Monday, September 27, 2010

3rd 4 t3h Nrrd: Sept. '10

This month we take a look at documented Nerdery, with Nerdcore Rising & Nerdcore For Life. Two very different movies that I believe really looks into the heart of Nerdcore Hip-Hop, the light and the dark.

I've spoken about Nerdcore Rising before and can more or less point to it as the catalyst that got me into the genre. I have had some small email interactions with the head of the project, Negin Farsad, and follow her on twitter, this lady has a lot of hot brands in a lot of fires, one rad comedian.

As for the film itself, it is a banner waving piece of media to which I can point and say, this, this is what Nerdcore can be. It chronicles MC Frontalot's U.S. tour which ends at PAX (spoilers) and follows their misadventures. It also does try to answer the question of what is Nerdcore Hip-hop, what is it's purpose, is it a parody, racist, niche? Not only does it have a great amount of polish to it it tells a cohesive story with a beginning, a middle and an end. This not only helps bring most viewers along it gives an uplifting climax to the story.
If you only watch one of these films, make it Nerdcore Rising as it will give a great explanation of the genre, tells a great tale and shows Nerdcore and NerdLife (in my humble opinion) at it's pinnacle.

Nerdcore For Life is the Documentary you MUST WATCH if you want to seriously know anything about Nerdcore Hip-Hop the scene, the roots, and the players. Dan Lamoureux does an excellent job delving into the nuts and bolts of how the scene lives and breaths and struggles in the day to day. Not only does he cover the OTHER heavy hitters of the genre the movie looks at the larger internet cultures developed around the music and how they evolved.
This documentary is much more gritty, much more honest and as I said, if you want the movie that is going to set you on the path of a greater understanding of the genre as a whole, not just The King, The Godfather, and the other antediluvians, this is the documentary that needs to be viewed.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Down & Dirty

So, let me get this rollin then shall we? Through some other friends and by watching a few episodes with theatreg33k now I am addicted to "Last Airbender" I know I'm very late to this band wagon, but if you've seen anything else on this blog you know this is nothing new. I really enjoy the series, its hilarious, the characters are engaging. many of them are multifaceted beings with many thoughts and relate-able traits. I love Uncle Iroh with his depressing as hell son story and his ridiculous wisdom, I think I am Sokka as I may have my moments but they are never when I want them and as awesome as I tell other I am I feel I am in a world of people with greater abilities than me PLUS dude has the most tragic love life out of all of them in my opinion, and finally, FUCK YEAH ZUKO. 1. Rufio, no for reals, look it up and come back, I'll wait . . . . I know, right!? 2, dude is a badass with serious issues that give him depth, comedy, and great fight scenes, AND I agree with one of the Korean artists from the documentary that he has the most development out of ALL the characters, were currently at the end of book 2 and I cant wait to see where Zuko goes.


I am in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, acting is hard and don't let anyone tell you different. But, luckily we all have a sense of humor, all sorts of Russian comedy, very dark and sarcastic. Although most of us yell "for Yakov" because we cut the character named Yakov and then many "in mother Russia . . ." jokes are spewed every night.


Finally, I am getting into Steampunk with a vengeance and I have read H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" and Westerfeld's "Leviathan" which I would argue are a "deep roots" piece as well as a modern pillar of Steampunk literature.
The Time Machine was excellent, Well's is a great literary mind, everyone should put at least ONE of his books on their "read before I die" list. it was blessedly short and concise and now I know that story.
"Leviathan" utterly whelmed me. I liked it, it was a great read, it was fun, it was interesting and I was constantly fascinated by the different technology and the alternative history aspect. BUT, it did not change my life nor did I feel it had any soul shaking depth. I hope I am clear that I enjoyed the book and will most likely read the sequel Behemoth as I want to continue to follow the adventures of Alek & "Daryl" and that the book greatly helped to give me more perspective on what the culture of "steampunk" looks to for its influences and roots.

So far, in general, I can not point to any product of the culture that has a "great work." Many of its "ancient roots" like Wells & Verne don't count in my opinion but to be fair, I have not gone half as deep as I intend to. I still need to talk to some active people living the culture and I think my next reads will be from the gentlemen who actually began using the term.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Please Stand By

I am having a very busy month or so and if it continues I will consciously take some time out to tend to things I feel are very important in my life, such as this blog. I still want to put up a 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd for this month, as well as perhaps a couple memeorables to make up for the last couple weeks sparseness.
I appreciate all of you sticking with me right now and I very much am aware of the quality & quantity of my content (relative to what has been standard on this blog).
I only know a few of you personally who have been reading it form day 1, but I am constantly trying to think of ways to have you read old posts as I feel many of them are just as entertaining as the day I first typed them.
So let me be blunt at this point and recommend you check out my back log, perhaps there was a Nerdcore Artist you missed or try seeing what labels bring up, as I use them in a way I dont think Blogger intended.
Thanks again H47ites! Stay nerdy.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Sticking to It

It's still technically Tuesday, and I should have time later this week to throw up something more substantial, but if I don't, I do guarantee that I have quite a bit to go over, especially considering some new endeavors:
-show (the Seagull)
-2 classes I don't actually need but WANTED to take (which I might have to drop)
-My personal dive into SteamPunk (this will probably be several posts)

thanks for sticking with me H47ites!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Nrrd Update



This months 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd will be reviewing these two documentaries, but I don't currently have the time I would like to dedicate to there reviews, but I WILL post before the end of the month. Stay tuned H47ites!