Summon the Kraken Not Stirred

Kraken Not Stirred is a nerd music act which plays various genres and write songs that cover many nerdy topics.  This minion of a deep sea monstrous creator sings songs about science fiction, fantasy, computers, conventions, and general weirdness.  Their newest album is Robots vs Monsters.  It is about robots and monsters performing about their plans for the destruction of humanity.  Each side is represented by different music styles; electronica for robots and metal for monsters.

They each get a few solo tracks to themselves, showing off their skills.  They also fight in rap style battles about who is superior.  They do finally join forces with the mighty Kraken to destroy all the humans and the world.  I real feel good story.

Personally I like the rock of the monsters more.  Just more my style and the robots are a little too monotone for me, but the robots do have a dance party feel.

Something I would recommend for people who want new Halloween music or fans of either electronica or harder rock who want some nerdy music that is for everyone.

You can buy a digital album for $6, physical CD for $8, at Robots vs Monsters T-shirt for $20, or get a World Domination Pack with the album, t-shirt, and button set for $28.  T-shirt and album cover art done by Peter Chiykowski of the web comic Rock, Paper, Cynic.

Kraken will be appearing at a book launch party at Bakka Phoenix Books in Toronto, Canada this Saturday at 2pm with other music acts and webcomic creators.

Mega Ran Goes For Extra Credit

Mega-Ran, a.k.a. Random, has had quite a year.  Touring across the country, hosting his wrestling podcast “Mat Mania”, appearing on an episode of Smackdown.  In all that he has found time to release a new album “Extra Credit.”  It features producers DIBIA$E, Charlie Mumbles, K-Murdock, and other.  Guest vocals from J-Live, Sammus, Ceschi, and others.  The album includes new tracks and a few new arrangement of older ones.

While this album keeps the storytelling and craftmanship Mega Ran is known for, I feel it lacks some of his nerd edge.  The songs are good deal more with more mainstream topics.  It feels to me a lot more laid back as a result with tracks challenging our views of social media, aging in Hip-Hop, the music business, education and much more.  He does manage some nerdier tracks such as Mockingbird based on Harper Lee’s novel.

As for my favorites, the chorus to Bliss of Solitude featuring Homeboy Sandman is my new theme music.  Defenders with Thaahum, Mr. Miranda, and M.P.R.E.S.S.  is my favorite overall track on the album, with each rapper posing as one of the members of the Defenders.  About the Netflix series Defenders it just has this great beat and each of people on the track do a great job.  It was also the last song Thaahum did before he passed away.  You can help his family out with funeral costs if you wish.

You can buy the digital album for $7 or a physical one for $10.  The physical album will come signed for a limited time.

If you like Mega Ran or mellow jams, give this one a look.

He has also put out a pay what you want album about Stranger Things called Strangers.  If I had actually watched this show before I could give a better review of it, but here it is for you fans.

For Your Confustication, Tom Smith

Tom Smith is a bit of hero of the filk and comedy music communities.  He has appeared on both NPR’s Sound and Spirit and The Dr. Demento Show.  He wrote the official chantey for Talk Like A Pirate Day.  He appears at sci-fi/fantasy cons all over the place.  He has won fourteen Pegasus Awards for Excellence in Filk and a spot in the Filk Hall of Fame.  He has two dozen albums so far.  He writes songs on any subject he feels like; sci-fi, fantasy, pop culture, politics, religion, comedy, tragedy.

His latest album is “For Your Confustication”

 

This album is a collection of songs he has recorded over the past two years, just now all collected in one place.  Most were from his Patreon page, a few are commission songs, some were written years ago and just now seeing light, some were written the day before, some are parodies, some are originals, and one is a straight cover of Woody Guthrie’s classic “This Land is Your Land”, which is weird to listen to cause you keep expecting him to make a reference to Cthulhu or something.  He covers sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, folk legends, online life, Hugo awards, SCA, food, the apocalypse, and other topics giving a range for everyone.

My favorite songs are “Be A Dragon” a song to a child encouraging them to be the best thing in life; a dragon, Time Lord, The Batman.  I want to believe I will play this song for my kids.   “Cosmic Babies” a parody of the Muppet Babies theme song about MCU.  I so want a video of this.  I feel there is no bad songs on the album, just some whose topics are out of my knowledge.

If you want some laid back nerdy songs to listen to, you could do worse than this or any album from Tom Smith.  Pick-up twenty-three tracks for $10 at Bandcamp.

Tom will also release a more political album later this month at The Continuum.

Press Release: Six years of Geeky Music in One Origin Story Collection

 

A journey through the first six years of Meri’s music. The first half being new songs (the Mega EP), the second half being selected songs released since she began creating and releasing music (the Origin Mix).

Twelve new tracks (the Mega EP) and twelve selected tracks (the Origin Mix) by Meri that were released throughout the six years since she began creating and releasing music.

The first half, the Mega EP, features five completely new tracks that are fully produced versions of songs that are amongst the most popular of Meri’s songs when she performs live. The seven remaining tracks being remastered singles that had been previously released exclusively through Meri’s website throughout the last three years.

The second half, the Origin Mix, being her first ever song release as well as some of the most popular tracks from the original collections: Wandering Mini-P, Super EP, Pop Goes The TARDIS and Retro Sherbet. One track (Apple Tree) and three track versions (the radio edits of My Superman, Friday Viral and Nothing’s In Your Way) having only been exclusively released through Meri’s website before.

This is Meri’s biggest body of work yet and a full sonic biography of the start of her musical career!

LINKS

My Website

The latest single – Beat The Game

The first single – Pizza And Ice Cream

The playlist that will have all the album songs on the 19th of July (for sharing)

Pictures

 

Hero in Me

Professional cosplayer Santana has released an album featuring nerdy music, Hero In Me, and now I am going to review it.

The whole thing is about empowering yourself and following your own loves.  The album mixes country, pop, and a bit of rock into a unique sound.  Though only three songs on the album are really nerd related.

Cosplaying Just for Me, which has its own video shot by Flashbang Cosplay Capture, is about cosplaying and empowering yourself.  Bit a nice rock vibe to it.  Personally I have a hard time believing someone who sells prints of herself and has a Patreon page for people to give her feed back on what to cosplay next is really “cosplaying just for me.”  Though the song is more than just about cosplaying and is a fun listen.

Gamer Boy, is a love song .  Though I am not sure if she is singing to a boy who play games or an actual Nintendo Game Boy.  I like it either way.

Hero in Me is about another empowering song drawing some geeky related imagery and lyrics.

Three of the other songs on this album are from a previous non nerdy album, nice songs to listen to just not why I am here for.  The other song is Winder Soldier, which as much as I want to believe is most likely not about Bucky Barnes.  Again nice romantic song, just not what I am looking for.

The music and singing are both top-notch though.  Something even non nerds can enjoy.  I recommend it for anyone wanting something a little different from most.

You can get the album as a CD or digital download from Santana’s store, CDBaby, iTunes, or Amazon.

I would love to see more work from Santana in the music genre especially some more nerdy songs add to her repertoire.

The Troubleshooters of Nerdcore

The Troubleshooters is a project from nerdcore artists int80 of Dual Core and kHill from Thought Criminals.  They have released an EP, Lead Time, for all to enjoy.

It is only four tracks, but it is all they need to rock it so hard.  I just feel this is the best that rap can get and each song shows off what these guys can do.  I will say it is not heavy on the nerdy lyrics, more of a thing for computer fans, but still good for all.

c64, the other half of Dual Core, helps out on turntable.  Mixing by cecilnick of Autocorrect and cover art by Maria Morales.

Get the EP for only $5.

 

“The TroubleShooters started like all other music projects for me: Emails are exchanged, beats are uploaded, lyrics are written, etc. But then we took a slightly different approach of hopping on Hangouts to discuss song ideas and composition. We also simultaneously wrote lyrics in shared docs so that we could play off the other person’s parts. This gave TroubleShooters a more cohesive feel in creating the music. To complete the project, I flew to Mikal’s house in the mountains of North Carolina and we spent hours in his frigid basement recording and creating new songs. There I was wearing all my layers of clothes from my suitcase, clutching my laptop’s power supply trying to stay warm; while Mikal was in a t-shirt and khakis drinking a Juan Collins like he was on vacation. Truly, this EP nearly drove me to insanity.” -int80

“There was a point one night after we had finished tracking vocals that we decided to play Tecmo Bowl for NES. I was incredibly hammered and never figured out how to pass and 80 beat me… his score was in excess of 100 points and mine was zero.” -kHill

 

 

Getting Bardcore with the Library Bards

The Library Bards, a comedy duo out of LA, have their first album out, Bardcore , and I felt like reviewing it.  It is a comedy parody album that covers many fandoms so everyone should find something to listen to.

Overall it is a fun album, music is bouncy and light, lyrics are humorous, and you can tell they are enjoying themselves.  Something to play for nerdy friends to party to.  The problem is some of the lyrics seem to feel a little forced and clunky.  Like they are trying to hard to rhyme like the original song instead of having the song make sense.  Now they are a newer act and will get better with time and experience, but right now this album just does not have the full polish of some other comedy musicians.  It is still a fun album to sing a long with, especially if you like the original songs they parody.

Enough with my nitpicking, the best songs on the album to me are: Pokéball (Pokémon p0arody of “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus) a sweet love song using Pokémon imagery and Black and Red (parody of “Zombie” by The Cranberries) which is about Deadpool and Harley Quinn cosplayers, it is both harsh on them and loving, which comes in two versions on the album.

You can buy the album from their site for $14.99.  Plus they have t-shirts for $20.  You can get their song Regeneration (a Doctor Who parody of “My Generation” by The Who) for free on The FuMP right if you hurry.

You can also check out their YouTube channel for music videos  and live performances.

The Library Bards are a nerd parody band consisting of Bonnie Gordon (ABC’s The Quest, R. Mika in Street Fighter V) and Xander Jeanneret (TBS’ King of the Nerds). They take Top 40 hits and transform them into the nerdy versions they should have been in the first place! With their catchy tunes and nerdy lyrics, the Library Bards will be bringing you into the Bard Life in no time!

Esoteric Songs by Kyle Okaly

Kyle Okaly is a film composer in Los Angeles.  He has decided to get into the nerdy music scene recently and so has written and produce his first album Esoteric Songs with  a folk rock style about video games and other geek culture topics.  Song topics include Star Craft, Portal, Pokémon, Star Wars, Chrono Trigger, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more.

Most of the songs on the album are love songs of some sort of another.  Several from the perspective someone from the various games that inspired him and one, My Child, that is from father to child, that child being a webpage.  It also has a cover of Jonathan Coulton song, Gurl.  They all have a melodious quality, the kind that is great for dancing too or just raising your spirits with.  Overall a good a set of good songs to listen too, maybe even use some for a romantic evening.

There are two animated song teasers (basically music videos that are not the full song) as well.  One for Box 12 (Pokémon love song), animated by Dan Sexton (Crunchlins) and the other Naboolie Portmanteau (a commentary on the intelligence characters in Phantom Menace)  animated by Stephen Leotti.  More are to released in the future, so keep an eye out for those.

The album is available on bandcamp at Name Your Price.  This could be $0, but how about giving the guy a few bucks for his work.

 

HYPERSPACE’s Delusions of Grandeur

Delusions of Grandeur is an album from the nerd punk band HYPERSPACE. ”Delusions of Grandeur” is comprised of thirteen nerdy pop punk songs about Star Wars, girls, pop culture, breakups, and other nerdy stuff.  I got a request to review their album months ago and I am just now getting to it.  Sorry guys I am just slow like that.

The album has several nerdy such as wondering if the new Star Wars movie will be any god (Episode 7), tributes to both the Borg and Darth Vader, singing about Chewbacca in Vegas, and summarizing the Goonies movie.  They also have several songs singing about women who they love; Avril Lavigne, Barbara Gordon, Paula (Abdul), Carrie Fisher, and Rave Girl which is about a generic raver.  They have interesting taste in women a.k.a. same as me.   It also contains a cover of Nirvana’s “School” from their Bleach album and two strange little songs marked with parental advisory (Screeching Weasel and Untitled).

The album has a nice punk rock sound.  Kind of unrefined but still well put together.  Though all the songs do sound very much the same, so if you like one song you will must likely like them all.  I do recombine checking it out.

HYPERSPACE was formed in Atlanta, GA in 2011.  Their musical influences include Nerf Herder, Green Day, Nirvana, and Weezer. The album is available for purchase through iTunes, Amazon, CdBaby, GooglePlay, bandcamp and Spotify.

20 Sided Vice by Megathruster

Megathruster, the new acoustic nerd rock duo from Chris Waffle of Hot Waffles, released their first album a month ago 20 Sided Vice.

It is a 12 track album with half the tracks about your standard nerd topics such as Oregon Trail, playing fighting games and table-top mountains , and one favorite It’s Rough to be a Hufflepuff about being in Hogwarts lesser house.  All of which I like.  The other half are rather sexual in nature with names like Making Love Like A Geek, Settlers of My Pants, and Fuck Mountain.  Not really my cup of tea in that they too blatant, not really something to blare out in public.  But I will say I Want To Be Your Bruce Campbell is a great love song.   However overall I do recommend this for fans of funny songs that have a rock edge.

They have released two music videos from the album.  The first one is It’s Not Out Yet which is a tongue in check song about fans and Hollywood making movies, and stars real-life superhero Guardian Shield.  The other one is  Other People Playing Minecraft, which is about people watching other people playing video games.

You can get digital copies on iTunes and Bandcamp.   For physical CDs, get them from their website.

After the success of Hot Waffles, and a 1000 mile move in the name of love, Chris Waffle thought he would never write songs again. Then, in the waning summer of 2014, a wise wizard knocked on his door and cast a spell calling him back to music. The skies darkened, the clouds rumbled, there was an 80’s era cartoon transformation sequence, and when he awakened from the fog, Megathruster was born.

They’re coming straight from the Pacific Northwest, and singing from the spring 2016 album release “20 Sided Vice.”

You may have seen him at Flappers, the Improv, on Attack of the Show, America’s Worst Driver, and The People vs. George Lucas. You may have heard him at GenCon, on Dr.Demento’s radio show, KROQ, Kevin Smith’s Smodcastle, or in your dreams. But you’ve never seen and heard him like this.