Jonathan-Coulton
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Play the latest Humble Bundle with headphones
The latest Humble Bundle, available through August 9, is composed of six musical albums and zero video games. Think of this bundle as a break from all the games you've been buying thanks to a certain recent sale, while still perfectly aligned with your latest paycheck.This bundle includes music from the Valkyria Chronicles series and Jonathan Coulton's Greatest Hit (Plus 13 Other Songs), which includes a live version of the iconic song "Still Alive" from Portal. Albums by Christopher Tin, They Might Be Giants, and MC Frontalot are also featured in the music package. The sixth album, OK Go's Twelve Remixes of Four Songs, is available to buyers that pay more than the average price.For those wary of picking up some new tunes, each piece of this Humble Bundle is compatible with any pair of headphones or speakers you want to use.
The Humble Bundle tries something different, lets you name your price for albums from They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton, and more
The Humble Bundle may have gone mobile on Android earlier this year, but that's proven to be a relatively small jump compared to the organization's latest expansion. It's now rolled out its first Humble Music Bundle, a collection of six albums that, as always, you can name your price for. Those include an album of rarities from They Might Be Giants, Jonathan Coulton's Greatest Hit (Plus 13 Other Songs), an exclusive MC Frontalot collection, Christopher Tin's Calling All Dawns, and game composer Hitoshi Sakimoto's Best of the Valkyria Chronicles -- plus OK Go's Twelve Remixes of Four Songs if you pay above the current average price. Naturally, all of the albums are DRM-free and available in both MP3 and FLAC formats, and you're able to choose what percentage of your payment goes to the artists, charities (Child's Play and the Electronic Frontier Foundation) and the Humble Bundle organization itself. You can get a taste of what's in store in the video after the break, or get previews of each album before you buy at the link below.
'Still Alive' played on 3D printed record, takes music piracy to complicated new levels
We're still in the relatively early stages of the 3D printer revolution, and as such, it's hard to say just how these devices will play a role in our daily lives. We've seen some really cool toys like turtleshell racers and Weighted Companion Cubes, but what about some everyday products? This 3D printed record keeps the Portal printer theme going by cutting our old pal Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" into its grooves. The single was printed over at Shapeways and played on a Fisher-Price record player. Video after jump.
Jonathan Coulton talks coding, Creative Commons and becoming an internet rockstar (video)
There are few ways of endearing yourself to the geek world more quickly than writing a song like "Code Monkey." The developer-friendly track was one of 52 released as part of Jonathan Coulton's year-long "Thing a Week" project and was later adopted as the theme song for a similarly-titled G4 program. The songwriter was just adhering to that old adage of "writing what you know," having worked as a full-time computer programmer prior to giving the music world a go -- though, as he readily admits, he still keeps it real by coding for his own site. We sat down with Coulton as part of this month's Engadget Show, discussing his midlife crisis-driven decision to quit his day job and the journey that the internet played in making him a star. We also discussed the musician's favorite tech, his love of Creative Commons and using gadgets to make music. Coulton also treated us to three songs, including "Still Alive" from the Portal soundtrack and two tracks off his brand new record Artificial Heart. Video of all that after the break.
The Engadget Show is live, here at 6:00PM ET! (update: we're done!)
Are you ready for this? If not, too bad, because we're back, and boy have we got jam-packed show this month. The next episode of The Engadget Show starts shooting tonight at 6PM ET, and you can join us at this very URL -- so keep your browser locked to this spot. This time out, we'll be testing out the Grace One electric bike on the streets of New York City, paying a visit to the Frog laboratories to check out some awesome design projects, popping by Maker Faire in New York and discussing DIY projects with Make:Live co-hosts Matt Richardson and Becky Stern, getting serenaded by viral rock star Jonathan Coulton and discussing the origins of everyone's favorite dancing robot, Keepon. Update: That's a wrap! We'll have it edited and up on the site as soon as we can!
Coulton recording new version of 'Still Alive,' Sara (of Tegan and Sara) involved
Be still, our trembling hearts. It's rare the stars of our musical and gaming interests align in any meaningful manner -- the launch of the Billy Joel Rock Band 3 track pack, for example, rocked both areas of our life to their core. However, details have been slipping out over the Twitter feeds of Jonathan Coulton and They Might Be Giants (co-founder John Flansburgh is producing Coulton's upcoming album) of a project near and dear to our hearts: A new version of Portal's ending anthem, "Still Alive." Here's what we know so far, based on the tweets: It features a guest appearance by Sara Quin, of Tegan and Sara fame There's a theremin solo, performed by theremin virtuoso Dorit Chrysler We probably won't get to hear it until Jonathan Coulton's new album drops in 2013 John Flansburgh is producing it! John freaking Flansburgh.
Block mesa plays Portal's 'Still Alive' in Minecraft
This is a triumph: Using the musical blocks introduced in the latest version of indie world-builder Minecraft, YouTube user Tritex989 has managed to re-create Portal's theme song, "Still Alive," in its entirety -- minus some notes and with some transposing, due to the blocks' two-octave limitation.
NES signed by gaming industry superstars auctioning off for charity
We can't help but notice that there's something wrong with your Nintendo Entertainment System. No, it's not that its connector pins are totally jacked after two decades of rough cartridge insertion -- it's that it isn't covered, toe to tip, in the autographs of some of the gaming, tech and general nerd industry's most prominent figures. You can rectify that problem by bidding on this NES, which has been signed by folks like Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, Wil Wheaton, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton and many, many more. All the proceeds from the auction go to the Baystate Children's Hospital in Springfield, Mass. -- as do the proceeds from eBay user DanMckela's other auctions. Go take a look at his altruistic wares! [Thanks, Dao Jones!]
First Rock Band Network tracks coming to PSN tomorrow
The first songs from the Rock Band Network to be available on PS3 will be released tomorrow, April 22, 2010. The five selected songs are "some of the most popular tracks" from the full selection: Individual Tracks (with expected prices based on Xbox 360 RBN pricing) Flogging Molly - "Drunken Lullabies" (Live) ($1) Jonathan Coulton - "Code Monkey" ($2) The Shins - "Australia" ($2) The Slip - "Even Rats" ($2) Steve Vai - "For the Love of God" (Live) ($2) Harmonix explained that, due to the way submissions work on PSN, the company is "currently capped at 5 songs per week." The developer explains that despite "practical realities that aren't in [its] immediate control," it is trying to bring out as much music as possible. [Thanks, Benji B]
Children's choir sings Jonathan Coulton's 'Still Alive'
Bill Cosby had that show about kids saying cute stuff for a while, but there seems to be an even more entertaining trend emerging on the internet: kids singing super awesome stuff. First, there was that chorus that sang Phoenix's "Lisztomania" and now (via GameVideos) we have the Gifford Children's Choir singing Jonathan Coulton's wonderful "Still Alive" (also known as "that song from Portal"). You can check out the video past the break, which is kinda dark but you're not really watching it for the visuals so that's okay. Seriously, for as much as we're sick of Portal memes, out of the mouth of babes comes a great version of this song. Of course, it's worth mentioning that the whole song is basically one spoiler -- so if you haven't played the game, you should probably stop reading the internet and fix your situation.
PAX East: Concerts, exhibitors announced
PAX East has finally announced its concerts and exhibitor line-up -- not that people seemed to need a reason to show up in droves. Musical performances include PAX favorites like Jonathan Coulton, Anamanaguchi and MC Frontalot. Major publishers attending the show include EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft and Nintendo. Local studios Harmonix and Turbine will be there, along with indie darlings The Behemoth and Twisted Pixel Games. The show will sell out shortly, so if you're planning on attending, now (like, right now) is the time to get registered. PAX East is shaping up to be a surprise break-out show, with several video game publishers recognizing the potential. The announced list of musical acts and exhibitors can be found after the break.
WoW Moviewatch: Still Alive -- JoCo version
I think Still Alive -- JoCo version wins the "genre bending" award. Still Alive was originally the closing credits song for Portal by Valve Software. The computer system known as GLaDOS promises the Portal player cake throughout the game. It's kind of the carrot to keep the player moving. (This is also the source of The Cake Is Not A Lie.) Still Alive is performed by GLaDOS at the end of the game. Well, being the geek savant that he is, Jonathan Coulton covered Still Alive. Being the WoW culture savant that he is, Spiff took JoCo's cover and turned it into a World of Warcraft machinima. (There are plenty of references to the original Portal game in the video, though, so this version isn't entirely detached from its roots.) Like all of Spiff's videos, Still Alive -- JoCo version is a lot of fun. Spiff does a great job capturing the fun and humor of JoCo's original music. Not to mention, his animation skills are constantly growing and always impressive. Edit: JoCo wrote the original song, mind you. Still Alive was performed at the end of the game by a female artist. This song, then, is the version performed by JoCo. "Cover" is a tough word to use for this, so I wanted to clarify it. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
PAX 2009: JoCo adapts 'The Future Soon' at Rock Band Network panel
We've heard about the Rock Band Network's near-boundless technical capabilities. We've seen the technology in action at Harmonix HQ. What we haven't seen is a popular musical artist adapting one of his songs through Reaper, Ember and the Rock Band Network peer-review process for our enjoyment. We got one such opportunity at the PAX Rock Band Network panel, when nerdfolk songsmith Jonathan Coulton (with the help of a few Harmonix devs) converted "The Future Soon" from mere song to Rock Band DLC.The steps looked reminiscent of previous previews we've seen of the RBN technology. The track was broken up into its core parts (drums, bass, vocals, etc.) in Reaper -- a process that took Harmonix two days, due to Coulton's implementation of 19 freaking chords in a single song. After that, they imported it to Magma, where Coulton's album art was added, the track's genre and pricing information was chosen ("The Future Soon" was set to sell for 240), a 30-second preview window was designated, and the song's difficulty levels were added.The song was transferred to Rock Band 2's Audition Mode (which will be tucked away in the Extras menu with the game's next patch for Xbox 360), then played by adoring JoCo fans. We've got a shakycam video of this playthrough -- as well as the original version of the song, which was played by Coulton during the panel -- after the jump.
Rock Band Weekly: Freezepop, PAX artists, Jackson 5 and more
Rock Band Weekly celebrates PAX next week with tracks from artists performing at the big games convention in Seattle this weekend. The PAX trax come from nerdcore bands and artists like Freezepop, Jonathan Coulton, MC Frontalot and Paul & Storm; with each song at a wallet-friendly price of $1. Those looking for mainstream musica can consume tracks from 3 Doors Down and The Jackson 5. Check out all the stuff coming to the various versions of Rock Band next week after the break. Select a platform below to view complete DLC listing:
Blizzard at PAX this weekend
As we reported a little while back, Blizzard will be in attendance at the sold out Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle, Washington this weekend, and Crygil has posted on the forums that they'll have everything playable that they had at BlizzCon: the new Diablo III Monk class, the Cataclysm expansion, and the Starcraft II singleplayer campaign. Somewhat strangely, they don't actually say that the Cataclysm expansion will be the same starter zones that we played at BlizzCon -- they may actually have some of old world Azeroth open and playable. But on the other hand, they'd probably announce something like that if it was happening, and given that they'll have a smaller setup than BlizzCon, we don't imagine there'll be anything really new there.In other WoW news at PAX, our friends at The Guild will be screening the entire season 2 on Friday evening -- Jeff Lewis and Sandeep Parikh will be there, along with producer Kim Evey and Wil Wheaton (Felicia is headed off to Dragon*Con this weekend). Unfortunately, the screening is during the Friday evening concert, and so you might have to miss Anamanaguchi, Metroid Metal, and MC Frontalot. My favorites Jonathan Coulton and Freezepop are playing on Saturday night, though, so you can fit in both of those if you like.
WoW Moviewatch: Cruel, Cruel Moon
You may have missed it, but there's been some talk lately about whether or not Worgen could be a playable race in the next expansion. In light of that discussion and the overwhelming amount of love shown yesterday for Spiff's The Future Soon, today's featured movie is Cruel, Cruel Moon. The recommendation was made via our own Elizabeth Harper, who apparently has a friend who's quite the fan of Spiff.The song Cruel, Cruel Moon was written by Paul & Storm, who spend a lot of their touring time with Jonathan Coulton. The song is about a man who's begging the moon not to rise, because his beloved partner is likely to turn into a werewolf. Spiff's video captures the lighthearted feel of the song excellently, and the whole thing moves at a wonderful pace. I have a lot of appreciation for this kind of music, since it tends to last long enough to enjoy the joke, without overstaying its welcome and dragging on too long.During the credits, there's a bonus feature song. Frogger! The Frogger Musical endcaps the whole video perfectly. Interested in the wide world of machinima? We have new movies every weekday here on WoW Moviewatch! Have suggestions for machinima we ought to feature? Toss us an e-mail at machinima AT wow DOT com.
Interview: Geek songsmith Jonathan Coulton
Internet balladeer Jonathan Coulton has a new CD + DVD out called "Best. Concert. Ever." It features 20 different tracks of music with an accompanying video on DVD. Plus, we're giving a copy away! Read through our interview with Coulton below, which contains all the information you ever wanted to know about him and then some, and leave a comment on the related Joyswag post telling us what your dream job would be.Read on for more, and you might want to put some music on while you do. It's a long interview. Like, seriously long. Grab a cold drink, turn up some tunes (here are a few suggestions), and kick back while you read about the musical voice of geekery.%Gallery-66755%
Joyswag: Jonathan Coulton's latest CD / DVD 'Best. Concert. Ever.'
The good news? We've got a copy of Jonathan Coulton's latest project to give away. It's a double-disc set that features a DVD full of videos from his "Best. Concert. Ever." that was filmed in San Francisco last year, and a CD packed with the music from the same event. That's over 20 tracks, the accompanying videos, and a nifty plastic-free box to hold it in.The bad news? You have to read through our entire two-part interview with him and send us a footnoted and bibliographed book report on it. Okay, just kidding. But if you're the slightest bit interested, it's there for your reading enjoyment. Once you've moseyed through, leave a comment here telling us what your dream job would be. Leave a comment telling us what your dream job would be You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec) – sorry! These aren't our laws :-( Limit 1 entry per person This entry period ends at 12:00pm ET on Wednesday, July 8. We'll randomly select 1 winner at that time to receive: one copy of Jonathan Coulton's CD+DVD project "Best. Concert. Ever." (ARV $19.99) For a list of complete rules, click here
Jonathan Coulton not (yet) working on song for Portal 2
We still haven't had any confirmation of a Portal sequel, other than, you know, designer Kim Swift and Valve's lead marketing director, Doug Lombardi mentioning that the game is probably coming. Now internet songster and Portal theme -- "Still Alive" -- composer Jonathan Coulton has chimed in as well. We recently interviewed Coulton about his upcoming "Best. Concert. Ever." CD & DVD set (look for the full interview soon where we'll be giving a copy away), and the first thing we asked him about was how his song for Portal 2 was coming along. "I haven't started it yet. I honestly don't know ... I haven't spoken to them in a long time about it, so I don't know much at all about their plans for Portal 2 and what they're thinking of doing," he told us. "And that's the truth, that's not an 'I signed a non-disclosure agreement and can't tell you what's going on' answer. I really don't know."So it's still a non-confirmation of nothing, but it sounds like he may be on tap to write something for it. Maybe. Possibly. Speculatively. Hope is "Still Alive" (we hope).
Spotted @SXSW 2009: Jonathan Coulton in a giant fishbowl
Geek songster extraordinaire Jonathan Coulton was on-hand at SXSW, being interviewed in the aquariumrific Studio SX stage. You can watch the full interview at some point later on SXSW.com to hear Coulton talking about reaching his geeky audiences, how he crafts his songs, and why he loves audience misbehavior. He capped everything off with a live performance of the unofficial Portal anthem "Still Alive," which really doesn't get old no matter how many times you hear it.
