The Efts on The Most Popular Girls on the Internet!

Listen to the excellent podcast here -->   Episode 177: Games as Art

Tara and Cassandra (The Most Popular Girls on the Internet) are awesome for a lot of reasons:  they can game with the best of us, they are very smart, very funny, and have enchanting voices.  In other words they are the best case scenario for a Vented party member in any mmorpg you might have tried.  They have been promoting geek culture for years on their site, which is probably already familiar to most of our nerdy fans.  We've been included on their podcast today with our song This Love Is A Robot.  They said some wonderful words about our music and it made us feel great.  We beg you to become part of their dedicated crew of listeners, support their endeavors, and make their podcast a weekly part of your lives.  Thanks so much Tara and Cassandra!  You are loved.

Disenchanted

Throughout life we become enamored to certain ideals, places and people.  Eventually the spell becomes less powerful and we become disillusioned to those things we once held dear.  This song is about that facet of human existence.  We hope this tune provides support to those of you who find yourselves paddling in your disenchanted lifeboats, dodging waves of frustration.  A big thanks goes out to The Efts Beta Listening Team member Tanner Haid for his lyrical expertise.  After listening to an earlier version of this song, he provided some extra words which we added to the final 2 stanzas.

Lyrics:

With the scales that fall from your eyes

you can see the space between lies

Like a hero that will fall to his knees and then dies

You are disenchanted.

You can try to plea for your lives,

humanize and fake empathize 

but your slumping shoulders will not rise

You are disenchanted.

Am I losing luster?

Should I be a truster?

I don't want to know.

You could hear my whispers and cries

I've been advised of my demise

I can see right through your disguise.

I am disenchanted.

You are losing luster.

You should have been a truster.

You are disenchanted.

I am disenchanted.

The Efts on The Siege!

Listen/Download the podcast here --> The Siege #19: To Grind or not to Grind...

We play a lot of Guild Wars 2 these days.  We'd love to play all the time, but occasionally we have to stop for work, driving, eating, shopping, etc.  Luckily there are some options for those non-gaming moments in our lives, namely podcasts like The Siege.  The crew of GW2 experts at The Siege provide an excellent weekly tour of the latest news related to our current gaming focus.  We're thrilled to have been included in their latest episode.  Hearing the The Siege team discuss our devotion to Chris A Ivey was a genuine delight.  If you share our love of GW2, we implore you to check The Siege often.  Listen to their words and let their guidance make you the envy of your server.

Chris A Ivey

Chris A Ivey

This song is dedicated to a powerful and magnetic WvW (world vs world) player on Ferguson's Crossing, our Guild Wars 2 server.  Chris A Ivey has an incredible talent for siege tactics, player control, and is a natural leader in our crusade against our server's enemies.  This is underscored by the fact that his character is a diminutive pink-clad sword-wielding Asura.  Prior to his appearance, we tended to wander aimlessly around the huge WvW maps without focus.  Now that Chris is an integral part of the Ferguson's Crossing war machine, we've managed to overcome the fact that we're vastly outnumbered by our opposing factions.  Join us in GW2 and bear witness to the Chris A Ivey effect.  He will lead you home.

Lyrics:

We were lost within a wilderness,

our backs against a wall.

Our wounded limped among

defeated moans.

We heard his battlecry rise up

inside our sore beleaguered line

Chris A Ivey had arrived

to lead us home.

We will follow him straight down to hell.

No problem.

We will return soon with tales to tell

about him.

Let's go, we gotta build this treb for him.

Come on, supply up.

Chris A Ivey

gonna guide me.

The Efts on Radio Free Hipster Episode 144!

Check out the podcast here! --> Radio Free Hipster Episode 144: Dork Harvest

We're delighted to have been included in episode 144 (!!!) of the podcast arm of nerdcore catalyst Hipster, Please!  Our fourth appearance on Radio Free Hipster shares Lolo's 2012 birthday song with the podcast's listeners.  Z continues to inspire us with his constant stream of music.  Our lives have been very positively impacted by his work over the years, and we implore you to explore his site on a regular basis.  Thanks so much Z!  We send positive nerdly rays of love in your direction.

Brandon's Theme

Brandon's Theme artwork by Jackson

This song is dedicated to my excellent co-worker and good pal Brandon Judy.  He's a selfless worker who has the amazing ability to easily maintain a complex network of computers spread out across five large rural counties.  Brandon's also a really good guy, deserving of a theme song for trips out to fix various IT related concerns.  Thanks for the awesome support Brandon, we hope you enjoy this one!

The artwork associated with this post is an original by Jackson.  Thanks for another fantastic picture Jack!  Your talent continues to astound me.

Lyrics:

I've got your password.

I've got your user ID.

I know your itinerary.

I've got you.

I see your data.

It travels up through my veins

and settles deep in my brains.

I've thought you.

Guess I better ride out to the job.

These people don't know what I have to do.

Nobody else can do this good of a job

I've got this place running smooth.

I know their secret thoughts

thanks to my seeker bots.

and now their hidden spots

are on display.

They need a password.

They need a user ID.

They need their itinerary.

They need me.

We Can Do Anything

"We Can Do Anything" by Wiles, Ashland and Dylan Assael

Happy birthday Lolo!!  This song was written in support of your occupational freedom.  Job frustrations vary from year to year, and this one is especially discouraging.  Your continued sacrifices for your career are awe inspiring.  Try to always remember you and I can make a leap anytime thanks to our fantastically multicolored parachutes.  We can do anything, and we can go anywhere.  

The amazing picture accompanying this post was drawn by The Assaels.  Thanks for the wonderful art!  

Lyrics:

We are The Efts.  We have several life phases.  We can put on different faces.

We live on land.  One of these days we will have to return to the water.

We can be scandalous. We can really put up a fight.

We still have romance in us. I'll be the gas. You be the light.

We work and work and work and work and work and work and work and

do what we're supposed to do.

I say. We don't. Do that. Anymore.

Here.  Me and you. We can do anything.

Now. There's no anchor. We can go anywhere.

Stream Cleaner

Stream Cleaner pinball machine during its playtesting phase

  We recently had an amazing opportunity to assist with the birth of a custom pinball machine.  This project was organized by Cacapon Institute in an effort to shine a light on its massive watershed improvements.  The game allows the player to help guide a drop of water (blue pinball) through various obstacles (cow poop, etc) so that it might make its natural cycle.  The Efts were contacted to provide a looped theme song played through speakers hidden underneath the machine.  We tried to compose a song that reflected the machine's wooden structure and the natural theme of the game.  Wood blocks, marimbas, wood flutes and other wood-based instruments were all given digital makeovers before adding their enhanced sounds to this tune.  Our eternal thanks go out to Tanner Haid.  He was the mastermind behind this entire project and provided an excellent springboard for musical ideas.  Keep up the fantastic work Tanner!

Lyrics:

Stream Cleaner

Keep the water out of goop.
Steer the water from the poop.
Help it cycle through its loop.
Save the water from pollution.

Wednesday Song

Recently we were sent a song called The Wednesday Song by a new band in NY called Creep of Crows.  The band features Dylan on keyboards, Wiles on percussion, and Ash provides the vocals.  After giving the song a listen, we felt compelled to create a cover.  We love the soulful melody and the gentle beat of The Wednesday Song, but it was the words of encouragement from Ash at the tune's beginning that motivated us to immediately respond.  Keep up the GREAT work, Creep of Crows!  Thanks for the inspiration!  Both versions of the song appear above.

Lyrics:

Too deep to go back now
there's only one way out
and that's two days away

Wednesday

There's five steps in this dance
until we break this trance
it's just two days away

Attack of the Villain Phantom

Download our newest free album here --> The Efts - Attack of the Villain Phantom

Yesssssss!  Our 4th album has been released!  Attack of the Villain Phantom is a compilation of our seven newest songs, each of which have been re-polished and enhanced for your listening pleasure.  This is geeky music at it's core, with heavy use of mono analog synthesizers coupled with a distortion pedal.  These songs were written for some of our friends, some of our enemies, each other, victims of giant robot-related tragedies, and Tim Gunn.  This is our first title available through Google Play, a service that attracted us several months ago.  The album art and album title were both created by Jackson Yeager.  Thanks for the great art Jack!

Song List for Attack of the Villain Phantom:

1. Andrew Treat Does Everything Right
2. KY's Theme
3. I Don't Wanna Die
4. We Really Like Tim Gunn
5. This Love Is A Robot
6. Skill Tree
7. Sara Knows

The Efts on Indie69 March 2012 playlist!

Link to the playlist --> Indie69 March 2012 New Music Playlist

Pretty much everyone gets bored with their current crop of music from time to time.  That's exactly why everyone should be aware of the efforts of Indie69.  Packed into each giant monthly folder are new mp3s from bands many people have never heard.  Indie69 dutifully seeds and reseeds torrents of music on a regular basis. Want a LOT of new music right now?  For free?  Check Indie69 and get tapped directly into the sonic feed today!  March 2012's playlist includes our song Time Lapse Photography Life.  Our eternal thanks go out to Indie69 and all of the support we've received there.

The Efts on Hipster, Please! (third time's a charm)

Check out the podcast! --> Radio Free Hipster Ep. 132: One Foot in the Queso

Wooooooooo!!  For those of us who like to listen to nerd music, Hipster, Please! is a known motherland.  We wish we were aware of Z's efforts at the genesis of his project, but we didn't discover Radio Free Hipster until episode 50 or so.  Since then, the vast majority of new music we've heard has been courtesy of discoveries made through Z's tireless work.  With every episode, Radio Free Hipster serves up an ultrasonic variety of nerdly music from around the geek spectrum.  This time we're thrilled to say we've been included in the podcast with our latest song Andrew Treat Does Everything Right.  Z, thanks for continuing to provide our primary venue and a source of support for nerd music addicts like ourselves.

Andrew Treat Does Everything Right

...or you can check the YouTube version -->  Andrew Treat Does Everything Right - The Efts

This tune is dedicated to our pal Andrew Treat (AT).  A perfect host and delightful friend, AT has been the focal point for several of our adventures over the last decade.  This song reflects an entirely true tale of a weekend which occured about a decade ago. Here's one of the reasons AT is so cool: that same weekend he took all of the partygoers to see this giant mound of alcohol he purchased for the party. I was the only non-drinker there, and he took me aside and pointed out a whole case of orange soda he had picked up for me. Andrew Treat does everything right.

Lyrics:

We were at this party, it was going great.
We were there at Andrew's, at his awesome place.
It was still daytime and we played basketball.
Right out in front of his house, we could play basketball.
Andrew Treat does everything right.

It was almost evening and we needed to rent games
So we drove to Blockbuster in his Honda Prelude
He had a Honda Prelude with a loud stereo.
We listened to rap music on his loud stereo.

Just like I always wanted.
Andrew Treat does everything right.

We got to Blockbuster and we picked out all our games
We went to the counter and he paid for all our games.
He just rented our games without paying late fees.
He paid no late fees and just rented games.

I want basketball, I want Preludes.
I want rentals without late dues.

We Really Like Tim Gunn

or you can check the YouTube version --> We Really Like Tim Gunn - The Efts

This song is dedicated to our favorite television personality.  Tim Gunn is consistently smooth-styled, even-tempered and uncommonly cool.  Thanks for all the years of entertainment Tim!  Your influence inspires.  You continue to be our imaginary mentor.  A special thanks goes out to KY for the mind-bending image used in this post.

Lyrics:

Sometimes we lack our motivation.
Sometimes we lack the will to make it through the day.
Verification is just a way to say
we're making it okay. 
It's gonna be okay.

Sometimes we need a coach.
A guide to point the way
because they've been that way before.
One that wouldn't yell or make us feel real small.
One with patience and a suit.
He could gently hint about an angle that we missed.
And we'd make a little list to remind us of his words.

That's why we really like Tim Gunn.
We really like Tim Gunn.

We'd have him here for dinner if we could.
And we'd talk about his life and he'd pet our little dog.
Good times would be had by all.

I Don't Wanna Die

Attack of the Villain Phantom by Jackson Y.

...or you can check the YouTube version --> I Don't Wanna Die - The Efts

This song is dedicated to the millions of people displaced each year by giant robot attacks.  For too long their plight has gone unsung.  Many insurers still don't offer coverage for attacks from robots taller than 4 meters.  We encourage you to write to your congressperson, governor, overlord, etc to encourage more aid for our helpless robot-ridden brethren.   Big thanks to Jackson for the excellent picture used in this post.

Lyrics:

These factions fight each other
without thinking how they smother us.
I just want to survive.

This world is rubble now,
it's surface covered in the waste of war.
I want to stay alive.

These robots fight each other
while we just run for cover.
I don't wanna die.

Sara Knows

Sara and Greta way back in April 2002

...or you can check out the YouTube version --> Sara Knows - The Efts

     This song is dedicated to our great friend Sara Treat. She's dedicated her life to ensuring the well-being of her family, inspiring us to immortalize her with this tune. Sara has two cool kids, one of whom is still too young to be away at school. The lyrics in this song are aimed at being supportive as she transitions through her most recent chapters of being a fantastic mom.  Life is about choices and Sara is great at making good decisions. We love you Sara!

Lyrics: 


She knows about carpentry, the economy. 
She knows when it's time to go to bed. 
She knows about sacrifice. 
She is not afraid to pay the price for something nice. 
And she keeps her happy family fed. 


Sara knows. Sara knows. 
Some things you can't change. 
Sara knows. Sara knows. 
Some things you can't change. 
Some things you can. 


She knows where her boys go when they hide. 
And if they lied she'd know that too. 
She knows how fast they grow and then they go and she also knows they're coming home. 
They will go and they will always come home.

This Love Is A Robot

... or you can check the YouTube version --> This Love Is A Robot - The Efts

   Recently we were reviewing some of our previously recorded loops.  I proposed that Lolo choose her favorite of the bunch as the basis for a new song about her.  There were many cheerful melodies she could have picked.  Some were full of merry little beeps and boops that would have made a pleasant little love song.  Unfortunately for me, Lolo chose the darkest and most unsettling of loops in the pile.  Undaunted, I sallied forth and wrote This Love Is A Robot.  We hope you enjoy the result!

Lyrics:

This love is a robot
in the shape of my heart
It's got a button and the label says 'start'

This fate is a robot
in the shape of our hands intertwined. Interlaced.
Separate units with a shared interface. 

This robot came up from the fire.
This robot love will shape the future.
This robot's pulse will never tire.
This robot heart. My robot heart.

You pressed on this button with the face of your soul
on the side of this robot in the shape of my heart.