At the forefront of the Nerdcore scene are Frontalot, mc chris, MC Lars, and YTCracker. Front is the godfather of the scene, coining the term and embracing all that is nerdy, dorky, dweeby, or geeky; you all know him and love him… and if you don’t, you should. mc chris doesn’t like to call himself Nerdcore, but due is a nerd rapper extraordinaire; you know him as MC Pee Pants and Hesh, or perhaps the dude who did that funny track about Boba Fett driving a Corvette. MC Lars is fun and enjoyable; he’s likely you’re friend on Facebook already, having nearly as many friends as Tom has on MySpace. YTC is a cracker and hacker turned emcee; Nerdrap Entertainment System still stands as a unique and groundbreaking work.

Beyond the big four, this illustrious site has covered the likes of Beefy, Shael Riley, Dual Core, and The ThoughtCriminals/Mikal kHill, as well as nerdy acts that don’t identify specifically with the subgenre like Pigeon John. However, today presents a great time to give the readers a brief primer of some other things the world of Nerdcore has to offer. Here are 10 more nerds that you need to know:

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Gorillaz Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach=Fail. Where’s the funky beats and fun lyrics?
Alicia rates this album 4 out of 10
(TPM feels quite similarly)

Pigeon John …And the Summertime Pool Party
Pigeon’s unique blend of rapping and singing will conquer hiphop.
Aaron rates this album 9 out of 10.

Operation Ivy Hectic/Energy
Don’t forget to break this one out every few months
Matthew rates this album 8.5 out of 10

DJ Shadow The Outsider
I threw it out the window of my moving vehicle.
Mikal rates this album 3 out of 10.

Childish Gambino I’m Just a Rapper 2
Great indie rock samples, clever rapping… lyrics a bit repetitive
Aaron rates this album 6 out of 10.

Spinal Tap Shark Sandwich
Shit Sandwich
Jacob rates this album 0.5 out of 10.

The Ramones The Ramones
And so it begins.
Aaron rates this album 10 out of 10.

MC Frontalot Zero Day
Nerdcore with no limits. Fresh, fun: his best album yet.
Benjamin rates this album 8.5 out of 10.

The White Stripes Under Great White Norther Lights
The White Stripes rock hard live… new studio album please.
Aaron rates this album 9 out of 10.

Johnny Cash The Collection: Disc 2
The Man in Black’s best songs all on one disc.
thepaintedman (that’s me) rates this album 9.5 out of 10.

Thanks to Alicia, Matthew, Aaron, Jacob, and Mikal for their reviews. Don’t forget to email me and claim your kick ass prizes (speaking of “kick ass” Kick Ass came out today, anyone wanna come babysit so I can see it?)

I just listened to the first 8 tracks of MC Frontalot’s Zero Day while doing the 30 Day Shred workout video. It’s an intense 20 minute workout (that my fat ass struggled with a lot, possibly due to 2 days of not doing it, possibly due to eating 3 slices of Sicilian pizza for dinner, or possibly due to drinking half a pint of Troeg’s Java Stout just prior to working out). Sick of Jillian Michaels’s annoying voice and the bad dance music on the DVD, lately I have been muting it and playing music from one of the 3 iTunes libraries on our home network… tonight it was working out with the Front.

As a brief synopsis, I must say I dig the album a lot. I listened to it once through yesterday and this is my second time through (well half of it this time). Here are some observations…

First, it was fun and upbeat, which made it a good alum to workout to. The songs were all highly danceable and very much Frontalot. I couldn’t help but think of him dancing and working out along side me as I powered through my tough workout.

Second, the album includes a few awesome guest, but for me the tops of this list is Mr. Beef Thompson. Beefy is one of my favorite nerdcore fixtures and I was very happy to hear him spitting on a track with Front and the rappist known as STD. Not to mention that the song they do together is entertaining, clever, and thoroughly enjoyable in every way.

Finally, there is very little about this album I can complain about. Perhaps I’ll have a gripe or two with more listens, but I doubt it. As per usual, MC Frontalot is awesome and surrounds himself with awesomeness. I’d guess that at least 2 to 3 tracks from this become heavy rotation on the iPod in no time.

I have a young son who is starting to potty train, so we grabbed some potty stuff recently, including Elmo’s Potty Time. It was a pleasant surprise to find that Frontalot is part of this DVD that has become my son’s favorite thing to watch. So, watch below to find another in a long list of reasons to love the Front!

thepaintedman rates this:

Thought Criminals was an influential Australian punk band that formed in 1977… oh wait… wrong Thought Criminals…

The Thought Criminals is a British electro… no that’s not it…

The ThoughtCriminals is not a punk band that formed in 1977. In fact, they are not Australian or British, are not punk or electro, and did not form in 1977. Rather, The ThoughtCriminals are a hip hop crew that sent me their CD a few weeks back after I saw them advertised as an opening act for MC Frontalot on a Facebook invite. When I messaged Mikal kHill, he immediately responded and asked my shirt size. When I responded, he apologized that they were out of stock on my t-shirt size, but he sent me the music to check out and continues to keep in touch with me promising that a shirt is on the way.

Well, first off, the shirt is unnecessary, as the album speaks for itself (though I am still welcoming the free swag, I’ll even post a pic of my fat ass rocking it once I get it). The 16 track self-title CD is chock full of intelligent lyrics, catchy hooks, good flow, and an overall fantastically constructed hip hop aesthetic. Sub-genre defying, the ThoughtCriminals are not a typical nerdcore act, despite having some ties to that scene; their sound is often very reminiscent of classic hip hop like A Tribe Called Quest and Boogie Down Productions, with some subtle and not-so-sublte influences from other hip hop artists ranging from Wu-Tang Clan to Frontalot himself.

Lyrically, some tracks are fun and uplifting, others are politically and social minded, and others yet are educational. Here are my notes on a few of my favorite tracks, taken directly from the notes I made on a back page of my planner while driving to and from work over the past few weeks. In no particular order:

Track 2 “Falling Apart”

Not what I expected… guess I was expecting something more obviously nerdy due to being an opener for Front. Great beat, talented band. Very Roots-esque, but fronted by a rapper more like Q-Tip or KRS rather than Thought.

Track 13 “Loud Enough”

Part Cornell West, part KRS, part Saul Williams… educational and entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable. Nice acoustic guitar work in the background. Homage to Leon Scott’s influence over 100 years ago. Works well enough on it’s own, but is perfect as the introductory track to “Corporate Sellout”

Track 5 “Pocket Full of Trouble”

Love the “Gin & Juice” references. In fact, the song sounds like it has a bit of that Chronic-era Dre feel besides just the lyrical references.

Track 3 “Things Change”

Synth reminds me of Double Ice Backfire, though that’s likely just because I’ve been obsessed with Songs from the Pit lately. Flow and synth together also bring to mind some of Beefy’s stuff on Rolling Doubles. The guy singing the line “just stay the same” in the chorus sounds very “radio rap”, can’t put my finger on who he is reminding me of, though.

Track 12 “Mile After Mile”

This track makes me feel happy from the door. Fun and happy music. Uplifting lyrics, references to everyday life, paying bills, and reading comics. All in all, the track most likely to be repeated over and over on my iPod. One last note… something about this track makes me think of Abdominal, not sure why though.

Track 4 “Pledge”

Beat is very Frontalot. I half expected Front to start rapping as the verse broke.

Track 8 “Economic Downturn”

Sounds like a video game as the song opens… so much so that it brought to mind Nerdrap Entertainment System. Lyrically, strong social conscience. Is it us or them? Our choices in life or the system? Interesting stuff.

A great album front to back, beginning to end, The ThoughtCriminals is a fantastic debut that this hip hop band can be proud of. Their page on cdbaby describes the CD as “Part live band, part hip hop crew, this group deftly hops across genres, mixing hip hop with a variety of styles and lyrical density unparalleled by anything you’ll hear in the mainstream.” This accurate description still does not do them justice, but it’s a start. If you like old school hip hop, bands like The Roots, underground hip hop like Sage Francis, The Coup, and Abdominal, or are a big fan of the nerdcore standouts like Front, YTC, and Beefy, then this is a must for your collection.

Last week I asked what song you’d sing on an American Idol audition, to which I received some great answers, including Skot’s CD-winning-worthy tune from Les Miserables (Hit me up for your choices, Skotty). This week, I think the question is easily as awesome… or even awesomer!

In light of the review I posted earlier today, I thought to myself,

Self, if you were a dope master of the ceremonies like Kevin “Kwalified” Richie, what would your name be?

A truly interesting question, I found myself with many options, some that were quite fly and others that would not fly at all. I mean, think of all the great names that my favorite MCs go by: Beefy, Mos Def, Pigeon John, Uno Mas, Blackthought, CookBook, MC Frontalot, thekeenone… but what to name myself?

First, I thought,

What about “MCJC”, I mean Justin Charles… JC… ah, I guess that sucks. Oh, I know, I could make it a play on one of my favorite MCs, like I could “Dos Mas” or even better yet “Whitethought”… no wait, that sounds like a white supremacist rapper, if there is such a thing.

I realized that as creative as I thought I was, I wasn’t. In fact, the name I chose was the easiest of all… and a name that my wife’s grandpop came up with to begin with… so here it is (stand in awe of my wit and wisdom!): “thepaintedman”.

HA! I am awesome. So, now it’s your turn. What would your rap name be?

My favorite answer gets a Hip Hop prizepack. Word?

Word.

No beating around the bush today, the winner of the RemixThis! SOLID GOLD contest is Austria’s Markus Schuechner, aka N-Jin. His remix won because it was thoroughly enjoyable and executed best. Not only will his track lead off this mixtape, but CookBook will be including this remix on one of his upcoming releases and sending him a T-shirt. Additionally, another N-Jin remix will close this 10 track mixtape (with a bonus download at the end of the post), so enjoy Markus’s genius.

Make sure to check the bottom of this post for some additional notes about the other entrants to this contest… there are consolation prizes.

1. CookBook – Solid Gold (N-Jin Remix) (El Ganador!)

2. The Langley Sisters – Strange to be in Love (VBM’s newest angelic voices from the UK)

3. thekeenone – Legal Drug Addict (Keen returns to the mix)

4. BenKenoB – SEPTA (MC Frontalot Mashup) (BenKenoB takes Frontalot vox and creates something new)

5. Alexander Lowery – Quartet for Guitars with Percussion in G Minor (aka “theone3rd” for Decap users)

6. Ed E. Ruger – Chillaxin’ (One of my fave tracks from Big Ed)

7. The Zero Four – You Don’t (Check out their website for more info)

8. CookBook – Solid Gold (Kwillis’s Rider Remix) (Killer remix, ineligible for the contest)

9. Manchild – Whadiddido (Mars Ill’s Manchild throws a phat track our way)

10. Sleep – Talk About It (N-Jin Remix) (Another PHAT N-Jin remix)

Other Contest Notes…

…as noted last night, the most original and creative remix was the remix done by Cassowaries. Very weird, very entertaining. CookBook said it may have been the winner if it weren’t for the fact that Cook couldn’t hear his own vocals and, just like TO, Cook like him some him. For being Mr. Original, you’ll be entitled to the first pick of the CD grab bag courtesy of your friendly neighborhood TPM.

…I really enjoyed BenKenoB’s Remix, but it wasn’t CookBook’s favorite. Another pretty original take on the song that warrants a free CD as a prize!

…Cook had great things to say about other remixes by The Nemesis, Frozenmammoth, and MC Dub. The Nemesis was “kinda weird, but in a good way”. Frozenmammoth’s second remix was “funky”. And, MC Dub had a “completely original take on the song” that Cook also noted as “moody”. All three of you will also receive free CD’s are a consolation, nothing special, but free is always fun.

Thanks to all and stay tuned for upcoming RemixThis! contests featuring Shael Riley and the85bears.

OH and here’s an AWESOME bonus, if you actually hung around long enough to get down to this line of the post… CLICK HERE FOR ALL REMIXES SUBMITTED TO THIS CONTEST IN ONE HUGE .ZIP FILE… Kwillis is not included in this .zip file, so don’t miss out on that download above.

Hey everyone, a few updates for ya’ll…

-The RemixThis! Contest is in full swing. In fact, RemixThis! “Solid Gold” featured on Remix Comps and Laptop Rockers. At least 4 entries are in, keep ‘em coming! Really hoping someone takes a shot at a rock version, mostly because I love me some Hip Hop injected with Rock and/or Roll! Do the damn thing… by Friday, that is.

-This week will conclude the Tuesday with Riley series. Hopefully that will be up on time this week, although with my schedule and his, I can’t promise anything. Check on Twitter and here to find out when it’s up.

-I am writing reviews and interviews for Decapolis now, check out reviews of Telegraph Canyon and Derek Webb. I will be rocking a review of TPM’s most downloaded band, the85bears, for Decap later this week.

-Those who are owed a digital prizepack for spreading the word of TPM on Twitter, never fear, I haven’t forgotten. Expect something via email this week!

-Later this week on TPM: Tunc Ak review, Sebastien Grainger review, K-Flay review, some tasting notes on Long Trail Harvest Ale, and some other surprises.

-Last but not least, I leave you all with a video to jam to. The last Song of the Day I picked was “The Pigeon John Song“, today I bring another Hip Hop track, this time by the god-pappy of Nerdcore. It’s MC Frontalot’s “Charity Case” off of 2005’s Nerdcore Rising. Without further ado, here’s “Charity Case” live at 2009’s Nerdapalooza: