Feature: PAX East 2010 – Photo Essay

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Nathan Meunier

“After many successful years on the West Coast, the annual Penny Arcade Expo recently made its East Coast debut in Boston, unleashing a veritable Pandora’s box of gaming nerdery into the Hynes Convention Center that spilled out into the surrounding area for several days of revelry. PAX is the only gaming focused convention of its size that’s accessible to the general public, and PAX East’s clear focus on giving players and fans a means of accessing their wildest geek fantasies over the course of a jam packed weekend assured the approximate 60,000+ attendees would have plenty to do during their stay.”

Check out the full photo feature here at MSN’s Game On.

Feature: Game Boy Traffic Jams

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Nathan Meunier

My first Community feature for Nintendo Power magazine is now out in the Nov. 2009 issue, and I’m pretty psyched about it. It’s a short piece on Supercommuter, the Game Boy hip-hop project formed by former Nintendo alumni Andy Hartpence (of Optimus Rhyme) and Andy Myers (the original NP writer who started the Community section of the mag). If you haven’t heard their new self-titled album yet, you should hop on over here to pick it up or check out a few tunes on their MySpace site here. It’s top notch stuff that you’ll dig if you’re into chiptunes, nerdcore hip-hop, or just awesome music. I have a bunch more work slated to appear in Nintendo Power in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Feature: Kickin’ It Nerdcore

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Nathan Meunier

“Even before MC Frontalot coined the term “nerdcore” almost a decade ago to describe his own distinct flavor of hip hop, geeky rappers have busted out rhymes about videogames, AD&D, hacking, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, computer culture and an array of other unabashedly nerdy subjects. As this singular hip hop scene continues to develop and gain momentum, it’s not surprising to find an increasing number of references to videogames and gamer culture woven throughout the lyrics and beats of many rappers who rally under the nerdcore banner.”

A fun feature exploring the connections between nerdcore hip hop and videogames. This piece will eventually be expanded into a chapter in the book I’m working on about the music of geek and gamer culture. Check out the full article at The Escapist here.