geekosystem

If you are going to do a deeply nerdy bit of fan art for a band, you could do a lot worse than They Might Be Giants.  David Mackenzie (@divmazie) has done the thankless and necessary work of charting the frequency of words as they appear in all 487 songs from TMBG's more than two decades worth of studio albums. Ever wanted to know how many times the word "rocket" is used in the band's songs? Now you don't need to guess.

What do you do when you get dumped? If you're anything like us, you drop the needle on some of your favorite sad music and feel some feels. A new study shows that listening to sad music really can help you deal with a breakup. Some people might try to tell you to listen to something more upbeat to cheer yourself up, but forget those people. You've got science on your side, mopey.

Daft Punk's new album Random Access Memories drops next week, or you can just listen to it now. It's leaked online, and you can even stream it through iTunes. A few short clips and fake files have been floating around the Internet for weeks now, but this one is iTunes official, so it's probably legit.

We're big fans of PBS Idea Channel and Mike Rugnetta, so it was an obvious move to include this week's exploration of the idea that sad music, like, say, Ryan Adams or Elliott Smith, isn't inherently sad. It's kind of complicated, but it basically boils down to our cultural training. At least, that's what Rugnetta and his crew argue. What do you think?

In case you weren't already aware, people can get real creative when they're looking to celebrate their interests. The broad way in which they do this runs the gamut, from art to music and more. That said, Adam WarRock's musical tribute to Hodor from Game of Thrones definitely takes the cake. It's probably the best rap song about Hodor that you'll ever hear, but it's not like it's a wide field full of competition.

After much anticipation, and a ridiculous number of fake leaks, Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" has finally officially released. It's the first single off their album, Random Access Memories, which should be out in May. We don't always cover music here at Geekosystem, but Daft Punk is often particularly scrumptious. Give "Get Lucky" a listen, and see for yourself.

Fantasy finally started to hit the mainstream when 2001's The Fellowship of the Ring turned out to be an amazing film, but short of movie soundtracks and video games, music with fantasy themes never really did. Science fiction crops up now and again in the pop culture zeitgeist, mostly in film, but for some reason fantasy remains a harder sell to serious-minded adults. Kids? Sure. Harry Potter and all that. But oh man, there's so much out there, and a lot of it's in music. You absolutely need to know about some of the amazing fantasy songs that exist, so that plausible deniability can no longer be your excuse.

With the anticipation and excitement for Grand Theft Auto V reaching new levels daily, it's a wonder that it took this long, but it's finally happened: Rockstar's released playlists of all the Grand Theft Auto radio stations on Spotify and iTunes, starting with Grand Theft Auto III and even including handheld games like Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.

If there's one band the majority of Internet culture seems to find interesting, it's They Might Be Giants. Maybe it's thanks to all those songs being used in cartoons, like the time "Istanbul" and "Particle Man" were featured on Tiny Toons. It also might have something to do with the fact that their songs, in general, are pretty excellent. Regardless, they're popular for a good reason, and the music video for their song "Nanobots" just released. Try to guess what it has a whole bunch of in it.

I know we don't normally cover a lot of music here on Geekosystem, but I'm too thrilled about this to not tell as many people about it as possible. Sean Nelson has a new video of his single "Make Good Choices" off his upcoming solo album of the same name. Nelson was the singer for the band Harvey Danger, which is best known for its 1998 song "Flagpole Sitta". Harvey Danger is still my favorite band, and this song is amazing. The video is pretty tremendous as well.

I'm not going to lie, folks -- I've pirated my share of music in my time. Probably more than my share. Napster, Kazaa, The Pirate Bay -- you name a service, I've probably used it to download an album before. BUT! I also try to be pretty good about supporting artists and small labels by actually purchasing those tunes as well, and when I do, vinyl is my format of choice. And as of this morning, Amazon is doing me a big fat solid and extending their popular AutoRip program -- which offers folks who have bought CDs through Amazon a free digital copy of the album -- to vinyl records.

We used to think that only animals with the ability to vocally mimic the sounds of another were capable of rhythmic movement. Clearly, this is not so! Ronan the adorable sea lion at the Long Marine Lab in California bobs her head to the beat of whatever song is played for her. She does so perfectly, even adjusting for the tempo of different tracks. Don't believe us? Check out the video below and prepare to hit replay just, like, over and over.

There're too many songs out there about love, and breaking up, and dancing. And single ladies. What there aren't enough songs about: Spaceships, aliens, interstellar exploration, time travel. But you know what? There are some. They're the brilliant, speculative anthems lurking on the airwaves, drifting in the cloud, or locked up in old vinyl. Well, you've got a right to know about some of the best.

"From high above the world to the Irish everywhere, Happy St. Patrick's Day," said Commander Chris Hadfield at the start of his recording of "Danny Boy" released today on Soundcloud. It's the first time the song has been recorded in space, and the latest in a long line of remarkable things Hadfield's done during his time in space. I don't even like the song "Danny Boy" and I can't stop listening to this. Give the song a listen, and hear Hadfield explain the challenges of playing a guitar in space after the jump.

Chrono Trigger is far and away one of my absolute favorite video games, even though I did lose all my save progress during an ill-fated car trip with the PlayStation version. The characters and game mechanics are great, but it's the music that really sets it apart. Anyone that's played the game knows what I'm talking about. So, believe me when I say you should absolutely listen to this Chrono Trigger/Jay-Z mashup album.