MetaFilter posts tagged with jonathancoulton

Bring your favorite lady, or at least your favorite lay.

shiu mai baby — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:17:34 -0800

Jonathan Coulton has been discussed many, many times on the blue, and most folks here are familiar with his inimitable First of May song. But seeing it performed in ASL really is a new kind of great. (If you've not heard the song before, the lyrics are very NSFW; the ASL video itself is completely tame, so long as you have headphones.)

L on the forehead for Fox

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:11:01 -0800

Fox's TV show Glee has unambiguously used without attribution Jonathan Coulton's acoustic cover of the Sir Mix-a-Lot song "Baby Got Back," including keeping in modified lyrics and possibly using actual sound effects from Coulton's original piece. Coulton has confirmed that Fox never contacted him in any way about the use of his arrangement. While Coulton offers his music under Creative Commons, Fox has released several albums of Glee cast song covers for sale on iTunes, selling more than 13 million singles.

The Humble Music Bundle

the man of twists and turns — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 07:38:21 -0800

You remember the Humble Indie Bundle, (previously) and the Humble Holiday Bundle (previously)? The Humble Music Bundle is out. Following the same pay-what-you-want plan, featuring six albums. Ars Technica:

There's a definite gaming vibe running through the six albums being offered here. Besides the Best of Valkyria Chronicles soundtrack, the selection contains Christopher Tin's Calling All Dawns (including the Grammy winning Civilization IV theme "Baba Yetu") and a greatest hits album from Jonathan Coulton (complete with a live version of his memorable, Portal-ending song "Still Alive"). The bundle also features nerdcore rapper (and frequent Penny Arcade Expo performer) MC Frontalot, a remix-filled album from power pop group OK Go (who helped launch the 3DS's downloadable video service last year) and geek-rock favorites They Might Be Giants (who… actually don't have much of a connection to gaming, it seems).

EFF:'All of the albums are DRM-free and can be downloaded as MP3s and/or FLACs, meaning you can play them anytime, anywhere, on any device that supports MP3 or FLAC audio formats.' MC Frontalot, Damian Kulash, Jonathan Coulton, Christopher Tin, Jeffrey Rosen, John Graham, Richard Esguerra did an AMA on reddit.

dress-up & paper dolls

flex — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:45:26 -0800

Hipster girl? Hipster boy? Superhero? Mii? A modern Mucha? Regency hero or heroine? Tudors? Steampunk (one, two)? Here's more.
How about pop culture? True Blood. Mad Men (Joan S1, S2, S3). Marty McFly (by Derek Eads). Jonathan Coulton. Lady GaGa. Kyle Hilton (previously: Arrested Development) also has Parks and Recreation, Breaking Bad, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and various films. (previously: a blog - manly - PONIES)

Still Alive on theremin, toy guitar and voice

running order squabble fest — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:10:42 -0800

Relevant to my interests (YT). Sara Quin (of Tegan and Sara) sings "Still Alive", accompanied by Jonathan Coulton and Dorit Chrysler, in what could perhaps be called a tweefecta. Chrysler is an accomplished thereminist, and was Moog's choice to deliver the April Fool's Day announcement of the polyphonic theremin with a glorious cover of "Stairway to Heaven". In reality, she rocks a customized Moog Etherwave Pro. Founder of the New York Theremin Society, she is credited with (or responsible for, if you prefer) creating the first Theremin orchestra of the 21st century and bringing it, with the help of Steve Martin, to LA's Disney Comcert Hall. Tegan and Sara have their own history with the theremin - they can be seen here performing "Living Room" accompanied by a bass pedal and Etherwave Plus, a combo that resembles little so much as a mime trying to get up.

On Snuggies and Business Models

mrgrimm — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:29:40 -0800

"Now is a better time to be a musician, or a fan of music, than any other time in all of human history." Last Friday, the NPR Planet Money podcast featured musician Jonathan Coulton, whose online success prompted one host to compare the man (or his brand) to the blanket-with-arms Snuggie, i.e. "we didn't know we wanted it, and then all of a sudden we did." Coulton responds with his own thoughts on new business models for musicians in the Internet/file-sharing age.

It's really loud (the Shop-Vac not the song)

oneswellfoop — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:24:29 -0800

Considering Jonathan Coulton's lyric-writing, any text-based video of one of his songs is going to be good. But when graphic artist Jarrett Heather committed acts of "kinetic typography" to the ode to suburbia "Shop Vac", he made a SLYT that deserves multiple viewings.

Viacom is attempting to put poop in YouTube's Nintendo

desjardins — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 13:29:21 -0800

YouTube vs. Viacom explained. In 2007, Viacom initiated a lawsuit demanding $1 billion from YouTube as compensation for illegally uploaded content (even though Google had already offered them at least $592 million). But is Viacom being hypocritical? Where is Jonathan Coulton's 37 dollars? (previously, previously-er )

Candy Packers of the World, Unite!

l33tpolicywonk — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:09:28 -0800

Celebrate the eight-hour work day, dance around a pole, affirm your patriotism to beat the reds, build your community through candy and flower filled baskets, and get caught in flagrante delicto: it's a very special day. Previously, previously

A tiny silver ball /That makes you a hero /The moment you step inside

molybdenumblue — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:31:44 -0800

On Nov. 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, a one-way, history-making trip for a dog named Laika. Take a moment to remember her. Laika and two other dogs, Albina and Mushka, underwent training prior to launch, including high-altitude flights and being kept in smaller and smaller cages. Laika was not just her name, but also what Russians called a northern breed known for their endurance. The "laikas" are also known as Karelian Bear Dogs, according to the American Kennel Club, and remains one of the most popular breeds in Finland, where it originated.

Neil Gaiman is creepy, but not a doll

Caduceus — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:50:11 -0800

Neil Gaiman helps Jonathan Coulton perform the song "Creepy Doll." [slyt] Sure, it's not Bike Hero, but still pretty awesome if you like Coulton or Gaiman.

Derek Powazek Closing Up Pixish

pineapple — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:25:34 -0800

Pixish is Closing. Today, Derek Powazek announced on his blog that the collaborative website for creative and design work will close on October 31, openly admitting "We underestimated the 'spec work' issue." To wit: Pixish launched in February 2008, at which point MeFi discussed heatedly whether this latest web venture from perennial web-venturer (and MeFite #44) Derek Powazek was a good-faith effort to promote designers -- or a critically flawed project promoting evil via spec work. Jonathan Coulton was even involved at one point, and things got very meta. In his post, Powazek offers several additional compelling reasons for the business decision... but can't they all be traced back to the spec work fracas, really?

Psychemathadelica!

not_on_display — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:56:40 -0800

How deep does the rabbit hole go? The Ultimate Fractal Video Project features animated zooms into the famous Mandelbrot Set. Some zoom in so far that, by the end of the dive, the first frame you had viewed would be as large as (or larger than) the known universe. | The animations are offered as .zip'd WMV files; lower-quality versions are viewable on FractAlkemist's YouTube page. The author explains: "The 'Universe' viddies are so named because at a zoom depth of E+26, the original Mandelbrot is expanded to approximately the size of the known observable universe, 10-20 billion lightyears. And E+61 is the ratio of the entire visible universe to the smallest sub-atomic quantum effects. So where does E+89 take you? To the Mother of All Mandelbrot ZooM animations! "This one took 8 months to render on 3 systems, all running 24/7. This is the Deepest Mandelbrot ZooM Animation ever made, and ever likely to be made (without frame interpolation, shortcuts, tricks or cheating). It goes all the way to a final zoom depth of E+89, and uses maximum iterations (2,100,000,000) all the way for maximum detail." - - - - - Recommended uses: download a few, put them in a queue on your media player, and let them play on repeat at your next box social. - - - - - This FPP by loquacious points to another cool fractal animation site. - - - - - Bonus: two more cool fractal animations: one with Jonathan Coulton's song "Mandelbrot Set" as the soundtrack, the other with a more baroque flavor. - - - - - There are many more examples of fractal animation out there; please add your favorite links in the comments section.

I've Been Everywhere, Man

jonson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:37:07 -0800

Are you, like many others this summer, considering avoiding the costs & hassles of pricey foreign or domestic travel by having a "staycation" at home? Daily Show commenter John Hodgman (ably backed by Jonathan Coulton on the strings) enumerates the benefits of a "Holistay" (much better name) to help you make your choice.

You just keep on trying till you run out of cake

ryoshu — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:10:05 -0800

Jonathan Coulton performs "Still Alive" in Rock Band.

Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog

OmieWise — Tue, 15 May 2007 10:29:25 -0800

Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog. The NYTimes Magazine on the convergence of the internet and pop music.

Gollum meets Johnny Cash.

EarBucket — Sun, 06 May 2007 10:43:52 -0800

You've probably seen the video of Kirk and Spock set to "Closer." You might not be familiar with the wider world of fanvids, however. It might be "Lost" set to Warren Zevon or "Heroes" set to Jonathan Coulton. Some are slashy, others are just hilarious. And some are really awesome.

You Oughta Know (all about awesome covers)

shiu mai baby — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 11:54:01 -0800

The always-excellent (and Me Fi fave) Jonathan Coulton, inspired by Alanis Morissette's cover of My Humps from a few weeks ago, has done a marvelously droll cover of You Oughta Know.

Here's an FYI - You're All Gonna Die Screaming

jonson — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 19:02:48 -0800

Re Your Brains is the music video to a great song (a memo between two businessmen, detailing the fact that one of them is now a zombie and intends to eat the other one's brains) by the much mefi'd Jonathan Coulton; apparently inspired by his "Flickr: the Video", fans are making DIY videos for several of his songs over at the JoCoPro (Jonathan Coulton Project). Two of my favorite non-zombie related ones are The Presidents, a mnemonic for memorizing every U.S. President in order & at least one fact about each, and Code Monkey, detailing the warm secret heart of a Frito loving coder.

Ol' Festerpants

tristeza — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 15:08:02 -0800

700 hobo names as read by John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise (accompanied by Jonathan Coulton on the git box).