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Your next favorite songs are the backbone of 'Metronomicon'
Rhythm games live and die by their soundtracks. The problem is, if you're holding a plastic instrument in your hand, you've probably played through the same songs over and over whether it's in Rock Band or Guitar Hero. Regardless of how advanced the gameplay is, then, at the end of the day, if you're tapping through Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" in one game, you might as well be playing it on any of the popular franchises. That's where The Metronomicon: Slay the Dancefloor makes a bold left turn.
Nerdcore artist Mega Ran takes us on a Gameboy nostalgia trip
Nerdcore artist Mega Ran has a new video out today and it's full of Nintendo nostalgia. Church ft. KadeshFlow is a fun homage to the 8-bit visual style popularized by the GameBoy in the late 1980s. In the video, Mega Ran and KadeshFlow make their way through a green dot-matrix world full of retro gaming references to battle ghosts at Alex Trebek's house (Trebek has been a favored target of the nerdcore community ever since he called them "losers" on an episode of Jeopardy!).
Sammus is somewhere between nerdcore and afrofuturism
Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo used to get the same question every time she set down the mic and stepped off the stage. She came to expect it after performing in crowded bars, big music festivals or comic book stores, and the question usually came from a well-meaning stranger or new fan of her music. "Who makes your beats for you?" This would happen right after she'd screamed into the mic that she was Sammus, a producer and rapper, and that everything she just did on stage was her work. The question would come in different forms -- "Where's your boyfriend?" was another staple -- but the sentiment was the same. People assumed Sammus didn't produce her own music.
The grandfather kings of nerdcore
In terms of popularity, nerdcore occupies a space somewhere between underground hip-hop and the end of the universe, according to rapper and educator Mega Ran. Nerdcore is a brand of hip-hop characterized by a focus on geeky things, which means its subject matter is as vast and varied as Tolkien's Encircling Sea. It's niche but limitless; visible but not known. It's big enough to support the musical careers of artists like MC Lars, MC Frontalot, Beefy and MC Chris, yet it's small enough that even the most fervent Star Wars fan may have never heard of it. Even in an age where geek chic is hot and "nerd" is no longer a vicious insult, nerdcore remains underground -- but its influence on popular culture is showing. More mainstream rappers like Childish Gambino, Danny Brown, Deltron 3030, RZA and Dr. Octagon regularly reference science fiction, astrophysics, video games and other traditionally geeky topics, at times while sampling the likes of Final Fantasy 7 and Pac-Man. Beyond the Billboard charts, Hamilton is a national phenomenon about American colonial history, and even Game of Thrones has its own mixtape.
Attract Mode and Fangamer host all-ages video game art show Saturday night at PAX
If you're in Seattle this week – perhaps for PAX Prime – then your Thursday night plans have been taken care of. You'll be at Joystiq's Borderlands 2 party, and you'd better say hi when you see us there. But PAX goes for four days, you say – what about the rest of the weekend? We'll cover Saturday for you as well: "Videogame collective" Attract Mode and videogame apparel site Fangamer are teaming up to hold a great big live art and game show, starting at 7pm on Saturday, September 1 in Seattle.Cumulo Nimblers, Capy's Super Time Force, and Eric Zimmerman's Metagame will all be there and playable, 8-bit artist Danimal Cannon and hip-hop gamer MegaRan (he's good) will provide the tunes, and the whole show will be drenched in some of the best video-game related artwork you'll find (and which you can see examples of in the gallery below). It'll be a rad time indeed; it's an all ages show that's open to the public, and admission is $5.The event starts at 7pm and goes until 11 on Saturday September 1, and you can find it at the 1927 Events space, at 1927 3rd Ave. in Seattle. As for your Friday and Sunday nights at PAX, well, you'll have to find your own party space for those.%Gallery-163481%
