Songs in a Nerdy Key

I don't know about you guys, but I love it when music focuses on science-fiction, superheroes, and video games.  Everyone has heard of mc chris, so I thought I might start up a topic about our favorites, be it nerdcore, steampunk, mashups, or heavy mythril.

There may be some strong language in some of these links, so be careful if you're goofing off at work!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Adam WarRock:
This guy is awesome, and some of the best nerdcore out there.  His subject matter coveres a lot of comic book material, including stuff from Oni Press and Image.  He even did a Futurama EP and a Bravest Warriors rap.  He's released a lot of free stuff on his site (most of it are X-Men EPs), but he's great live and his music is worth kicking in a few bucks.

 

His site:
http://www.adamwarrock.com/
 

A track off of his Futurama EP:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB4feU7G0TQ&list=PLPyIuX1cqeYehwJJEaNYD2lMn9tMfkuEE&index=6

 

Random, aka Mega Ran:

This guy is my idol.  A former teacher turned nerdccore rapper who took a note from YTCracker and sampled some old chiptunes in his raps.  He has done concept albums about video games with their own soundtracks as his sampling material (such as Mega Man, River City Ransom, and his magnum opus, Black Materia, for FFVII).  He's super awesome, and puts on an awesome show.  He also regularly engages his fans on his Facebook and through his website.

His site:

http://megaranmusic.com/music

 

A track off of Black Materia:  Final Fantasy VII:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ybfoHGQ6w

 

Doctor Steel:
A real-life supervillain.  No, really, this guy dresses up in a labcoat with a steampunk aesthetic and talks about taking over the world.  His music is ecclectic and interesting, with a strong steam-punk style, along with some hip-hopera (hip-hop and opera) thrown in.  He's no longer active, but his Toy Soldiers (i.e. an actual organized group of henchmen that are still going strong) live on trying to turn the world into a Utopian Playground:

His (fan) site:
http://www.toysoldiersunite.com/

 

One of his videos-turned-music video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCKkcex6_Hg

 

Power Glove:
Two words:  Heavy Mythril.  These guys do metal covers of everything from Winnie the Pooh to the 90's X-Men animated series theme song.  They dress up in full warrior gear that ranges from Rennaissance fair recreation armor to cosplay gear of the finest foam rubber.  Super nice dudes, and their live shows are a must see.

Their site:
http://www.vgmetal.com/

 

One of their music videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWuj9voUqLE

 

Richie Branson:
A nerdcore rapper that was a huge part of bringing Toonami back on air.  He mainly raps about anime with a little bit of video games mixed in.  His Wing Zero EP is pretty fantastic, and his NERD EP also brings some real winners to the table.  His Otaku King albums, however, really bring out some of his best work. Also great live.

His site:
http://richiebranson.com/

 

His song "Space Cowboy Serenade" about Cowboy Beebop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va0KAYh9wAU

 

2 Mellow:
He did a mashup album, Chrono Jigga, combining Chrono Trigger instrumentals with vocals from Jay-Z's Black Album.  It's pretty awesome (and free)!

Chrono Jigga:
http://2mellomakes.bandcamp.com/album/chrono-jigga

 

DJ Nerd42:
A mashup artist who recently collaborated with Random to create his White Materia mashup album in Ran's Black Materia series.  Originally known for his mashup album Deltron 3742 (Deltron 3030 + Final Fantasy 7 + DJ Nerd 42) combined Deltron 3030 (a BRILLIANT hip-hopera concept album about an afrofuturist world in which mech pilot Deltron Zero must take down the evil corporations controlling the world) with Final Fantasy VII.  Also free.

 

Deltron 3742:

http://djnerd42.bandcamp.com/album/deltron-3742

 

Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer and Professor Elemental - Just Like a Chap & Fighting Trousers (pioneers of the "Chap-Hop" genre)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiRPBCiJg2c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk

 

Past that, here are a few others I've only experienced a little bit of.

The Roy Clark Method - Sector 2814 (it's about Hal Jordan Green Lantern):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJJ03fipI-Q

 

Manticora - A Long Farewell (off of their Hyperion album, which is a concept album based on the first book in Dan Simmons's Hyperion Cantos.  My capstone paper compared it to Canterbury Tales and the Chaucerian Frame Tale Narrative.  The book is most dope.):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJdHPZhSAFk

 

So...what do y'all like as far as music goes in our little demographic?

You might also give Future World Music and Two Steps from Hell a look on iTunes. They create my Sentinel's playlist.

It is very difficult to talk about nerd-rock and not bring up arguably the most prolific contemporary prog band out there, Coheed and Cambria.

Their huge discography tells the tale of "The Amory Wars", a truly epic space saga about the 78 planets of Heavens Fence, the Keywork (the energy source that holds it all together), and the inevitable destruction of it all. Along with 7 studio albums, there are also comics of the first two albums (with more on the way) and a 300 page prose novel of their 5th.

Their music is amazing on its own and does not need any knowledge of the concept behind it. But the concept is so deep and fleshed out throughout so many forms of media, it can be a pretty deep rabbit hole to traverse. 

 

For those familiar wtih Coheed, I have been slowly working on custom SoTM decks based on characters from the Amory Wars universe which has been a blast as it just works so well! Pre-playtesting atm, but just as an example, here are a few of the card ideas for the Hero character Coheed:

Innate Power: Thrash - Deal up to 2 targets 1 melee damage. Coheed deals himself 1 melee damage.

Transform Arm - Blades: Ongoing/Mutation. When this card is put into play, Coheed deals himself 1 melee damage. Increase melee damage delt by Coheed by  2

Transform Arm - Beam Cannon: Ongoing/Limited/Mutation. When this card is put into play, Coheed deals himself 1 energy damage. Power: Deal 1 target 2 energy damage. Whenever Coheed's Thrash power is used, activate this cards power as well.

Evolve, Monstar!: One-shot. Draw a card. Search your deck or trash for a mutation card and put it in your hand or into play. Coheed deals himself 1 energy damage. Play a card.

Ultimate Transformation - The Beast: Ongoing/Limited/Mutation. Increase all energy damage delt by Coheed by 1. When this card enters play, destroy all other mutation cards, then deal all non-hero targets and Coheed X energy damage, where X = the number of mutations destroyed by this card. Whenever Coheed deals himself damage, he may deal that much energy damage to 1 target. At the end of you turn, Coheed deals himself 2 irreducible energy damage.

This post ended up being much longer than I anticipated. Sorry about that. TL:DR is Coheed is awesome