Last year in Austin, there was a free chiptunes show (DATAPOP '09) for SXSW that featured Bit Shifter, Nullsleep, IAYD, Anamanaguchi, 8Bk OK, Graffiti Monsters, and Sievert. Being the geek that I am, I jumped at the chance to check out this particular brand of music as it was something that I was only kinda aware of. I didn't know any of the bands, but the flyer promised me free booze (which is, coincidentally, my favorite kind of hooch).

The day after the show, I typed up a wrap-up about the events that transpired the previous evening. I posted it on my Tumblr blog and didn't give it too much thought -- that is, until the comments and emails started to pour in. Read a bit of my original post for yourself:

"The second act was just a DJ who mixed several NES tunes while several flashing strobe lights and lasers went off behind him. That’s when I realized that I had inadvertently stumbled upon something that I never thought that I would be a part of…a Nerd Rave. I mean, what else do you call it when a large majority of kids there were slam-dancing along to “Song C” from Tetris?"

By the time the third act got on stage, we were ready to get out of the place. I would of loved to have stayed and watched the next four acts that they had lined up, but the venue had become packed tight with a considerable amount of people with low standards when it came to personal hygiene. With every new batch of dexters that entered, the stink became increasingly potent. By the time I made it outside, I was literally choking on a stankmosphere that could be best described as a mixture of Drakkar cologne and pepperoni and cheese Hot Pockets. Ick."

What is wrong with THAT?!


My write-up about the show wasn't an exaggeration. I've been at all day metal festivals and dealt with numerous foul stenches and moments of disgustingness at these shows because that type of environment is to be expected. This Datapop gig took place in an abandoned Salvation Army center, and the funk of forty consecutive hours of World of Warcraft was festering all around me, bitchslapping my poor little nostrils. I had to get out of there.

Believe it or not, this post actually insulted some people, but the best part is who it offended. The three hundred followers that I had at that time (not bragging, think of them like Twitter followers) were not voicing their anger towards my post. The people who were contacting me were strangers who landed at my site after Googling "Datapop Show Review". Geeks who would have loved to have been able to go to the show and were extremely jealous that I was there and didn't enjoy it!

Here's a comment left to me from velo:

"Hey dumbass, I mean, author. Sievert WAS the second act. Even I knew that. "A Nerd Rave" are you ing kidding me? This is the absolute most bullshit review I've ever seen. You barely even covered the show! You complained about the smell of a ton of people. You must not get out much, I've been to plenty of shows where the smell was a mix of weed, puke, sweat, and rotting food, but the acts were amazing. Do the world a favor and never review a show again if you're going to tell us about the smell instead of the sound. I heard the show went great and after watching some videos, I believe it. You should have stayed for the other acts, I heard IAYD was killer."

I must make it a point to review more music shows based on their smell as opposed to being a conformist and write about such trivial things as sound.

Here's an email from Jake:

" YOU LOSER! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU ACTUALLY WROTE SUCH PIECE OF SHIT AND GOT PAID FOR IT! YOU'RE NOT A JOURNALIST! STICK WITH REVIEWING SHOWS WITH YOURE MOMMY!!"

I loved this comment as I never claimed to be a journalist or professional reviewer ANYWHERE. In fact, I'm fully aware that my post had the same credibility of a LiveJournal blog written by fourteen year old, acne riddled fatty who uses a typing stick because his (or hers, to not be sexist) sausage fingers are incapable of hitting less than three keys at a time.


I found this unexpected hatred against my post to be a bit strange, but eventually the artists who performed at the show decided to give me their take on my post.

IAYD and his original comment in its entirety:

It's really quite unfortunate that you thought Sievert's songs were NES tunes, and the Tetris bit was (obviously) just a gag. His music was all original minus the skit involving a Tetris cart.

No, the speakers did not catch on fire, but the mains did blow out during a few sets. Maybe if you stuck around for the rest of the night you probably would've realized that the music being played wasn't video game music or video game remixes. What's even worse is your description of the night as a "nerd rave" and your assumption of Sievert being a DJ.

Next time you review a show, cover the sound instead of debunking the people who attended.

I love that opening line. "It's really quite unfortunate..."

Is it? Is it really??



I stood by my "nerd rave" branding in my response to IAYD, because I just thought it was funny. I understand the the long standing history and emotions that are invoked when using the dreaded n-word amongst people of the gaming culture but felt that my readers would know that I belong to that culture. How could I offend you? I AM ONE OF YOU!!

One year later, I still don't get why using the term "DJ" was considered a faux pas on my part.


However, Sievert! was a class act all the way with his thoughts. He ended up just correcting me on a few facts, answered some questions, and defended/explained why people were so vehemently pissed at me:

"actually, other than the tetris song, the rest of the second set were original songs made on a program called Little Sound DJ for the Nintendo Gameboy."

"You should definitely check them out (Anamanaguchi and Graffiti Monsters) and see what you think. It sucks you missed 'em, but if you're not really into it its understandable.

As for people being pissed off, its mainly due to the fact that the chiptune scene/community/whatever-you-want-to-call-it gets a very good deal of misconceptions to the general public and a lot of them get tired of trying to correct the misunderstandings. For a lot of "chiptuners" the music actually isn't about video games, but more of how you can use old technologies to make music."

Thanks, Sievert! I understand that I was being a dick with my post, but it was only done for entertainment. I'm glad that you understood that I just didn't get into it and respected my view on the night.

Even though I didn't enjoy it that much, I've always felt like the jerk in this situation and wanted a chance to redeem myself. For this year's SXSW, there are TWO free Datapop shows happening, and I will take it upon myself to give it another try. Perhaps, I'll leave this time with a better feeling overall about the chiptune genre and hope the IAYD's geek squad don't put a hit out on me.

Original DATAPOP Review Post
My Response to People Slagging Me About DATAPOP Review Post


While at the Datapop show, I bought this shirt that I have NEVER worn. It was a limited edition Mundo shirt (based here out of Austin) and the tag is still on it. Leave a comment and I'll choose a winner randomly to receive it. It is a size L but looks like it could be a XL.

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