Nicolas Cage Losing His Shit

Nic Cage loses his shit regularly. We like his vicious woman-beating in The Wicker Man gets a section all of its own.

"How These N****s So One-Track Minded" - Five Female Rappers Who Are Not Nicki Minaj

The only female rapper on planet earth is releasing her album tomorrow. Or so the current climate of musical criticism would have you believe. It's probably more convenient to tell people that a faux-rawkus rapper who has repeatedly stated Drake is a “genius” is the only good rapper with a vagina in the building, certainly makes it easier to take. Blogs must think of ladies rapping the same way most think of the Highlander: there can only be one. This is completely untrue.

As much pious “Nicki is the best thing on 'Monster'” -talk you hear from people who've listened to four rap albums this year, there's still a good chance this could all go Craig Mack on her after people hear how boring most of Pink Friday is (I've heard it). Sure Nicki has that unique delivery that makes some of guest verses pop (which ones do presumably depends on which ghostwriter is available) but when she doesn't go crazy, she can't sustain an album. Just like Craig Mack. And don't get me wrong, I love Nicki's verse on 'Monster' just like I love 'Flava In Ya Ear' (well, 35% as much but I really love that song). It's just I can see the same inability to sustain. I might be wrong, I usually am, but time will tell.

I was asked to do a blog post about “femcees” that weren't Nicki Minaj. This is unfortunate for two reasons. Firstly because all female rap does genuinely seem to be split into those two categories these days. And secondly, “femcee” isn't a word I like and I try to never use it. It's a category that doesn't indicate anything aside from the lack of a penis and regularly acts as an semi-cloaked apology. So this isn't a list of “femcees” or even a list of all good female rappers. Nowhere close, there are a multitude. This is just five ladies who are doing cool stuff right now and whose music may have evaded you.



Jean Grae is better than your favourite rapper and needs you to get out of the way. Any conversation about slept-on MC's that any rap nerd like myself has had in the last 10 years inevitably includes a defeated retread of the "why-isn't-Jean-Grae-famous" conversation. Jean Grae has been effortlessly dropping as sick rhymes as seems humanly possible for longer than it's polite for me to say. She is regularly supplied beats by the peerless 9th Wonder, is her own creature and possesses one of the nerdiest and most wicked sense of humor in the rap game. And you guys still pay her no attention. Shame on you.

She and Pharoahe Monch have been touring a lot recently and they seem like a good fit for each other. And as you probably know, being a good fit for Pharoahe Monch is about the highest compliment you can give a rapper. Her new album Cake Or Death is about to drop and you should pick it up, if only to assuage your guilt for sleeping this long on one of rap's true originals.



Rah Digga is a legend and the legend is back. It's been ten since she last dropped an album but she's back in the game in 2010. I love this song, the flow is amazing and the lyrics are hilarious. Indie music critics who don't actually listen to rap music tend to use this next phrase a lot but this song “is about something rarely touched upon in rap songs”. Still though, name me ten other songs about how grown-ass women need a good song to put on when they get home from work and how they despair when confronted with new rap aimed at the kiddies. You can't not love Rah Digga but she doesn't leave you in any doubt with the swagger she brings to this and the rest of her new album Classic.



Rita J is serious business and this track is a powerful proof of just that. Earnest backpacker rhymes over crazy hooks, delivered with a large whack of panache. Rita J clearly misses the nineties quite a bit, if you do too you'd be best advised to catch up with her with her great efforts in bringing it back.



Eternia is canadian, a lady and white. Despite (and probably because of) this she's a fantastic MC and a great lyricist. Her album with Moss is definitely her best and 32 bars is a great example of her burning a track down like few can. Also, take notice of the multi-lingustic spittin'. She can get a bit earnest at times but I don't know of any Canadian you can't say that about. A class act.



Dessa is a serious artist and a weirdo. But, crucially, she can rap so even though sometimes she dips into a some self-consciously artiness the wide variety of bizarre angles she spits her game from will keep you on your toes at all times. She also regularly drops some incredible late-nineties sounding R&B vocals, far better than the annoyingly tinny and weightless pop vocals that are plastered over the current crop of popular rap. Now Dessa has struck out from her crew Doomtree there's not telling what strange place she's going to take her sound next.

--Seán McTiernan

Antony Costa on 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks'

No easy ride here for our favourite Blue member. We ourselves put the city on lock down quite regularly

The Record, Art & Game Emporium

One More Robot is now available to buy at the new Record, Art & Game Emporium on Fade Street, where Road Records used to be. It's open Thursdays and Sundays. You can pick up the latest edition and some back issues too.

John Lennon to appear on British £5 Coin

Just as 'Lennon month' is ending, more great news for lovers of the late, great Beatle. John is to be featured on a limited edition coin having won the Royal Mint's public vote, as part of their 'Great Briton' series. Winning with a huge 92% of the vote, Lennon beat the likes of Jane Austin and Walter Raleigh.

"It's entirely fitting that John Lennon has been chosen by the public in what would have been his 70th year," said Dave Knight, director of commemorative coins at Royal Mint. "The massive proportion of the vote he received shows clearly just how much his untimely death still resonates with the nation."

'Why Can't We All Get Along' by Coppercab

Originally appears in Issue 5



As we know, the internet has given everyone a voice, and while most choose to use this voice for less noble pursuits, one man is using his to scream and shout for gingers everywhere. A bona fide YouTube sensation, Michael AKA CopperCab is 18 years old, christian, ginger and with serious anger management issues. His first video entitled ‘Gingers Do Have Souls’ was a desperate plee to his peers - and the rest of the world - to stop their persecution of red haired people, sprinkled with vicious, unpredictable and often disturbing yelps at his handheld camera. First appearing eight months ago, he’s continued his viral onslought, targetting M.I.A, South Park (who even parodied him in an advert) and his friends and classmates who continue to ridicule him.

While the debate rages on whether CopperCab is actually real, or just some expertly executed comedic hoax, his most recent video will either give doubters extra ammunition, or serve as further evidence that Michael has a slipperly grip on reality. An original compisition, ‘Why Can’t We All Just Get Along’ sees him spreading his message, not though anger and frustration, but through song. “I just want to know why this world can’t go on” he tunelessly croons acapella. A comic masterpiece, or one young man’s descent into mental illness, this is pure car crash viewing. --Dean Van Nguyen

Spies - 'Liars Call Me King' Launch

Spies, who are featured in our latest issue, are launching their awesome new single 'Liars Call Me King' on Wed, the 27th of Octoboer at The Workman's Club. €5 at the door; it's well worth a look.

Webcrawler

Originally Appears in Issue 5

In each issue Declan Aylward dives head first into the weird and wonderful world of the web, and reports back with his findings.

Geek Food
http://geekfood.frogpants.com

A show about cooking for geeks? But that’s just frozen pizzas and Meanies right? Not according to Scott and Kim Johnson, presenters of the revamped Geek Food podcast. The geek in question is definitely Scott, who asks the dumb questions we are all thinking while Kim does the actual cooking. There’s a bit of an American focus, with lots of stuff coming from Costco, but Tesco probably works as a substitute on this side of the pond.

Now presented in glorious video, as opposed to its humble beginnings as a painfully hard to follow audio podcast, Geek Food has joined the proud ranks of the FrogPants network, bringing it to a whole new audience of vitamin starved geeks. So check out their site on FrogPants or subscribe via iTunes and you’ll never be stuck for munchies during a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon again.

The MMOrgue
http://mmorgue.com

Everybody and their grandmother has a World of Warcraft account at this stage and massively multiplayer online games are starting to edge away from the neckbeard and glasses market towards a more mainstream demographic. That’s why it’s so great to find a site like the MMOrgue, to remind us all that no matter how many beer swilling Halo jocks create a Death Knight named TeabAgGer_09 and bunny hop their way through Azeroth, there are always a group of hardcore nerds prepared to wax lyrical on the in-depth minutiae of the game and the industry.

The MMOrgue’s writers are actual gamers, which makes it a great source of unbiased news about the MMO scene; since most of the news about any particular game comes directly from the developing company and its lackeys, making it about as trustworthy as a shifty eyed fox in a dirty mackintosh. Articles are well written, without any of the flame and fearmongering of gamer message boards, and show a pretty impressive level of knowledge about the inner workings of the gaming industry, so the MMOrgue can fast become your way to sound more knowledgeable about a topic not that many people care about.

PATV
http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv

If you have ever played a video game and don’t know who Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins are, then you have officially failed at the Internet. Never fear though citizen, One More Robot knows and is here to drag you kicking and screaming into the light. The two genius creators of the Penny Arcade webcomic and founders of PAX, one of the biggest gaming conventions in the United States, have become something of an institution in the gaming world, a fact that has become even more noticeable with the launch of their internet ‘television station’, PATV. The flagship show, Penny Arcade: The Series is that rare beast: a reality television show that doesn’t suck. In truth it’s more of a fly-on-the-wall documentary about the people at Penny Arcade and manages to be funny and sweet without making anybody want to vomit. Blamimation is the only other show currently running. It’s a series of animated shorts that will make any game fan laugh out loud. Scott Kurtz and Kris Straub won a Richter Award for the series but it hasn’t gone to their heads and the humour is self defacing and cheerily caustic.

We Can Take You Higher!

Replacing the less snappy, albeit bang-on accurate "Analysing Pop Culture", our new tag line "We Can Take You Higher!" is inspired by that old-fashioned west coast revivalist The Game. It's a pretty good song. Here's a fan video with lots of bouncing cars.

One More Robot - Issue 5

Featured Articles

Dublin's Sonic Boom!
Our team hand picks their favourite Dublin acts right now, proving than on a global scale, our little city is holding its own.

Money For Nothing and Your Chicks For Free
Like many other countries there are a wide variety of grants and initiatives available to fledgling bands. Many are just unware they exist.
by Ian Maleney

Rebecca Mayes: Audiogamer
Musician and gaming fanatic Rebecca Mayes talks about how she’s become the hottest
thing in computer game-themed folk music
by Declan Aylward

Also Includes

Axl Rose's Appetite for Destruction Brendan O’Dowd charts the GnR frontman’s often temptestuous relationship with his fans.

Rage Against the (Hollywood) Machine Derek Owens counts down his top 5 celebrity tantrums.

Tapes 'n' Tapes Niamh King discovers a record label so retro they put out their releases on cassette tapes.

Webcrawler More cherry picked intenet sites from Declan Aylward.

The Exodus of Steve Jobs The road to the top wasn’t totally smooth for the Apple kingpin, as Laura O’Brien discovered.

The Show Box Karen Byrne’s tips on office etiquette.

Half Nelson Jason Robinson on why Swingers has stood the test of time.

& More