Dan or YTCracker or adjusting my podcast's track list, she's busting her ass dealing with new mommies and even newer babies. In more ways than one, her hard work affords me the opportunity to do this – writing about music – which is what I long to do.

Interestingly enough, our five-year wedding anniversary is today, and, even though she probably won't see this, it seemed important to mark that celebration as well.

It's just nice to realize that the solitary task that I set for myself is not nearly as solitary as I thought.

I'm no braggart. I don't like to boast, but I am full aware that I'm a very lucky man.

Hopefully, I'll find some novel ways to celebrate Hipster, please!'s first birthday. I've got a couple ideas in the works already.

And as for celebrating the wedding anniversary? Five words: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie.

What can I say? Y'all know I'm a huge nerd!

Tonight, tonight, tonight / Oh, I'm gonna make it right

I just wanted to wish my friends the best of luck with tonight's Seattle event.

This very eve, the Columbia City Theatre will play host to some of my favorite voices in nerdcore hip hop. MC Tanuki, Nursehella, Ultraklystron, and PC Speaker (of Futuristic Sex Robotz), will help Beefy, MC Router, and Doctor Popular kick off the Mediocre Tour in style.

To those of you performing: break many-a leg, my friends!

To those in attendance: please take plenty of pictures.

Why I love Vagrant Aesthetic (and why you should too.)

I don't get paid for this.

That should go without saying, but alas I am… y'know… saying it.

Hipster, please! is not some money-making machine. I don't run ads and I don't have sponsors. Shit, the closest thing I have is the Play Asia affiliate link in the sidebar, and that only affords me a modicum of store credit for any items purchased using said link. (It's been used in this way exactly twice, in case you're wondering; both times by my mother at my own urging.)

By the same token, it's not exactly a black hole for my disposable income either. Thanks to services like Blogger and Gmail and the ample free storage space/bandwidth provided by cats like Antisocial and Beefy, I manage to keep this project going with minimal investment on my part. I pretty much just pay for the domain, and that's not exactly an exorbitant expense.

As I've said before, being a nerd music blogger is its own reward. I get to interact with interesting people, I get the skinny on new tracks and projects before many other nerdcore fans, and I've even been namedropped on a couple of occasions. Truthfully, that's enough to keep my spirits up and to remind me that the scene itself is full of real, living, breathing individuals, even though the bulk of which I know primarily as pseudonyms and URLs.

Still, sometimes I get little additional perks: a CD here, a sticker there. Only for me they're more than little perks; they are delightful bite-sized nuggets of validation.

I say all of this so that when I tell you that a veritable ball of awesome arrived on my doorstep a couple of weeks back, you'll know I'm speaking true.

My new pals Dennis and Denika are crafty, and I don't mean that in a Beastie Boys sense; I mean that they are grandly creative people who produce tangible goods. Such goods are – and I stretch my vocabulary-muscles simply to find a proper way in which to impart this to you – totally fucking boss!

This Arizona couple sells an assortment of interesting and admittedly bizarre items via their Etsy store (a service of which I was embarrassingly unaware prior to their introduction), the chief of which has become adorably grotesque stuffed zombie figures. Dennis and Denika recently decided to begin taking custom orders, a service which allows regular individuals to have made-to-order zombie plushies crafted for a nominal fee.

What's more, they decided to launch this line by crafting a zombified version of little ol' me! Given my self-professed fear of all things zombie, you'd think I would be offended, but you'd be wrong. I was delighted, flattered, and genuinely touched.

The thing I try to impart through this site (with varying degrees of success) is that nerds aren't simply people who love Star Trek or play D&D or excel in calculus; they are interesting, vibrant, creative individuals who just happen to have interests, attitudes, and skill-sets that aren't exactly congruent with the norm.

In my mind, the thing that sets the “nerd” apart may be rooted in interest – or, better yet, in the intensity of that interest – but it is complimented, nurtured, nourished through just this sort of unbridled creativity.

I appreciate the work of Vagrant Aesthetic in the same way that I appreciate the works of musicians like Drown Radio, Year 200X, or Stovokor; not simply because it is different for the sheer sake of novelty, but because it's an honest (and original) representation of the people who create it. It is, in a very real sense, a visible manifestation of the nerd pride that I haphazardly promote.

It's not about weirdness for weirdness's sake, it's about good-natured eccentricity.

Dennis and Denika did something really nice for me, and I just wanted to thank them all public-like. If you've got a moment and think you might be interested, go take a look at their wares. I don't think you've ever seen anything quite like ‘em.

And, should you be in the market for a personalized zombie plush, be sure to hit them up.

We're off to see the Widget

Hipster, please! readers are the best readers in the world.

I’m not being conceited when I say that. Shit, I’m still a little uncomfortable with the fact that I actually have readers, but the stats don’t lie and neither do the comments. I’m light-years away from the Penny Arcade level of mass devotion, but there are folks out there who read every post and download every podcast, and, though you are far from legion, I appreciate you one and all. (I even appreciate those of you who just wander through intermittently.)

The relatively small number (I hesitate to use the phrase “Faithful Seven,” as that one’s already been called) of you is actually a bit of a perk within itself. Most of you aren’t merely faceless IP addresses, but genuine, jovial personalities with whom I interact regularly. Whether it’s the very nerdcore artists that I blog about, my fellow nerdy writers, or new and refreshingly creative forces that share with me their time and their talent, I genuinely enjoy your company and I humbly thank you for your time.

The Internet is a big, lonely place, but I feel like I’ve got real allies here. Moreover, I often feel like you give so much and ask so little.

Anyone who’s read more than a single post here is familiar with the name churchhatestucker. Church makes delightfully nerdy videos using stock footage, geeky tunes, and a wealth of personal creativity. He also keeps me abreast of news on many fronts. Hell, he even goes out of his way to comment on my posts. Even the boring ones!

Church decided, completely without compulsion on my part, to craft the world’s first Hipster, please! Widget. It works as follows:

“It ... shows the last five headlines. Clicking them opens the article in your browser. It was created with the beta of Apple's upcoming Dashcode application. As I get used to Dashcode, I'll probably be adding functionality, most likely some way of tapping your new RFH feed.”

If any of you possess both a Widget-friendly OS and the mad urge to populate your desktop with live links to my musings, this is surely the best way to do so.

Enormous thanks go to Church for putting this together on my behalf. To misquote Wayne’s World, I am truly unworthy.

Y'all're too nice to me. I mean it.