Secrets from the Future
Encyclopedia
Secrets from the Future is the second studio album from nerdcore hip hop
artist MC Frontalot
. It was released on tour and through his website on April 6, 2007.
Like his first album, Nerdcore Rising
, it is composed mostly of new material but does include two remakes from before Nerdcore Rising ("Gonna Be Your Man" and "Romantic Cheapskate"). A video has been created for the song "It is Pitch Dark". The video was directed by Jason Scott Sadofsky
, and features a cameo by Steve Meretzky
. It was publicly screened for the first time at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo
.
The front cover art for the album was done by Mike Krahulik
of the webcomic Penny Arcade
. Inside art was done by Jeffrey Rowland
, himself famous for a number of webcomics. The track "Livin' at the Corner of Dude & Catastrophe" is about another webcomic, Achewood
. The song "Very Poorly Concealed Secret Track" is actually a remix/re-recording of "The Ping Pong Song" by Optimus Rhyme
, with MC Frontalot contributing an additional verse.
Design
Nerdcore hip hop
Nerdcore hip hop, is a sub-genre of hip hop music characterized by themes and subject matter considered to be of general interest to nerds, though it can appeal to others as well. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term in the 2000 song...
artist MC Frontalot
MC Frontalot
Damian Hess , better known by stage name MC Frontalot, is a Brooklyn-based hip hop musician and self-proclaimed "world's 579th greatest rapper". He is best known in nerdcore hip hop and video game culture, for naming the nerdcore subgenre, and performing at Penny Arcades annual Penny Arcade Expo...
. It was released on tour and through his website on April 6, 2007.
Like his first album, Nerdcore Rising
Nerdcore Rising
Nerdcore Rising is the official debut album by nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot. The album was first released on August 27, 2005 at the Penny Arcade Expo....
, it is composed mostly of new material but does include two remakes from before Nerdcore Rising ("Gonna Be Your Man" and "Romantic Cheapskate"). A video has been created for the song "It is Pitch Dark". The video was directed by Jason Scott Sadofsky
Jason Scott Sadofsky
Jason Scott Sadofsky , more commonly known as Jason Scott, is an American archivist and historian of technology. He is the creator, owner and maintainer of textfiles.com, a web site which...
, and features a cameo by Steve Meretzky
Steve Meretzky
Steven Eric Meretzky is an American computer game developer, with dozens of titles to his credit. He has been involved in almost every aspect of game development, from design to production to quality assurance and box design...
. It was publicly screened for the first time at the 2007 Penny Arcade Expo
Penny Arcade Expo
The Penny Arcade Expo is a semi-annual gamer festival held in Seattle and Boston. PAX was created by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the authors of the Penny Arcade webcomic, because they wanted to attend a show that gave equal attention to console gamers, computer gamers, and tabletop...
.
The front cover art for the album was done by Mike Krahulik
Mike Krahulik
Mike Krahulik is the artist for the popular webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker "Jon Gabriel" or "Gabe"...
of the webcomic Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
. Inside art was done by Jeffrey Rowland
Jeffrey Rowland (webcomics)
Jeffrey J. Rowland is the author and artist responsible for Wigu and Overcompensating, two popular webcomics. Originally from Locust Grove, Oklahoma, Rowland now lives in Easthampton, Massachusetts where he continues to work on the two projects, while running TopatoCo, a company he uses to sell...
, himself famous for a number of webcomics. The track "Livin' at the Corner of Dude & Catastrophe" is about another webcomic, Achewood
Achewood
Achewood is a webcomic created by Chris Onstad in 2001. It portrays the lives of a group of anthropomorphic stuffed toys, robots, and pets. Many of the characters live together in the home of their owner, Chris, at the fictional address of 62 Achewood Court. Another address used in the strip is 11...
. The song "Very Poorly Concealed Secret Track" is actually a remix/re-recording of "The Ping Pong Song" by Optimus Rhyme
Optimus Rhyme
Optimus Rhyme was a hip hop group from Seattle, Washington. Optimus Rhyme is most widely considered a nerdcore hip hop group because of the nerdy nature of their lyrics. The name of the band as well as the stage names of the members and a majority of their lyrics refer to the Transformers...
, with MC Frontalot contributing an additional verse.
Track listing
Credits
Additional Musicians- Alec Berlin – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Andrew Griffin – drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - Baddd Spellah - drum programmingDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
- Brad "Sucks" TurcotteBrad SucksBrad Turcotte , not to be confused with Brad Turcotte performing under the name Brad Sucks, is a musician from Ottawa, Ontario. Turcotte released his albums under a copyleft license...
- guitar, bass, synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, vocals - Brandon "Blak Lotus" PattonBrandon PattonBrandon Patton is a songwriter and bass player from the United States of America. He has recorded four solo albums, plays bass for MC Frontalot under the name BL4k Lotus, and performs with Prince Gomolvilas in the show Jukebox Stories. He has also played bass for Futureboy and Jonathan Coulton...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Dan "The Categorical Imperative" Thiel – drums
- Daniel "DJ Snyder" Wilkes - scratchingScratchingScratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while optionally manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the late 1980s, it has been used...
- Doug Cheatwood - harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
- Frankie Big Face - saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Gabriel "Gm7" Alter – keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, vocals - Ganda Suthivarakom - vocals
- Jess KleinJess KleinJess Klein is an American singer/songwriter. A native of Rochester, NY, Klein picked up the acoustic guitar and started writing songs while living in Kingston, Jamaica in her late teens. On a whim, she auditioned for a guest slot at a local weekly dub poetry and music session...
- vocals - Jessica Neighbor - vocals
- Optimus RhymeOptimus RhymeOptimus Rhyme was a hip hop group from Seattle, Washington. Optimus Rhyme is most widely considered a nerdcore hip hop group because of the nerdy nature of their lyrics. The name of the band as well as the stage names of the members and a majority of their lyrics refer to the Transformers...
- vocals - Sam Bigelow - vocals
- Sean McPharlin - thereminThereminThe theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...
- Sturgis "The Sturgenius" Cunningham - drums
- Whoremoans - vocals
Design
- Owen Freeman - tray and disc illustration
- Mike KrahulikMike KrahulikMike Krahulik is the artist for the popular webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker "Jon Gabriel" or "Gabe"...
– cover illustration - Jeffrey Rowland - back cover illustration