Nerdy Show

My fellow Nerds, a crisis is upon us. As some of you may have heard, a recent high court ruling in the UK has greatly jeopardized the future of the Chiptunes movement. The hardware integral to creating music from current and retro gaming systems is now illegal. This aggression will not stand, man – and we won’t sit by idly while our bothers and sister across the pond cannot pick up their Gameboys and bleep bloop in public. …Did that come out wrong? NEVERMIND.

In response to this ruling, Nerdy Show has created Fight the Power, an organization and movement dedicated to fighting for the rights of nerd musicians and the right to make nerd music of all kinds. Read the Fight the Power Manifesto, join the Facebook Page and find out what you can do to join in the fight.

In this episode we elaborate on the plight in the UK and talk with British chiptune musician, Pixelh8 about his feelings on the ruling, what he’s doing to turn the tide, his upcoming projects, and how BBC America butchers British television. We’re also joined by chiptune beatsmith: DJ RoboRob, calling all the way from Iraq, and yo-yo master and chiptunes rapper: Doctor Popular. All that plus a surplus of cool video game news, Mike gets weirdly (and disturbingly) political, and crackpot Russian conspiracy theories – oh boy!

As though we needed to further emphasize their relevance Chiptunes just recently got its own showcase at PAX Prime!! We also want to give a shout-out to a handful of WPRK DJs who are taking up the Fight the Power cause and dedicating their radio shows to Chiptunes awareness: Flying High in the Mushroom Kingdom, Marc with a C‘s radio show, the Real Congregation and the Freaking Geek Show are doing a combo show for five hours of pixelated political partying! You can catch Flying High in the Mushroom Kingdom in the taint of this Friday night/Saturday morning at 1 AM – 3 AM, and the Freaking Geek and Real Congregation mashup next Monday night/Tuesday morning from 1 AM – 6 AM. These are, of course, Eastern time, so plan accordingly!

This won’t be the last you see of Fight the Power! We have big plans including not just for fighting hate on the chip community, but also fighting big corp wherever they stick their head in the nerd’s world.

 

 Episdoe 29 :: Fight the Power Button [133:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tracks:

1. Aurora (Meet Me In the Strars) :: Anamanaguchi
2. OutBrk :: Sabrepulse
3. Computability Love :: Pixelh8
4. Spiral :: Pixelh8 *NERDY SHOW EXCLUSIVE*
5. Before I Go.. :: .:ikanetik:.
6. The End :: Firebrand Boy
7. Harder, faster, Stronger, Better (DJRoboRob) :: Daft Punk
8. So Say We All :: DjRoboRob
9. SysOp :: ComputeHer
10. Artificial Ocean :: Plain Flavored
11. Crimson Dreams (ft. Doc Pop & Beefy) :: crashfaster Purchase Album
12. Hassle the Dorkening (Doc Pop Rare Demo) :: MC Frontalot *NERDY SHOW EXCLUSIVE*
13. Bedbugs (ft. YTCracker) :: Doc Pop

Contest:

Show Willrow Hood fanlove WIN Star Wars prizes!

Links:

• Read the Fight the Power Manifesto
• The Fight the Power! Facebook Page
• Pixelh8 on E24, BBC News
• Pixelh8 on BBC Look East, BBC Radio 1
• Pixelh8 BBC Look East, Obsolete? at The National Museum of Computing
• Pixelh8 BBC Look East, Obsolete? PART 2
• The BBC article on the court ruling
• Wired‘s Geekdad article on the court ruling, “Death Knell for Chiptunes”
• Check out Doc Pop’s Mighty Boosh App
• Watch the BioShock Infinite trailer
• VGChartz’s article on what the US Military thinks of playing as the Taliban in Metal of Honor
• Crazy Russian conspiracist
• A picture of the “Pixelh8 One 128k”‘s control board
• Real life Koopa skeleton
• Brian’s art for Captain America: The Fighting Avenger
• Homebrew game, Colors, now a legit App
• The Colors gallery
• Lisa Frank parody art

As some of you may be aware, there was a recent UK high court ruling which very well may negatively impact the future of the Chiptunes movement. We at Nerdy Show are staunch supporters of all forms of nerd music, and Chiptunes is definitely no exception.

We will be devoting next week’s episode to talking about the state of affairs but also about a new project we’re working on called, Fight the Power! You can read more about it on that page. You can also get more updates over on our Fight the Power! Facebook Page, where we’ll be posting some educational links building up to the episode’s release next week.

Thanks for the support, and help us Fight the Power!

Hey Nerds, what do you chee-choo-chee-choo into?  A truck?  A sports coupe?  A microscope? A dinosaur with robot Down’s?  No matter what kinda doohickey you’ve got folded up inside you, if you’re more than meets the eye, or a robot in disguise, this episode’s for you.

The Transformers might be reeling with the ill effects of their super-shitty mainstream blockbuster films, but that doesn’t mean that America’s favorite Cybertronians are down for the count – hell no!  This past week was the annual Transformers celebration, BotCon and the release of an EPIC Transformers video game, War For Cybertron, that does what no Transformers story has ever done before: chronicle the planet-dividing civil war between Autobots and Decepticons.  It’s never the wrong time to show your love for something way cool and nerdy, but even better when the stars align so you can do it right!

In this episode we talk about our favorite incarnations of the Transformers, the glory of the 1986 animated film, and much more – including what secret things Nerdy Show transforms into, and interviews with indie comics cool guy Jeffery Brown author of the astounding Transformers parody Incredible Chang-Bots, and Dr. Vern of sci-fi rock band, Sci-Fried whose music is coming soon to both Nerdapalooza and a similarly-themed major cable network.  All that plus SCIENCE and… a girl!?

 

 Episode 021 :: More Than Meets the Eye [134:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Tracks:

1. Transformers Theme :: Lion
2. Cybernetic Circuits :: Optimus Rhyme
3. When I Was Your Age :: George Hrab
4. World’s Worst Drum Programmer :: Shael Riley
5. Go Chewey Go (live) :: Steve Poltz
6. First World Problem :: MC Frontalot
7. Saturday Night on SyFy :: Sci-Fried
8. Fifty-One :: Sci-Fried   [Nerdy Show Exclusive]
9. Punch-Out!! :: Emergency Pizza Party
10. Dare to be Stupid :: “Weird Al” Yankovic
11. Mind Games :: Devo
12. Nothing’s Gonna Stand In Our Way :: Spectre General

Episode 021 Accessory :: The WTF of The Headmasters

We get into some pretty zany Transformers talk in this show, and it’s cool as hell, but this… this is in a world all it’s own.  An accessory to the action robot that is Episode 21, where not only do we get into some more hardcore Transformers talk, but we attempt to figure out one of the most confusing and ill-explained pieces of Transformers lore: The Headmasters.

Accessorize Episode 21 HERE

Featuring

• Purple – Extended Remix ::  8-Bit Bandit

The Links:

• Note mentioned in the episode but AMAZING: 12 Gadgets inspired by Transformers
• The music of the sun
• The sounds of the “god particle”
• Details on Plato’s secret codes
• Sci-Fried’s YouTube Channel
• Jeffery Brown’s Website
• Documentary on “Mechaphilia”
• The Wiki article on The Headmasters
• Paul is Undead on Amazon
• Unskippable: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
• Nude mom plays Rockband
• How to get Thomas Dolby’s new EP

On this week’s action packed episode of Nerdy Show, we have a very science heavy theme, surrounding SPACE!! IRONY!!!* We have our good pal Pixelh8 coming back on the show to discuss his upcoming performance this weekend where he will be performing at the British Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University for the Science Fair. His performance relies heavily on the barely noticeable sounds of the machinery used to observe the barely noticeable sounds of space. That’s right, we have a Nerdy Show Exclusive for this episode!! We also discuss our extra early viewing of the movie Kick-Ass and our thoughts (SPOILER: WE ENJOYED IT!!)

Some big news that hex almost forgot to mention is that his baby, Nerdapalooza, was nominated for the First Annual GeekDad Awards! Now, we wouldn’t dare demand you to vote. But Brian would. VOTE FOR NERDAPALOOZA HERE!!!

*(btw, the irony is that space surrounds us…)

 

 Episode 007 :: Nerds in Space [199:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tracks

1. The Poetry of Reality :: Symphony of Science
2. Lando Explains :: LittleHorses
3. Mary Anning :: Artichoke
4. Sensation of Space :: Beatdrop
5. A is for Arthur :: Pixelh8
6. Observations End Credits :: Pixelh8
7. Cosmic Carl :: Dr. SETI
8. Moon Beats :: Cyan
9. Final Fantasy 6 :: Chromelodeon
10. Sweepstakes (ft. Mos Def and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble) :: Gorillaz
11. The New Dork (Entrepreneur State of Mind) :: The Pantless Knights (ft. Grasshopper)
12. Snowflakes are Dancing :: Isao Tomita

Links

• Fangamer’s Chrono Trigger-Inspired Merch!
• TRON LEGACY Trailer
• New Encrypted Secrets in Portal
• Portal’s New Ending
• VIDEO of SKINPUT!!!!!

Space Links

• Cap’s Article on the Voyager Golden Record
• All music and images from the Voyager Golden Record
• Jack Horkheimer Star Hustler: August 19th-25th, 1985
• Neptune All Night & Star Hustler: Voyager (at 3:09)
• Jack Horkheimer: Star Gazer Official Website

OK Go Links

• OK Go’s Rube Goldberg Machine video for “This Too Shall Pass”
• An interactive floor plan showing how the machine works
• A Behind-the-Scenes Interview with the Brains Behind OK Go’s Machine
• Wired Article on the OK Go video with a behind the scenes documentary
• Cap’s interview with OK Go Bassist, Tim Nordwind
• Cap’s review of OK Go’s Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
• Syyn Labs: High Voltage Debauchery

The Nerdy Boys are back for a new season of Nerdy Show. Brian may be in Virginia but, thanks to the magic of telecommunications, he’s back with Cap, Triforce Mike, and Hex for the new season WITH A VENGEANCE!! Join us for Cap’s in depth thoughts on Mass Effect 2 and first impressions of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Hex tries to bring culture to the group, Mike responds with dick jokes, and Brian faces off with the Lawnmower Man. It’s amazing!

 

 Season 3 Episode 01 :: Season 3 With a Vengeance.mp3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Tracks:

1. Ecstasy of Gold :: glomag
2. Around da Chip :: Daft Bits
3. The Golden Age of Video :: Ricardo Autobahn
4. The Electric Flute :: halc
5. System :: Super Barrio Bros
6. Voodoo Sabotage :: The Klemptones
7. Keyboard Cat :: MC Shammers
8. Hysteria :: Microchip
9. Stickerbrush Symphony Cover :: ORBiT-8*
10. Autobeat Airbus (Live) :: Optimus Rhyme
11. Blue Then Red :: Doug L
12. A Glorious Dawn (Alien Syndrome mix) :: Symphony of Science

The Links:

• Mr. Plinkett’s 70-minute Episode I review
• The IRL Dragon Quest bar
• Drawn Together Movie trailer
• New Weird Al Movie?
• Cosmic Bingo GRANDPA DANCEOFF!

For those that have yet to listen to the 2009 Final Boss episode, you can peep it here, but below is the list of the Top 20 Nerdy THINGS of 2009, according to the Nerdy Show crew.

1. Pixelh8′s Obsolete? performance at Bletchley Park
2. The Protomen’s Act II: Father of Death Release Party
3. Geoff Johns’ opus, Blackest Night
4. Fangamer
5. The rise of I Fight Dragons
6. Nerdapalooza 2009
7. Turtle’s Forever
8. Capcom’s fan music support
9. Red Dwarf – Back to Earth
10. Water on the Moon
11. Augmented Reality
12. Dark Reign
13. Shael Riley & the Double Ice Back Fire’s Songs from the Pit
14. J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek
15. Atomic Robo Vol 3 : The Shadow Beyond Time
16. The 8-Bit Weezer Album
17. Tron Legacy trailer
18. There Will Be Brawl
19. Illegitimate Marvel Children
20. Marc with a C’s Chicken Pox and Star Wars Guys

There were a bunch of notable mentions… but for those, you’ll have to listen in!!

 

 Episode 18 :: 2009 Final Boss [143:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you the Final Boss of 2009!  In this episode we unleash our list of the Top Twenty Nerdy THINGS of 2009, in a VERY specific order. Movies, video games, people, music, concepts- if it’s nerdy then we judged its worth.  Listen in to find out what we thought were the best of the best. This episode is also the finale of Nerdy Show Season 2. We’ll be back sometime in January, so keep those RSS feeds warm and an eye on our twitter and facebook as we fine-tune and improve the Nerdy Show battle wagon. Thank you for listening and making this season out-freakin’-standing.

 

 Episode 18 :: 2009 Final Boss [143:06m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The Tracks:

1. Chicken Pox & Star Wars Guys :: Marc with a C
2. The Very Best :: Taylor Wade
3. Island in the Sun (Belmont’s Revisal) :: videogame orchestra
4. Voyager :: Zombectro
5. Happy XMas (War is Over) :: Shael Riley & the Double Ice Backfire
6. Splash Woman :: Random
7. Do the Bruce Campbell (Live at Nerdapalooza 2009 ft. Schaffer the Darklord & ZeaLouS1) :: MC Lars & YTCracker
8. Platform Wars (Live at Nerdapalooza 2009 ft. the great Luke Ski & int eighty of Dual Core) :: Devo Spice
9. The Faster the Treadmill… :: I Fight Dragons
10. The Hounds :: The Protomen
11. More Math :: Pixelh8
12. Contains mild Euphoria :: Pixelh8

The Links:

• RetroZone Xmas NES Game
• Midnight Riders – “All I Want For Christmas (Is to Kick Your Ass)”
• Zelda Reorchestration Project (ZREO) and the ZREO download link
• First Dead Space 2 screens in 3D!
• New Mass Effect 2 Trailer
• A Complaint to Mario Bros. Plumbing
• Newlywed Sex Twitter

THE 2009 TOP 20 LIST REVEALED

Celebrating the chiptunes genre/movement (whichever you prefer to call it), the Nerdy Show team invites British chiptunes maestro, Pixelh8, on the show to give us his take on it. We also have the amazing return of the incomparable Brian Clevinger! We missed him so much!!

 

 Episode 12 :: Blips & Chips [165:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1. Love Foolosophy (live at Blipfest 2007) :: virt
2. FXLP :: Mr. Spastic
3. Showdown in the Disco :: Pixelh8
4. THEN GOTO 1980 :: Pixelh8
5. You Were Born to Save the World :: Pixelh8
6. Winter Death :: Fighter X
7. Chuck Norristendo :: Superpowerless
8. *7 :: 8 Bit Bandit
9. Running in the 90′s :: Sabrepulse
10. Island in the Sun (Belmont’s Revisal) :: VideoGame Orchestra
11. The Price Is Right :: Doctor Octoroc
12. Hipster Hoax :: Shael Riley & the Double Ice Backfire
13. Heads Up, Hearts Down :: I Fight Dragons
14. Spacetime Before Suppertime :: Jay Tholen
15. Hexadecimal Genome :: Bit Shifter
16. Itty Bitty Pigeons :: Supercommuter
17. Helix Nebula :: Anamanaguchi

Links we discussed:

Halloween Make Article with crazy flame shooters
Esquire Magazine Augmented Reality Article
Secret of Monkey Island Deleted Extended Scenes
Hugo Chavez is a fucker

In this episode, we’re still recovering from our respective Halloweens and have a very spooky episode of Nerdy Show. There are talking dogs. We also finally give our full expose on the 2009 International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality that our sci-tech news guy, Jon West, attended.  The practicality of virtual plate cats is discussed.

Also, in this episode, Cap gives a full review of Dragon Age: Origins, thanks to our sponsor, Play N Trade.

 

 Episode 11 :: Haunted Hangover [122:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1. Do They Know It’s Hallowe’en? :: N.A.H.P.I.
2. Vampire Snap :: Joshua Morse
3. Haunted Train :: Hellion Sounds
4. Six Sick 6 :: LeeDM101
5. …And in Self-Loathing and Despair, She Found Wrath :: LuIzA
6. Die Die My Darling :: 8-bit Weapon
7. Battlefont! :: Schaffer the Darklord
8. You Were Born to Save the World :: Pixelh8
9. Paint the Town Red :: Loren Bouchard
10. Juese Belmont :: Disk Masta Smokabitch
11. Halloween is Cool :: Jackson
12. Little Girls :: Uncle Monsterface

Entire Mashed ‘n’ Slashed Release
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And check out this All Hallow’s Eve-themed music video that Cap helped produce for The Party Boys, last year: