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The Nerdapalooza Tapes :: Physical Copies are in!

I was honestly having one of the worst days in a long while yesterday, and much to my surprise, what do I see in the mail, but a handful of the live Nerdapalooza 2008 CDs, lovingly dubbed The Nerdapalooza Tapes. I apologize for the grainy image to the left, but as I'm not making the big bucks, the best I could supply in a pinch was a photo from my cell phone.

NONETHELESS, the physical CDs are in and looking amazing! They were recorded live during the July 4th weekend of 2008 at the biggest Nerdapalooza to date. EMPulse Records did the recording and mastering of the album while Non-Existent Recordings are handling production, and all the beautiful art is by our phenomenal graphic artist, KiwiX. It hosts 16 remarkable tracks from 15 of our 30+ artists. We were unable to capture a track from each artist due to technical issues, a problem we are remedying for next year.

Did we mention that all of the profits of the sale of said album goes straight to this year's charity Child's Play? That's right! Not only was Nerdapalooza 2008 a charity show which raised $2000 for Child's Play, we're still doing our best to gather up money through this album. Here's the track listing (along with one free download!):
  1. Sudden Death :: Pillagers
  2. Rocket Propelled Geeks :: Don't Leave
  3. Schaffer the Darklord :: Nerd Lust
  4. Krondor Krew :: Death Machines
  5. MC Frontalot :: Front the Most
  6. Random Encounter :: Still More Fighting
  7. Maja :: Transformer
  8. CSHC :: Rule #2
  9. Wordburglar :: The WB
  10. ZeaLouS1 :: Headshot (ft. Benjamin Bear)
  11. Killer Robots :: I Am Robot (You Are Not)
  12. Zombies! Organize!! :: F-Bombs and 1-Ups
  13. Math the Band :: blue skies and blue...
  14. Uncle Monsterface :: Thank You Gary Gygax
  15. Harry and the Potters :: Save Ginny Weasley
  16. MC Frontalot :: Nerdcore Rising (ft. Schaffer the Darklord)
Get your copy today!! You can purchase it off of EMPulse Records' Store, and rumor is that it'll be making its way to the iTunes store soon!
Requiem for a Nerdy Dream
For this week's edition of the Nerdapalooza Weekly, we've decided to do a showcase of the photos and videos from Nerdapalooza 2008.  I was toying with several titles surrounding "Reflections of Nerdapalooza", "Shadows of Nerdapalooza" etc.  It wasn't until Genoboost of GM4A suggested "Requiem of a Nerdy Dream" that I found a title that I felt really captured the feel of the zine.

Too late for it to be feasible, I asked a few people to retell their Nerdapalooza experience.  I came to the conclusion that I needed to tell what I could remember.  With people like MC Gigahertz, Genoboost, and int eighty of Dual Core crashing on my couches, I was fully immersed in the Nerdapalooza experience.  A pre-party at A Comic Shop with Wordburglar, Marc with a C, Whoremoans and a few others was a memorable show that left people thoroughly excited for the rest of the weekend (and very content from the beer and pizza).  Partying with a MisterB and Z. of Hipster, Please! while watching robots, ninjas, zombies, and pirates come to life and perform for us was like living a dream.  Our graphic artist, KiwiX, described it best as "the internet is here."  Seeing avatars come alive and rock together was a thoroughly mind-blowing experience.

The month following this past year's Nerdapalooza, the phrase "post-Nerdapalooza depression" floated around.  PND was succinctly defined by Z. as "a disorder marked by malaise, listlessness, and the feeling that you’ve just left your 300 closest friends behind."  Working on this zine has caused PND to surface again in me:  listening to the tracks, watching the videos, and perusing all the photos has made me long for that weekend more than anything else.  It was more than a weekend where the nerds rocked; it was a weekend where the nerds ruled... where we were able to let our inhabitions free and be proud of our obsessions, joys, and quirks.  My only hope is that you can understand that joy and come join us at this year's Nerdapalooza.

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Related Links

Geek Dad :: The Weekend That Was

Blender :: The Geek Squad

Nerdcore Faux Life :: Mini-Nerdapalooza Documentary

Official Nerdapalooza Slideshow
Z. of Hipster, Please! reading his prepared introduction for MC Frontalot :: Photo by Jen Shumate
Rapping pirate, Captain Dan, and rapping ninja, Masurao of Krondor Krew, setting aside the pirate-ninja beef for good :: Photo by Jen Shumate
The [hex] Report
Where to start, where to start?  This was a pretty AMAZING week in nerd music, if you ask me.  I had to keep track of everything with a notebook as events came around!!

First off, I have a follow up with our good friend, Pixelh8, from last week.  SINCE the interview, he has released a teaser trailer for the "Obsolete?" show next month which actually features a sample of one of the songs.  Along with the teaser he mentions that attendance at the show will also include a Q & A with him, a tour of Bletchley Park, as well as visiting Colossus.  Man... some days I think I was born on the wrong continent...  You can view the entire teaser and read more about "Obsolete?" here as well as on Pixelh8's blogs, where he gives more information on the show!

Next up, we have Shael Riley, who recently did a cover of Postal Service's "Such Great Heights."  I thoroughly enjoy both versions, but watching the Shael Riley interpretive dance is what made me like his version more.  You can download a copy here!

Next up, we have my man Genoboost from GM4A who has been very busy as of lates.  He has not only scored a gig with The Start Screen to do an article on music inspired through video games but has also put together a highly-rockable compilation album of music, with a very gorgeous cover.  Strangely enough, both the article and compilation are called Hey! Listen!  If it wasn't such a damned accurate title for both projects, I'd chastise him.  NEXT TIME, GENO!!  NEXT TIME!!

Speaking of amazing bloggers, Z. of Hipster, Please! recently released his latest episode of Radio Free Hipster entitled Buccaneer Banzai.  With a piratical theme one would have to be a ninja to scoff at, it interviews none other than world premiere rapping pirate, Captain Dan.  I highly recommend this podcast as a way to ward off scurvy.  I'm praying that joke is not overdone...

This next bit is pretty old in terms of the internet, but here's hoping a few of you find it useful!  The unstoppable YTCracker stumbled across the website of the Dekalb County Police Department.  When he came across the site it had "banging beats" in midi format put up on each page.  "Impressed", YTC decided to make an entire album dedicated to the DCPD, and created the "dcpd bangerz, vol. 1" album, downloadable here.  I have quickly fallen in love with this album, showing once again the kind of wit and talent that YTC can demonstrate. 

Continuing on the nerdcore branch of free releases, Random has just released a free version of Mega Ran 9, his latest album that is in conjunction with Capcom.  Along with that, while perusing my daily comics, I saw on Three Panel Soul a link to an interview with the hero of Robot City.  I love it when my hobbies collide!

For those that don't know, Christian Bale went a little... crazy on the scene of the new Terminator film when someone stepped into the scene.  Whether or not you feel the outburst was justified, The Mae Shi decided to do a tribute to Xtian, as they refer to him.  You can read more about it here, or you can listen to said tribute here.  We played it on Talk Nerdy to Me on Wednesday and could NOT stop laughing!

Back to free stuff, local video game tribute troupe, Select Start, have decided to make their self-titled release free to the public!!  Quite the amazing gift to nerdom, you better go download it NAOW!!

Finally, I leave you with an awesome video that Geno shared with me today.  I know I'm totally late on the Audiosurf train, but I hope some of you find this of entertainment.  Behind this link is a mystery video game cover band played on Audiosurf.  Only one way to find out.  Clicky?

And with that... this [hex] Report comes to a close.  Much nerdy love!

[hex]
Trog of Killer Robots with a disconcerting grin :: Photo by Jen Shumate
YTCracker, Whoremoans, Myf, a member of Spamtec, and ZeaLouS1 going insane during a freestyle session :: Photo by Jen Shumate
Schaffer the Darklord was the 2008 showstopper :: Photo by Jen Shumate












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