So This Guy Managed to Successfully Mash Super Smash Bros. With Space Jam [Download]

Do your ears long for the dulcet sounds of 90s pop-culture and gaming classics? Do you yearn to slam, jam, and smash your way through the week? Well DJ Slammeister might have the jam for you. Remember Space Jam? Michael Jordan’s career-defining turn as Michael Jordan, a famous basketball player who must play to save the Looney Tunes from being enslaved by aliens? I thought so.

Slammeister’s EP deftly blends Quad City DJ’s ‘Space Jam’ track from the 1996 film with various Nintendo game themes pulled from the ever-popular Super Smash Bros. Melee.

While the thought of mixing a classic of the modern era of cinema such as Space Jam with the nostalgic tunes of a classic gaming mashup might seem strange, therein lies its greatness. So give a listen and break free from the mundanity of your daily routine.

While a pleasure from start to finish, the album really hits its stride around the midway point with tracks like ‘Target Slam!’ and ‘Slam Temple.’ If ‘Yoshi’s Islam’ doesn’t make a believer out of you, then I don’t know what will.

Featuring 22 tracks clocking in at a combined 18 minutes of auditory bliss, Super Slam Bros. will fulfill your wildest musical desires. But it gets even better! Did you know that with a 21st century music-playing device or program like iTunes you, yes YOU, can listen to DJ Slammeister’s magnum opus on loop and never let the glory come to an end? It’s true! You can pick up The Super Slam Bros. Melee EP through Slammeister’s bandcamp page here for the glorious price of ab-so-lutely free, right now! Or you can pay $7 and help fund the greatest musical mind of our generation. Hey you, watcha gonna do?

Jay-Z Levels Up With Chrono Trigger In Mashup Album: ‘Chrono Jigga’

Hip hop producers have been sampling video games for years now and today we have an epic mashup album featuring Jay-Z and the music of Chrono Trigger.

Chrono Trigger, needless to say, is a classic SNES title with one of the more memorable soundtracks of the era and producer 2 Mello’s new album brings it together with some of Jay Z’s biggest hits from over the years. The album is called Chrono Jigga, you can listen to it below.

Continue reading “Jay-Z Levels Up With Chrono Trigger In Mashup Album: ‘Chrono Jigga’” »

Musicians and VFX Masters Orchestrate Stunning Tributes to PORTAL

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With both music entrepreneur (The Human Tim) and  VFX designer (Zachariah Scott) having composed their own separate and pretty inspiring tributes to GLaDOS and Chell, it must officially be Portal Day.

These odes set the bar a little higher, though: Scott is a VFX desiger whose past work includes working on Mass Effect 2 and 3, as well as founding the Machinima group Lit Fuse Films, while The Human Tim is a one man metal machine who concocts Iron Maiden-worthy guitar adaptations of classic video game songs. Continue reading “Musicians and VFX Masters Orchestrate Stunning Tributes to PORTAL” »

Nerd Rock Godfathers, They Might Be Giants, Drop 3 New Songs (and a Free App)

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Into nerd rock? Like free music? Nerd rock stalwarts They Might Be Giants have some stuff to give you. First, some tracks off their upcoming album: “Black Ops”, “Lost My Mind,” and ”Call You Mom.”

Fortunately, they’re only spoiling three out of 25 tracks on the band’s Nanobots album. The nerd rock pioneers have also created a free iPhone application to celebrate, which takes a career-spanning look back at the band’s 30 year-history. Continue reading “Nerd Rock Godfathers, They Might Be Giants, Drop 3 New Songs (and a Free App)” »

Nerdcore Giants to Team Up for VOCALIST-PRODUCER CHALLENGE

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While the spirit of nerdcore music has always been one of friendly disposition and good-natured camaraderie, the second official Vocalist/Producer Challenge (#VPC) looks to bring out the real competitive side of contenders. It’s a chance for nerdcore champs like MC Ohm-I, Beaker Sullivan, Mega Ran, Beefy, just to name a few, to collaborate in assorted vocal/producer team-ups and see which duo does the best. Continue reading “Nerdcore Giants to Team Up for VOCALIST-PRODUCER CHALLENGE” »

MC Frontalot’s New Music Video Offers Key Advice For Anyone Looking to Live The Nerdlife

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MC Frontalot has dropped the brand-new video for his latest single, ‘Nerd Life.’

Somewhere between commiseration for those suffering through the day-to-day grind and the spasmic Front dance moves we’ve all come to know and love, the video features Frontalot enduring the doldrums of daily work most of us must. Wait, Frontalot has to work a day job? Continue reading “MC Frontalot’s New Music Video Offers Key Advice For Anyone Looking to Live The Nerdlife” »

Exclusive: Interview With ‘Insane’ Ian Bonds — Nerdcore’s Prolific Punk

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Like his peer MC Ohm-I, ‘Insane’ Ian Bonds is making up for quantity with quality.

He may not have a huge discography, but he’s already written a series of odes to everyone from comic book superheroes to nerd music godfather Weird Al Yankovic himself. Continue reading “Exclusive: Interview With ‘Insane’ Ian Bonds — Nerdcore’s Prolific Punk” »

Journey’s Soundtrack Nominated For a Grammy

Downloadable titles like Journey have received a lot of notoriety this year. Austin Wintory composed the soundtrack for VGA game of the year nominee Journey and now his work on the game has been nominated for a Grammy (via Joystiq).

Only the second in history, the Grammy nod is a major stepping stone for music in gaming. The first was for the title song in Civilization 4.

To put this in perspective, Wintory is going up against some serious Hollywood heavyweights including the likes of Howard Shore (3 Oscars, 3 Grammy Awards) John Williams (5 Oscars, 12 Grammy Awards) and Hans Zimmer (1 Oscar nominated 7 times, 3 Grammy Awards). Not to mention the rest of the nominees who include Black Ops 2 composer and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor as well as Ludovic Bource (The Artist).

Continue reading “Journey’s Soundtrack Nominated For a Grammy” »

A Blind Nerdcore Orgy, Courtesy of MC Ohm-I

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MC Ohm I may not have been on the nerdcore scene for long, but he’s making up for it with tons of ambition — and networking skills.

His latest EP, Words More Better, features the contributions of 9 nerdcore artists in total.Among them: Planetz, Raptorman, MC Esher, Jollimus Prime, and D-Boy. Continue reading “A Blind Nerdcore Orgy, Courtesy of MC Ohm-I” »

Joe Budden Kicks Out Fan From Concert, MC Chris-Style

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Hip-hop star/Slaughterhouse rapper Joe Budden has followed in the steps of MC Chris, despite the latter’s intensely negative feedback for kicking out a fan from his concert earlier this summer.

Upon finding out that one concertgoer had been sending negative tweets during his show, Budden had her kicked out. Continue reading “Joe Budden Kicks Out Fan From Concert, MC Chris-Style” »

Government Re-thinks Rocker’s Bid to Be ‘Party Ambassador’

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It’s been a while since Andrew W.K. — the pseudo-punk rocker-turned jazz pianist who made partying famous with songs like “Party Hard”, “It’s Time to Party” and “Party Party Party” — has really exposed himself to the public. His 2009 album, a series of songs paying tribute to Mobile Suit Gundam, constituted a minor hit in the anime world, but little has been heard from him since.

Still, W.K. made his name synonymous with partying, and apparently old habits die hard: as of this week, W.K. was set to become an official emissary to the Middle East as an ‘ambassador for partying.’ while, at least. Continue reading “Government Re-thinks Rocker’s Bid to Be ‘Party Ambassador’” »

Mikal kHill’s Celebrates Zombies in Latest Nerdcore Album

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It’s been a couple months since his nationwide tour with Jesse Dangerously, Adam WarRock, and Tribe One, yet nerdcore rapper Mikal kHill has decided to pen still another album.

Chiefly inspired by The Walking Dead, kHill’s latest is half concept album, half zombie movie-tribute: kHill also looks to cult classics by the likes of George Romero and Max Brooks for inspiration. Continue reading “Mikal kHill’s Celebrates Zombies in Latest Nerdcore Album” »

Miniature Marios Cover Multiple Video Game Themes

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Never heard of The Mini Mario Orchestra? It is, predictably, an orchestra of tiny Marios, conducted by a very talented dude who is actually playing the roles of both conductor and all 19 midget Marios at the same time.

It’s also incredibly strange and a pretty big showcase of talent for the guy.

This ‘Epic RPG Medley’ song is actually Continue reading “Miniature Marios Cover Multiple Video Game Themes” »

Daily Nerdcore: Math the Band, Most Raucous of All Nerdcore Groups?

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If you’re familiar in the least with the likes of Matt and Kim and other boy/girl pop duos who’ve won hearts over with their infectious brand of happy, lightly nerdy pop, you might have mixed reactions to Math The Band.

That’s largely because a) Math is this Rhode-Island based math/punk/nerdcore band that’s something like a cross between Black Flag and Bit Shifter (or M83 and Mr. Bungle), and b)they’re pretty much the opposite — in the extreme sense of the word — of every nerdcore and/or chiptunes band you’ve ever heard.

They’re also LOUD, you hear? LOUD. Continue reading “Daily Nerdcore: Math the Band, Most Raucous of All Nerdcore Groups?” »

Chaz Buchanan Writes Chiptune Songs… On Original NES Cartridges

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Of the increasingly huge number of chiptunes artists out there, there’s maybe one or two doing what chiptunes artist Chaz Buchanan does: writing and recording chiptune songs meant to be played on a NES console.

Sure, they’re playable in the usual MP3 sense and available on his bandcamp page right here. But Buchanan, who releases his music under the pseudonym Puzzle Boys, records all his music on original NES and Game Boy electronics. Continue reading “Chaz Buchanan Writes Chiptune Songs… On Original NES Cartridges” »

Death*Star Brings You A Nerdcore-Style Tribute to Halloween

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Just in time for All Hallow’s Eve, some of nerdcore’s best and brightest have collaborated to bring us a collection of Halloween-themed nerdcore songs.

Songs about aliens, zombies, monsters, Pokemon, and Freddy Krueger? Check. Sung by nerdcore heroes Death*Star and Klopfenpop, and featuring Mega Ran and others? So much the better.

Part of Nerdcore Aficionado website Nerdcore Now‘s ongoing collection of Continue reading “Death*Star Brings You A Nerdcore-Style Tribute to Halloween” »

Beginner’s Guide to Making Chiptunes Music [VIDEO]

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So you want to make chiptunes? It may not be as not difficult as you thought.

Producer/chiptunes guru The Sigh Wonder, who’s already earned somewhat of a reputation just churning out remixed versions of songs by artists like Ratatat, recently released a set of step-by-step instructions on how to make tunes in the style of Anamanaguchi, Bit Shifter and others (keeping in mind it’s also taken hundreds of hours invested in the craft to do it as well).

Just one part of a two-part series (with the second part soon to be released) of instructions on how to import, program and produce, Sigh covers everything here from first importing the basic drum beats and blips and beats in the form of .wav files to the final steps of making a solid beat for your chiptunes song. Continue reading “Beginner’s Guide to Making Chiptunes Music [VIDEO]” »

Daily Soundcloud: Shirobon Turns Chiptunes/Dubstep into Catchy Mainstream Pop Songs

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Those he’s hailed as yet another in the long line of today’s chiptune artists who hail from the UK, there’s really nothing chiptune-y about Shirobon outside his old stuff (see “Lightspeed Lucy” below), which is about the closest you’ll hear someone come to using a Game Boy to make a techno song, awesomely.

For the most part, however, Shirobon leaves behind the 8-Bit soundtracks of his youth to focus on making compelling and, dare we say, actual pop songs. He’s also been known to utilize genres as diverse as dubstep, hip-hop, and techno to deliver his musical vision. Continue reading “Daily Soundcloud: Shirobon Turns Chiptunes/Dubstep into Catchy Mainstream Pop Songs” »

Daily Nerdcore: For MC Ohm-I, Gaming’s A Part of the Package

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Pick-up lines might have gone out of style with broads around the same time as leisure suits, but that makes no difference to Ohm-I. The loves gaming, sex, and pretty much everything else gaming guys love, and he doesn’t shy away from gaming euphemisms to make his intentions clear. The lyrics of “Nerd You Up”, for instance, make it totally clear what he’s after:

“You can be the Peach to my Mario/
so take a second, grab my controller, sit down, it’s game on, baby.”

Yes, by controller, he means penis, and it’s kinda nice to have someone right off the bat be so up front about what he’s after, while managing to use clever gaming hyperbole like this. Continue reading “Daily Nerdcore: For MC Ohm-I, Gaming’s A Part of the Package” »

Daily Nerdcore: Sir Darkseid Returns With All-Star Tribute to Batman and Thundercats

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Fresh off his latest competition in the KingIce rap battle, Sir Darkseid is back with another nerdcore tribute to Batman. This one is all-inclusive, taking time to factor in all of the Caped Crusader’s incarnations in both the world of comics and films.

In “I’m Batman,” he’s even made time for Caesar Romero and Adam West, and pretty much every major Batman villain is even a part of the song.

Continue reading “Daily Nerdcore: Sir Darkseid Returns With All-Star Tribute to Batman and Thundercats” »