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A handful of months ago, I was introduced to a clever little songwriter by the name of Jonathan Coulton. This JoCo as he’s called is ahead of his time, literally giving away some of his best work and hoping you’ll buy or donate for them. His sense of humor is quirky and his lyrics run geeky, and his chord changes are generally interesting. Here’s a quick run-down of my favorites.

Skullcrusher Mountain

Possibly the only country song on my entire playlist (if you don’t count Islands in the Stream. I don’t.) The tale of a kidnapped woman and the mad scientist who thinks she ought to fall in love with him (or ELSE.) His most twisted romance song.

Mandelbrot Set

Catchy and nerdy. A nice little upbeat tune that’s a little more complicated than your average nice little upbeat tune.

I Feel Fantastic

A song about popping pills to make everything better. The touch of irony is light and fluffy, not too heavy. Fast and upbeat, like the last one.

So Far So Good

A slow, quiet, pleasant little song that shows off his songwriting. I like it, anyhow. (No free download)

Code Monkey

Possibly the most well-known JoCo song. It has nice structure, even if it’s a little pop-ish. Great lyrics that I think a lot of geeks can identify with. (No free download)

The Future Soon

Good comedy in this song, and such an enjoyable tune. He really is in top form when he’s telling a story. (No free download)

Still Alive

He doesn’t have this one up at his site because it was a commission by Valve Software, for the game Portal. However, here’s a YouTube copy.

Apparently I have a guerrilla unit posting comments on my old entries and he threatens to continue doing so until I make a new post. I just want him to stop, but I’m worried if I give in to his demands, he will only be emboldened. We’ll see where this goes.

Speaking of terrorism, the presidential election is creeping up on us. I’m happy to report that after nearly two years, I finally obtained my California driver’s license (I was driving around on my Ohio license until now, which technically wasn’t legal.) I also registered to vote, and I registered Libertarian.

Still, I think I’ll be voting Ron Paul. He may not really be as much of a social liberal as I prefer, but he does seem to understand the concepts of fiscal conservatism and reduction of government, and I think where we are now could use some reduction. Only one problem:

He wants to take us out of Iraq immediately.

He believes our meddling in the middle east and other countries is what causes terrorist groups to target us. Perhaps. I’m willing to give it a try, but I have a few issues with it.

Firstly, I believe a sudden withdrawal from Iraq will allow for extremist groups to attempt to take control. I don’t see any reason why another Baath-style organization won’t produce the next “president” of Iraq and erase any progress we’ve made there.

Secondly, I’m not so ignorant as to think the world’s countries will behave themselves if left alone. I fully believe most countries would gleefully acquire nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare abilities and force the rest of the world to deal with them on a basis that is out of proportion with their true importance in global politics.

Anyhow, these sort of things concern me, but the most he could serve is 8 years, and I think ultimately he could do more good for us than would be harmed by 8 years of not attacking other countries. Who knows?

- Pete