Geek Girls Rule! #137 – Review: Sepiachord Passport

I need to start off this review by stating that I’ve known Mr. Bodewell, the curator of Sepiachord for a very long time.  He is a good friend. I also know members of several of the bands on this compilation.  But, as I’ve said before, if something doesn’t work, I’ll be honest about it.

A Sepiachord Passport compilation CD.

Now, I’m not a huge Steampunk fan.  I enjoy the esthetic on others, but it’s not a style I favor for myself.  However, much of the music on this CD touches the part of me that winds up humming, “Mein Herr” from Cabaret for months on end every time I see it.

The tagline for the Sepiachord site is “Music for a Past that Never was.”  Many of the songs on this compilation (and the other Sepiachord CD) have strong vaudevillian and cabaret influences.  Jangly pianos and accordions feature strongly, as does the occasional theremin.  Everything on this CD is more than listenable, but there are a few standouts.

“The Dance Master” by Veronique Chevalier is hands down the best song on this CD. It tells the story of an evil Dance Master who seduces girls into a life of prostitution.  She has a throaty voice, with a French accent.  The first time I heard the song, I texted Mr. Bodewell immediately to tell him how incredible I thought it was.

“Hollowland” by Blackbird Orchestra is also a great song, but it doesn’t fit.  The others songs feature jangly vaudeville-sounding instruments, and Blackbird Orchestra has a very lush, full sound.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the song!  It reminds me a bit of Sisters of Mercy with some elements of the Killers thrown in.  It’s fantastic, but I just don’t think it really fits.

My other favorites on this compiliation are Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys‘ “Off With Her Head,” and Miss Mamie Lavona the Exotic Mulatta and Her White Boy Band doing “Thief Song.”

“Rotten Zurich Cafe” by Black Tape for a Blue Girl is probably the weakest song on the CD.  It’s ok, but not quite as good as the rest. I think her Tallulah Bankhead impersonation was just a bit much for me.   And at first listen I didn’t think I’d like the Tiger Lillies song, “Roll Up,” but his voice grew on me after a couple of listenings, and I quickly grew quite fond of it. I’m also pretty fond of Sxip Shirey’s “Mehenatta.”

The majority of songs on this album tell stories, good ones, interesting stories, and with the exception of “Hollowland” they all fit together very well.  They’re incredibly evocative, and I could probably give you a paragraph or more about each if pressed, but I’d like to go finish getting ready for PAX now.

You can buy the Sepiachord Passport on the site (or you will be able to soon), or if you happen to meet Mr. Bodewell while out and about.

ETA:  You can buy the Passport now on Projekt’s website.

Geek Girls Rule! #135 – Nerds and Punk Rock

Two great tastes that taste great together!

So, for a while, the Geek Husband What Rules has been going to a local venue where bands play in someone’s living room.  Seriously, when he says “House shows” they really are in someone’s house, jam-packed with sweaty punk rockers singing, drinking and dancing.  Through this venue and our buddy Lukas, the GHWR has met a lot of the local punk rock scene, and quite frankly, a lot of them are nerds.

Ok, maybe not  a lot, but one in particular stands out in all his nerdish glory:  Ryan of the Damage Done.  Ok, maybe more than just him, because if you mention comic books at one of these shows you’ll soon find yourself surrounded by sweaty punk rock boys who are all over telling you their favorite X-men line-up.

I met Ryan at the second to the last GRN STRP show, and in introduction, I walked up and said, “Yeah, I wanted to meet the person with the tattoo second nerdiest to mine.”  Ryan has the Millenium Falcon tattooed across his chest.
“Oh, yeah. What’s yours?”
“Nightcrawler from the X-men.”
“That is sooo awesome!  Look, I have Wolverine on this bicep!”

The Damage Done’s first ep was named Tusken Hater, and Ryan has theTusken Hater cartoon tattooed on his hand and wrist.  After the tattoo displaying, we talked about Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis and Alan Moore.

Come to think of it, most of the punk rockers I know are nerds.  Let’s see, both groups are outcast, non-standard personality types.  They dress funny and know a lot of shit you don’t.  Yeah, I can’t see any reason why nerds and punks mesh so well.

So, tonight, the GHWR and I and some friends are walking up to a local coffeeshop to see Ryan’s solo project, Jefferson Death Star.  It’s accousti-punk, which is becoming more prevalent with bands like Andrew Jackson Jihad, Destruction Island and Wingnut Dishwashers Union.

ETA:  Just got back from the show.  Ol’ Doris and Goddammit Boy Howdy from Missoula, MT  also played, and were awesome!  Picked up their EP and Demo.  Cannot, however, find them on Myspace.  Rrrrrr.

ETA 2:  Thanks to Lukas, Here’ s GoddammitBoyHowdy’s Myspace.

Geek Girls Rule! #115 – What’s on a Geek’s MP3 player?

In lieu of any real postings, because nothing is pissing me off overly much except that my teenaged years were FAR too recent to be retro thank you very much, you get a post on my musical tastes, apart from Adam Ant.

Some of you may have noticed the inclusion of the NerdCore category on the right hand side of the page.  If you haven’t, go look, I’ll wait.

Yes, yes, I know Jonathan Coulton isn’t really NerdCore, but I don’t know where else to put him just yet, so you’ll just have to deal.  I am highly familiar with the work of all those fine gentlemen listed, however.  The three I am most familiar with are Bloodhag, MC Chris and MC Frontalot.  And any of the three might be found on my mp3 player at any given time.  The Geek Husband What Rules is a huge fan of those three, as well as Beefy and Dual Core.

Bloodhag are a local speedmetal group, who come out dressed like the scariest shop teachers ever in short sleeved white shirts, ties, black slacks and birth control glasses, sing songs about SF/F authors and throw paperback books and library card applications at the audience here in Seattle. 

MC Chris is more into the NerdCore/NerdHop genre, and is perhaps best known for “Fett’s Vette.”  I, however, am highly entertained by “White Kids Love Hip Hop.”  But since the only video I could find for “White Kids” kind of sucks, you get the “Fett’s Vette” video from Zack and Miri Make a Porno. 

MC Frontalot rocks the dorkness so hard.  I was torn between “Pitch Dark” and “Goth Girls,” but I think “Pitch Dark” showcases him better.  It is a bit long, though:    Also, he has all of his songs available for download on his site.

Dual Core don’t have any good videos on YouTube.com, however there is a video on their homepage.  We’re both big fans of their song “What Have We Done.”

The husband, also really digs on Beefy.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  1.  Beefy’s good.  2. He is also from the special flavor of hell that is Eastern Washington.  Game Store Girl: 

And of course, Optimus Rhyme. 

Perennial favorite, MC Hawking, because nerds are a bunch of sick freaks:  “All my Shootin’s be Drive-bys.”

Now, this isn’t all of what we listen to in the Geek Household What Rules.  We’re also big fans of Devo (big surprise), with our favorite song being their cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Are you Experienced?”  However, we also listen to a lot of recent, non-geeky stuff as well, like the Blue Scholars, Spoon, Yeahsayer, and just about anything played in general rotation on KEXP.  We’re big Dancehall fans, love punk, hip hop, ska, oi, rockabilly, metal, new country, we listen to just about everything.   Just about.  There are limits.  The Dave Matthews Band and Hootie and Blowfish are two of those limits.  Avril Lavigne, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus shall also never darken our CD/mp3 players.

Yeah, so we’re kind of elitists.

Oh yeah, if you want a way more comprehensive sampling of NerdCore and other Dork Music, then check out Radio Free Hipster.

Geek Girls Rule! #31.5 – Speed Racer THE MOVIE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO2jcwgIi8o

Was I living under a rock while they were making this?  How have I not heard about it until I saw the trailer before the Golden Compass last Saturday?

It looks like shiny, shiny candy with lots more shiny scattered around it, with glitter and pixie dust.  Seriously, the acting, the writing could suck, I’d just turn the sound off and watch the pretty dance before my eyes.  I may take my mp3 player with me, load it up with Fluke, Daft Punk, Death in Vegas and Lords of Acid, and plug into that if it’s too cringeworthy.

I am so looking forward to this movie.  And I was not even, particularly, a fan of the cartoon.  Mr. Geek Girl What Rules was, and, boy, did his Dad hate that cartoon.  If you watch the cartoon, car racing is the most dangerous, amazing thing in the whole world.  I mean, what with jumping over cliffs and volcanoes spontaneously springing into existence in the middle of the track.  As the Mister’s Dad used to be involved in racing, nothing big, just stuff around Eastern Washington, Speed Racer drove him nuts.  And I can see that. So, we won’t be taking him to see the movie.

And seriously, I doubt I’ll be able to coax the Mister into going.*  I mean, it’s Speed Racer and all, but it also looks like a serious danger to anyone with undiagnosed epilepsy and aimed at folks with the attention span of your average fruit fly.  I don’t know, though.  The Mister is really fond of Baz Lurhman’s Romeo and Juliet, so he might go for it.  We’ll have to see. 

Regardless, I will be going to see it and probably have shiny-gasms all over the theater.

*So, after showing the Mister the trailer last night, I was informed:  “Duh, it’s Speed-Fucking-Racer.  Of course I’m going.”  So, that’s that.