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Chad is a geek. Although Star Wars is his first geek love, Joss Whedon is most definitely his master now (especially with the recent changes the flannelled one has made to the original trilogy). If it’s genre, especially if it’s British, he’ll at least give it a chance. Comics (Spider-Man, Batman, Green Lantern, anything by Garth Ennis or Ben Templesmith), movies (Bladerunner, The Fifth Element, The Matrix), TV (Firefly, Buffy, Fringe, Warehouse 13, even Castle), books (LotR, Harry Potter, anything by Neil Gaiman or the FDO, Scott Sigler) – it’s all good. He’s even been known to sing along with musicals (Repo the Genetic Opera, Dr. Horrible, Buffy). In short, he’s a sucker for a good story, and especially loves good writing (and good visuals (and good music)).
Last August, I featured an introduction to nerdcore via some of the founders of the genre. This time, I’m going to feature a two-part series of Next Generation nerdcore (or at least nerdy) rappers. These artists have all hit the scene in the last couple of years, proving that nerdcore isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Having finished my first full year of writing this column, I figured it would be a good idea to put out my own “Best Of” list for 2011. So, without further ado, here’s my personal Top 15 Geek Music Releases for 2011.
We all know Zaboo has had his problems with his mother, and that they go way back to his childhood. In this prequel comic, we learn how he finally escaped from her in order to pursue Codex, who he has wrongly interpreted as flirting with him in The Game.
So, it’s that time of year again. I do have to admit that it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas when the weather is in the 60s. I’m beginning to get used to it, though. And, of course, I always have music to help put me in the Christmas spirit.
From appearances on Jimmy Fallon, Conan, and San Diego Comic-Con to his full album appearing on NPR’s First Listen series, Childish Gambino appears poised to make it big with his unique blend of nerd and hipster hip-hop. Camp is his first commercial release on indie label Glass Note Records.
Ultimate Songs from the Pit takes ten new tracks and adds them to six remastered tracks from Songs from the Pit. The production quality of the album is clear; it should be since the engineer has also worked with MC Frontalot and Godsmack.
I admit I was a little afraid that this album wouldn’t live up to the high bar set by Coulton’s previous music, but I’m glad to say that that fear was completely unfounded. This album is great!
And we round out this three part series with some new releases from Scrub Club, an independent record label for (mostly) nerdy artists. Everything they put out online they give away for free, but they take donations.
On November 1, MC Frontalot played in my town of Gainesville, FL. Before the concert, I was able to get an email interview with him. What follows in my review of the show (which also featured several Scrub Club artists) and that interview.
Last week I featured six new releases. This week brings us six more. Once again, there’s some explicit language in some of the albums, including track names used in the reviews (though fewer this week than last).
