Lyrics: White & Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic

“Escher is my favorite MC”.

Truly this is Weird Al’s greatest work since he rhymed “brain-dead AOL-er” with “jpegs to Hellen Keller” in It’s All About The Pentiums (video). The audio is available from Digg. Here are the lyrics (source) – listen and read them. It’s worth it.

White & Nerdy by Al Yankovic

They see me mowin’
My front lawn
I know they’re all thinking I’m so white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Can’t you see I’m white and nerdy?
Look at me, I’m white and nerdy
I wanna roll with
The gangstas
But so far they all think I’m too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
I’m just too white and nerdy.
Really really white and nerdy.

First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I’m a champion at D&D
MC Escher – that’s my favorite MC
Keep your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey tea
My rims never spin, to the contrary
You’ll find that they’re quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry
Steven Hawking’s in my library
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out
Got people beggin’ for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places
Ain’t got no grills but I still wear braces
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
I’m a whiz at Minesweeper – I could play for days
Once you see my sweet moves you’re gonna stay amazed
My fingers’ movin’ so fast I’ll set the place ablaze
There’s no killer app I haven’t run
At Pascal, well I’m number one
Do vector calculus just for fun
I ain’t got a gat but I got a soldering gun
Happy Days is my favorite theme song
I could sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
I’ll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
I’m fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon

They see me roll on
My Segway
I know in my heart they think I’m white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Can’t you see I’m white and nerdy
Look at me, I’m white and nerdy
I’d like to roll with
The gangstas
Although it’s apparent I’m too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
I’m just too white and nerdy
How’d I get so white and nerdy

I’ve been browsin’, inspectin’
X-Men comics, you know I collect ‘em
The pens in my pocket, I must protect ‘em
My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media
I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well
I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
I got a business doing websites
When my friends need some code, who do they call?
I do HTML for ‘em all
Even made a homepage for my dog
Yo, I got myself a fanny pack
They were havin’ a sale down at The Gap
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
Pop, pop, hope no one sees me
Gettin’ freaky
I’m nerdy in the extreme
And whiter than sour cream
I was in AV Club and Glee Club and even the Chess Team
Only question I
Ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk
Or do I like Picard
Spend every weekend at the Renaissance Fair
Got my name on my underwear

They see me strollin’
They laughin’
And rollin’ their eyes ‘cause I’m so white and nerdy
Just because I’m white and nerdy
Just because I’m white and nerdy
All because I’m white and nerdy
Holy cow, I’m white and nerdy
I wanna bowl with
The gangstas
But, oh well, it’s obvious I’m white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
Think I’m just too white and nerdy
I’m just too white and nerdy
Look at me, I’m white and nerdy

 

Simply Sean

Photo of Sean Cullen, not an attractive man

In the summer at CBC Radio One, it seems everyone leaves and they give Sean Cullen, goofy Canadian comic extraordinaire, run the studio on Saturday mornings with his show Simple Seán (note the accent on the ‘a’).

He rambles like an idiot for a few minutes. First you’ll think, How can they let this fool on the air? Next, you’ll be laughing out loud. This will repeat throughout the show.

Then, for some reason quite surprising, Sean plays fantastic music. Today he played Joel Plaskett, The Deers, the Mountain Goats, the New Pornographers, Sloan, Broken Social Scene, the Stills and a few other goodies.

A good listen – Saturday mornings on CBC Radio 1 through out the summer.

 

Acts of Volition Radio: Session 25

Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Five

The day after Canada Day, I put together a new session of Acts of Volition Radio.

Songs for Canada Day, 2006. Recorded Sunday, July 2, 2006 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 44min.

Session Twenty Five Playlist:

  1. Joel Plaskett – Absentminded Melody
  2. Joel Plaskett – Happen Now
  3. Pilate – Knife-Grey Sea
  4. Fountains of Wayne – All Kinds of Time
  5. Sarah Harmer with the Weakerthans – Gone for Good (The Shins)
  6. Joel Plaskett – Natural Disaster
  7. Pearl Jam – Marker in The Sand
  8. Pilate – Into The West

For more, see the previous Acts of Volition Radio sessions or subscribe to the Acts of Volition Radio RSS feed.

Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio: Session 25
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Acts of Volition Radio: Session 24

Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Four

It’s been a few months since my last session of Acts of Volition Radio was recorded. I’m back with six fantastic songs.

Back with six great songs. Recorded Sunday, April 2, 2006 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 34min.

Session Twenty Four Playlist:

  1. My Morning Jacket – Wordless Chorus
  2. The Doughboys – Shine
  3. Idlewild – Love Steals Us from Loneliness
  4. Wintersleep – Jaws of Life
  5. Snow Patrol with Martha Wainwright – Set the Fire to the Third Bar
  6. Imogen Heap – Hide and Seek

For more, see the previous Acts of Volition Radio sessions or subscribe to the Acts of Volition Radio RSS feed.

Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio: Session 24
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Why are there no banjos in Star Trek?

The East Coast Music Awards were in Charlottetown this past weekend and I enjoyed some great live music by Matt Mays & El Torpedo, Joel Plaskett, Wintersleep, Mir, and lots of traditional East Coast artists.

The true highlight of the weekend, though, was Cape Breton songwriter JP Cormier’s banjo jokes. As he brought out his banjo, he shared a joke that divided the crowd sharply into two contingents: people laughing (which was only myself), and everyone else.

Q. Why are there no banjos in Star Trek?

A. Because it’s in the future.

 

A Crybaby Christmas

Dunlop Crybaby Wah Wah pedal - woin wah woin whinnnn wouin!!!

It was by far the least punctual wedding gift we received (about five months late), and it isn’t something that both of us an really enjoy, but the gift that arrived today has to be the most awesome of all.

My good friend Alan at Gen X at 40 bought me a wah-wah pedal. A genuine Dunlop Crybaby© Wah Wah. The dunlop site features a short audio sample (WAV file) of the funk that is wah-wah.

The package arrived under an hour ago and I already have blisters on my fingers.

Awesome.

 

Acts of Volition Radio: Session 23

Acts of Volition Radio: Session Twenty Three

My last session of Acts of Volition Radio was recorded in the waning days of my bachelorhood. Though this session now features a married host, the music continues to rock (though sometimes gently). I’m as excited about sharing these great songs as I was when recording the first session. This session is the first available in Ogg Vorbis format (info and rational, though the MP3 version is still available if you prefer.

Songs that rock, gently. Recorded Sunday, November 6, 2005 by Steven Garrity. Run time: 47min.

Session Twenty Three Playlist:

  1. Fountains of Wayne – Mexican Wine
  2. The New Pornographers – The Bleeding Heart Show
  3. Denison Witmer – Little Flowers
  4. Starflyer 59 – Good Sons
  5. Sum 41 – Pieces
  6. Nada Surf – Always Love
  7. Without Gravity – Beautiful Son
  8. Death Cab For Cutie – I Will Follow You Into The Dark

For more, see the previous Acts of Volition Radio sessions or subscribe to the Acts of Volition Radio RSS feed.

Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio
Acts of Volition Radio: Session 23
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Switchfoot Laments the Copy Protection on their CD

In the forums on the Sony Music website, Tim Foreman of the band Switchfoot talks about the copy protection on their CD:

Hello friends,
my heart is heavy with this whole copy-protection thing. Many PC users have posted problems that they have had importing the new songs (regular disc only, not the dual disc) into programs such as Itunes. Let me first say that as a musician AND as a music fan, I agree with the frustration that has been expressed. We were horrified when we first heard about the new copy-protection policy that is being implemented by most major labels, including Sony (ours), and immediately looked into all of our options for removing this from our new album. Unfortunately, this is the new policy for all new major releases from these record companies. It is heartbreaking to see our blood, sweat, and tears over the past 2 years blurred by the confusion and frustration surrounding this new technology. It is also unfortunate when bands such as ourselves, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, etc… (just a few of the new releases with copy protection) are the target of this criticism, when there is no possible way to avoid this new industry policy.

He goes on to explain how to (relatively easily) circumvent the copy protection on their discs.

 

CBC Radio 3 Podcast in Ogg Vorbis

CBC Radio 3 Podcast (now with Ogg Vorbis!)

Despite having locked-out their employees, the CBC continues to do cool things (somehow).

The CBC Radio 3 Podcast features Canadian emerging artists who have given the CBC the ok to share their music online. If that wasn’t cool enough, the show is now available in the free and open-source audio format Ogg Vorbis (read a bit about why this matters). Also see the Digg.com post on the subject.

Nice work, CBC Radio 3. My music-geek and my open-source-geek selves giving each other a geeky high-five.

The CBC has also had an Ogg Vorbis stream of the main CBC Radio 1 and CBC Radio 2 stations available for a while now.

Here’s a clip from the show with a great promo for the Ogg Vorbis format (worth a listen):

 

Acts of Volition Radio in the News

I had a request from a journalist to give some thoughts on “podcasting”. As I mention below, I’m still a bit lamed-out by the actual term “podcasting”, but if it helps people learn about cool audio online, then I can live with it. It’s no worse than “blog” anyhow.

I figured my email response to the journalist might be of some interest to others (and I can show what I actually wrote in case I’m misrepresented – though I’m sure it will be fine). Here, then, is what I wrote:

Question: What in your opinion makes a successful podcast?

Before you can determine what makes a successful podcast, I think you have to define what success is to you, the producer. For some, success may be measure by the most obvious and straightforward means: number of listeners. For others, though, success may come in reaching a small group effectively. For a few, success may even be defined by simply producing something that you are happy with – talking can be quite therapeutic.

For myself, I feel satisfied when I hear from a few people that have truly enjoyed a piece of music I’ve played. Even if I were only to hear back from a couple of people, knowing that someone has found some new music that they love is what motivates me to produce the show.

Question: Which are your favorites?

I actually only listen to a few “podcasts”:

LugRadio

There’s a really geeky show produced by four guys from Wolverhampton in the U.K. called LugRadio (http://www.lugradio.org). It’s a panel talk show about Linux and the surrounding technology and culture. The guys that do the show are huge geeks, are quite funny, and actually do a better job of discussion Linux and open-source technology-related issues that most in the mainstream press. Their British accents make everything they say sound just a little bit smarter and funnier too.

IT Conversations

While not limited to one specific host or topic, the IT Conversations site hosts conference keynotes and interviews with people from around the technology industry. The original host (he has since branched out and there are shows by many hosts on the site), Doug Kaye, does a great interview and they have some strong keynote presentations by important thinkers in the IT world.

DiggNation

Hosted by the maintainers of the technology/culture news site, Digg.com, this is a short weekly podcast that covers some of the most popular tech news stories of the week. That said, I listen mostly because the hosts are fun and entertaining.

MathCaddy Radio

A dude named Adam, who follows much the same format as my own Acts of Volition Radio – he plays music he loves and tells us about it. Like my own stuff, it’s rough and unscripted. Every once and a while, he tells a story about a song that makes you hear it in a new light and it’s totally worth the listen.

I would love to hear more people produce shows like Acts of Volition Radio and MathCaddy Radio, where they play the music they really love. That is the best way to find new music. It’s not coming from marketing firms, radio stations, or record companies. Instead, it’s music that someone loved enough to want to tell us about it.

Question: When do you listen, and with what technology?

I mostly listen when I’m at home on my old 1970s tube-powered Pioneer stereo, hooked up to my laptop. I don’t actually have an iPod or other portable music player. I also don’t use any of the podcast-downloading applications. Instead, I mostly just download the shows I want to hear at listening-time directly from the websites. With high-speed internet, it only takes a few minutes to download most shows.

The subscription and automatic download model that defines “podcasting” is intriguing, and I can see it being powerful if you have a commute or walk everyday that you want new material automatically on your player for. So far, at least, I don’t listen to shows that are produced daily and don’t have a portable player – so just downloading the shows manually and listening to them from my laptop is easy enough.

Question: Will podcasting last?

I’m still a bit weirded-out by the term “podcasting”. I just sounds kinda dumb to me. When the weblog/blogging phenomenon started to take off, I left the same way about the word “blog”. I still say “weblog” when I can (it sounds a bit less goofy), but I’ve pretty much given up on that since the term “blog” has become so ubiquitous. I think I’ll have to give in and start saying “podcasting” eventually too – but for now, I still find the term too goofy to say with a straight face.

I’m not sure if the term “podcasting” will last, or if the current technology of RSS enclosures to distribute audio files will last. It seems to be doing well, but could always be supplanted by some newer and better technology.

I do think that individuals producing audio and publishing it online will last. It was thought that television would kill radio but radio still plays an important role. I think this stems from some inherent strengths of the audio-only medium. Producing audio-only (as opposed to audio and video) significantly lowers the barrier to entry. You can make a great radio show with a decent mic and a laptop. While video is getting cheaper and easier (and will be an important medium online), it is still much easier to sound cool than it is to look cool.

I suspect that like the original hype around weblogs, the initial media interest might wear off, and many who got involved to see what the buzz was about might lose interested. However, like with weblogs, great writers will keep writing and people will continue to produce great interview, shows, and music.

I was actually producing and publishing Acts of Volition Radio before the term/technology “podcasting” came along – so if the term and technology turn out to be a passing fad, I’ll likely still be sharing music I love with whomever will listen.

A few general notes:

Licensing is a problem. I wrote SOCAN, the organization that manages music licensing in Canada for radio and television when I first began my show. I would be willing to pay a reasonable licensing fee. However, at the time, I was told that this new medium hadn’t quite been figured out. They suggested I save up some of my “revenue” (or “operating expenses” in the case of non-commercial radio) for whenever they actually do figure out what to change. I don’t have any revenue, and my “operating expenses” as trivial.

Rather than wait for the music industry to figure out how to make money off this new format, I’ve decided to go ahead and sell music for them. I’ve gotten dozens of email from people who have told me that after hearing an artist on Acts of Volition Radio, then purchased the CD. If anything, I consider what I’m doing to be to the benefit of the artists. I’m doing their advertising for them!

I suppose if I were to be asked (or threatened) by record companies or music industry organizations, I would comply with their request. However, rather than just stop, I think I would seek out musicians and record companies that understand the value of this new medium and promote their music instead.

Before I started producing Acts of Volition Radio, like most people, I would share great songs, albums, and artists with friends. With the show, I have effectively opened-up that sharing process to anyone who cares to listen.

The bottom line for me is that I love music. When you hear a song that really connects with you, it is a powerful feeling. When you know someone else has had a similar connection with that same song, it becomes a connection between people. I think this is part of what can make live music such a powerful experience. I want other people to feel what I feel when I listen to great music – this is why I produce the show.

When I hear from a listener that they have found some great new music through my show, I know that we have shared a common experience. It’s really about using music to connect with people.

I’ post an update if any of my stuff is used in the piece when it gets published.