The GeekDads

Ken, Matt, Natania, Michael, and Jonathan chat about the Apple tracking controversy, Sony's PSN personal data breach, and the loss of Elisabeth Sladen. Enjoy!

Special thanks to our sponsor Maphook, the location-based social network for geeks!

GeekDad.com is the parenting blog at Wired.com, edited by Ken Denmead, Matt Blum, Jonathan Liu and Chris Anderson. It is a community of like-minded geeky parents writing about our experiences raising our kids in the digital age, and about our obsessions with technology, family-friendly projects, and pop-culture. The GeekDads podcast is a bi-weekly discussion of anything and everything that impacts us as geeks and parents.

This edition of GeekDad HipTrax focuses on quirky electronica, a handful of charming musical jewels that you may have overlooked. Like any good parents, Ken and I are here to encourage you to try out these interesting new flavors of geektastic tunage. As the saying goes, you might like it!

Open wide for:

"Dandyceratops" by Dot.AY

"Points" by Comptroller

"Superimposed" by The Efts

Ken, Matt and Jonathan chat about the anniversary of the first man in space, the first Space Shuttle mission, and how effective it is to be a pedant. Enjoy!

Special thanks to our sponsor Maphook, the location-based social network for geeks!

GeekDad.com is the parenting blog at Wired.com, edited by Ken Denmead, Matt Blum, Jonathan Liu and Chris Anderson. It is a community of like-minded geeky parents writing about our experiences raising our kids in the digital age, and about our obsessions with technology, family-friendly projects, and pop-culture. The GeekDads podcast is a bi-weekly discussion of anything and everything that impacts us as geeks and parents.

We here at GeekDad HipTrax seem to be slightly preoccupied with Terminator-style dystopias in which mankind's beloved technology has turned against him. This is odd seeing as we are actually a family-friendly music podcast, but, as the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don’t' fix it!

So put on a happy face with these uplifting ditties:

"Zero Day" by MC Frontalot

With the aid of noted hackers computer enthusiasts YTCracker and int eighty, MC Frontalot paints a bleak picture of a not-so-distant future in which all of our security exploits have been... properly exploited. A music video for this title track from Front's latest album was recently released.

"Doomlaser" by Nathan Meunier

The first song from video game journalist/bit-popper Nathan Meunier's Robots. Lasers. Awesome. is a dense, urgent affair. Building on the LSDJ-meets-crunchy-guitar style of his debut The Beacon, the album boasts a more polished sound that is as awesome as advertised.

"Brain Damage" as covered by echosignal

Closing out this edition is a selection from the recent Pterodactyl Squad release Dark Side of the Moon – The 8-bit Album. The follow-up to their highly successful Weezer tribute, it recasts Pink Floyd's 1973 masterpiece as a minimalist, multi-artist chiptune sonata.

Ken, Matt, John, and Russ chat about the "Hop" press junket and how to cook a perfect steak in a cooler. Enjoy!

Special thanks to our sponsor Maphook, the location-based social network for geeks!

GeekDad.com is the parenting blog at Wired.com, edited by Ken Denmead, Matt Blum, Jonathan Liu and Chris Anderson. It is a community of like-minded geeky parents writing about our experiences raising our kids in the digital age, and about our obsessions with technology, family-friendly projects, and pop-culture. The GeekDads podcast is a bi-weekly discussion of anything and everything that impacts us as geeks and parents.

After a pleasant sojourn into the magical realm of mc chris (and a brief vacation), GeekDad HipTrax is back to doing what it does best – getting all up in your ear hole with a trio of fine new geeky songs.

While we were in there I noticed some waxy buildup. I’m just sayin’.

Today’s episode highlights new hotness such as:

"Angry Robot" by John Anealio

John Anealio knows science fiction. And what is more sci-fi than robots? Nothin’ – that’s what! Snag this fine selection and covers of the theme from Transformers and Styx’s "Mr. Roboto" on his free Angry Robot EP.

"Hope to See You Again Soon" by ProtoDome & Level 99

The latest OverClocked ReMix album pays tribute to arguably the most important franchise in handheld gaming. Pokémon - The Missingno Tracks is a free-to-download collection of Poké-centric musical goodness, which means you have that much more money to put toward your much-need purchase of Pokémon Blackor White.

"Serenity Lost" by Sci-Fried

Florida’s Sci-Fried continue to be a jewel in the crown of southeastern geek music with their intoxicating blend of roots rock, heavy metal and musical comedy. You can experience all of this and more at the CD release party for their new album Future Tense this Friday, March 25th at A Comic Shop in Orlando.

Ken, Matt, John, Michael and Russ chat about PAC East, Japan, and the 4-year anniversary of the blog. Enjoy!

Special thanks to our sponsor Maphook, the location-based social network for geeks!

GeekDad.com is the parenting blog at Wired.com, edited by Ken Denmead, Matt Blum and Chris Anderson. It is a community of like-minded geeky parents writing about our experiences raising our kids in the digital age, and about our obsessions with technology, family-friendly projects, and pop-culture. The GeekDads podcast is a bi-weekly discussion of anything and everything that impacts us as geeks and parents.

Ken, Matt, and Jonathan chat about events in the Middle East, Geek Like, the Anti-Vaxers dilemma, and more. Enjoy!

Special thanks to our sponsor Maphook, the location-based social network for geeks!

GeekDad.com is the parenting blog at Wired.com, edited by Ken Denmead, Matt Blum and Chris Anderson. It is a community of like-minded geeky parents writing about our experiences raising our kids in the digital age, and about our obsessions with technology, family-friendly projects, and pop-culture. The GeekDads podcast is a bi-weekly discussion of anything and everything that impacts us as geeks and parents.

Ken, Matt, Mike, Natania and Chuck chat about PAX East, Maker Faire, D&D and more. Enjoy!

Special thanks to our sponsor Maphook, the location-based social network for geeks!

GeekDad.com is the parenting blog at Wired.com, edited by Ken Denmead, Matt Blum and Chris Anderson. It is a community of like-minded geeky parents writing about our experiences raising our kids in the digital age, and about our obsessions with technology, family-friendly projects, and pop-culture. The GeekDads podcast is a bi-weekly discussion of anything and everything that impacts us as geeks and parents.

HipTrax isn't exactly a show about kids' music. Generally it's a podcast more firmly focused on music that parents can enjoy with or in the company of their brood – geeky grown-up music that eschews the worst of language or explicit content. But in this episode we pause to focus on the upcoming release of a very notable children's album, mc chris's Marshmellow Playground.

We spend a good bit of time talking to mc about the project and its genesis, and we even play the album's teaser single:

"Halloween" by mc chris

A song about candy, cavities and dental hygiene, "Halloween" isn't your typical mc chris track. Nor is it your typical piece of kindie rock. Leveraging his own unique brand of hip-hop in a kid-friendly package, Mashmellow Playground promises to be an interesting new addition to mc chris's musical library, and will likely introduce a new generation of fans to the Adult Swim funnyman.