The geek shall inherit the earth!

Jonathan Coulton is playing in Manchester in November. This is epic news. If you don't know who JoCo is, then you clearly don't have any kind of standing in the geek community (a dagger to the heart there, I'm sure!) and have either stumbled across this blog by accident or are only visiting because you know me and take pity on my attempts to maintain any kind of pertinence or value in this here page of witterings.

Jonathan Coulton is something of a geek icon. A singer/songwriter who ruminates on topics as steeped in geekdom as zombies, animated demonic dolls, evil geniuses and slave-driving robot overlords. His songs tend to resonate with the gamer geek niche. Here's a couple of unofficial videos to get a taste of what JoCo is all about.





Still reading? Well that's something... JoCo has become quite the internet phenomenon and is in many ways a trailblazer for the way new media is powering the consumption of content. The concept of mainstream now is one that is becoming less and less relevant. The huge pie that is culture is a lot more evenly sliced now than it ever was. Every imaginable sub-culture has its own heroes, its own icons and unlike before, an easily accessible mechanism to deliver the content by those producers right into their *insert potential computer location here*.

While it's quite cool these days to be a geek (right!?), the geek fraternity don't want to listen to what the cool kids listen to (and vice versa). In steps Mr Coulton and his ilk (another example being nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot) who, to quote the great Noam Chomsky, have "tapped the zetigeist". The times, they are a'changing ladies and gentlemen, and I for one am quite happily moving along with them.

As I said, he's coming to Manchester in November and am really considering the not inconsiderable amount it will cost to go up there for an overnight to see him live. Better yet, I hope there's a repeat of last year and more dates are added in more convenient locations. (He played shows in London and Oxford at the tail end of the year).

So, anyone out there brave enough to open their minds a little and let in a little geekdom?

Prodigy = WIN

There are no sufficient superlatives to fully do justice to the Prodigy gig at the Wembley Arena last night. No sir. It was a bass-pounding, adrenaline-charged, sweat-laced sensory extravaganza and I'm just glad I was there, in the flesh, to experience it.

Dizzee Rascal warmed us up with his repertoire of party tunes, beefed up for the occasion by turning the bass up, way up. Road Rage was great and Bonkers, as you would expect with a Prodigy crowd, went down a storm. The temperature was rising even before the Prodigy had begun setting up.

After half an hour of random DJ #2 the curtain finally went up to reveal a MASSIVE light rig. Within moments Liam, Maxim and Keith (and a pair of utter loonies on guitar and drums) would be upon us. Let the revelling begin...

90 minutes later I was drenched in sweat, half naked, breathing like I'd done 15 rounds with Mike Tyson, utterly exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure and absolutely dead on my feet. But damn, it was worth it. If there is a better band to see live than the Prodigy, get me a ticket NOW. Their energy levels, even after so many years, are through the roof. Never stopping for a moment, Maxim and Keith bounced across the stage like jumping beans. Surely this can only be attributed to narcotics. Whatever. The crowd drew from their enthusiasm as they drew from the crowd. A positive feedback loop that very nearly blew my eardrums. Speaking of which, my hearing STILL isn't back to normal. I'm starting to get concerned. But you know what? If I never hear properly again, well, it will STILL be worth it. Fuck yeah!

I could say more about this jaw dropping set but I think I'll let a couple of youtube videos do my talking. Enjoy!

Invaders must die!

Today's happy thoughts centred around the imminent release of Invaders must die, the new Prodigy album. 23rd February! I haven't been this looking forward to a music release since... since I heard about the new Cat Empire album last month! :)

Check out the single in HQ audio while you read:



The Omen single is released next monday too, which is nice. The comments on youtube and elsewhere on t'internet are mixed on this latest Prodigy sound. Some say it's all gone a bit too Pendulum, others say it's rather vanilla when compared to what we are used to. Also, how can anything sound TOO Pendulum?! From the two songs i've heard off the new album, I'm pretty happy. Time will tell if it's the peak of Jilted or the trough of Fat of the Land. Personally I can't wait.


How cool are these?