ERB

[Olli]

Shamelessly advertising Epic Rap Battles of History. Season three just started and it's magwonsuperglorious.

Frontpage is here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ERB

S3 start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpqNvskS ... QCAajKTMhw

[kd7mvs]

I'm dating myself, I saw ERB and thought "Edgar Rice Burroughs", which author I have read much of over the years.

[GBLW]

I'm dating myself, I saw ERB and thought "Edgar Rice Burroughs", which author I have read much of over the years.

Ditto, and unfortunately, I feel most people don't spell very well - they miss the letter 'C' when they spell the word 'Crap'

[nicolai]

I'm dating myself, I saw ERB and thought "Edgar Rice Burroughs", which author I have read much of over the years.

Ditto.

And I like the comment by Kit when he was interviewing at Lone Star: "ABR. Anything but Rap." My personal opinion, as an old fart and professionally trained musician, is that rap, hiphop and all the variations of those basic styles are nothing but noise with a beat. They are NOT music, at least to me.

My opinion only! Doesn't apply to anyone else. So no flames, please.

[kd7mvs]

Hmm. The latest issue of MaximumPC mentions Epic Rap Battles of History. This is a geeky/nerd thing, apparently, not mainstream rap. So, probably an explanation of what it was all about would have been good on the part of the OP, to get it past our "Rap is crap" filter. Because it apparently is worth watching.

[Wicketklown001]

I'm not a fan of rap in general (most mainstream rap is truly horrible) but I like the ERBs for the humor and geekiness of it. Personal favorites include: Einstein vs Stephen Hawking, Justin Bieber vs Beethoven, any of the 3 darth vader vs hitler series, Mr T vs Mr Rogers, Ben Franklin vs Billy Mays. And that's just a small sample of the first season. Even if you don't like rap I still recommend giving a few of them a try as it is definitely a different beast than some crap that mainstream rappers put out. In my opinion anyway.

[boballab]

The only rap that I have found "good" is the two Keynes vs Hayek videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc

I'm not a fan of rap in general (most mainstream rap is truly horrible) but I like the ERBs for the humor and geekiness of it. Personal favorites include: Einstein vs Stephen Hawking, Justin Bieber vs Beethoven, any of the 3 darth vader vs hitler series, Mr T vs Mr Rogers, Ben Franklin vs Billy Mays. And that's just a small sample of the first season. Even if you don't like rap I still recommend giving a few of them a try as it is definitely a different beast than some crap that mainstream rappers put out. In my opinion anyway.

[khms]

The only rap that I have found "good" is the two Keynes vs Hayek videos on youtube:

Here's another, though it probably loses a lot if you don't speak German (or rather, if you don't understand fast German). It's the "pensioner's rap", making fun of current fashion trends (especially among the young) and complaining about rap, thereby also making fun of how old people don't understand the young generations.

http://www.dieter-hildebrandt.de/dieter ... ntner-rap/ ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieter_Hildebrandt ) (23 May 1927 – 20 November 2013, at 86; I believe he's 85 in the video)

I should add that rap was not usually a part of his repertoire.

He starts telling how he's supposed to have a permanent companion (whether I go, whether I stand, whether I dance, whether I jump, whether I'm singing, whether I'm stepping, - or rapping), and pulls out a collapsible walking stick.

Here's a quick attempt (mostly courtesy of Google) at translating the first few verses:

Where I go where I stand
What I hear what I see
idiots are rapping this nonsense
I usually never understand

Quiet plead my limbs
Sing my songs yet again
But the lousy, lousy brothers
Rap my songs down, yes!

Below you're seeing teenies crouch
Not yet dry behind their ears
They scare you, they shock you
They lure with thick lips

Inflated with injections and blown up
Pierced the baby noses
Somewhere under the belly you come out wobbly
Baby, you look like shit!

[khms]

The only rap that I have found "good" is the two Keynes vs Hayek videos on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc

Incidentally, I see lots of comments there that seem to think Hayek is the clear winner ... all I can say is that to me, his argument seems rather ... unconvincing. Let's say 10% Hayek, 90% Keynes. Really, when US deregulation can easily be seen as the primary precondition for the financial crisis, calling Keynesian politics "a hair of the dog" is preposterous - it's Hayek who wants a hair of the dog (even more deregulation)!

He's right about there being too much waste - but it looks to me that his followers are responsible for most of it.

I don't think Keynes has The Truth™ - but the Austrian school seems to relate to economics like the Creationists do to science. Powerful PR, but they don't deliver.