Jonathan Coulton, "Code Monkey," Mp3 Review  Son of a biscuit! Another great idea I didn’t have and musician Jonathan Coulton did. In this crazy era of the Internet age, it’s anything goes in the battle for musical fame. We’re screwing the record labels and attracting attention by any means necessary. Jonathan Coulton started with a marketing strategy of writing, recording, and releasing a song a week for a year. In the process, he has amazingly developed a large and continuously growing fan base, garnered a ton of national publicity, quit his job as a computer programmer, and become a full-time rock star. As if that’s not enough, Coulton has also written one of my favorite anti-corporate America anthems, “Code Monkey,” from the Thing a Week Three CD.
Besides having an Internet marketing strategy that caught on in a huge way, Jonathan Coulton has the talent to back it up. In “Code Monkey,” musicians will appreciate the natural skills that Coulton has as a singer, songwriter, recording engineer, and musician. Computer gurus and others will appreciate his lyrics about being an unappreciated computer programmer. “Code monkey get up get coffee. Code monkey go to job,” sings the formerly corporate Coulton. “Code monkey have boring meeting, with boring manager Rob. Rob say code monkey very diligent but his output stink. His code not functional or elegant. What do code monkey think?” Coulton continues, “Code monkey think maybe manager wanna write G*d damn log-in page himself. Code monkey not say it out loud. Code monkey not crazy, just proud.” Did I also mention that, “Code monkey like Fritos”? Lyrically, musically, and comically, this song is great and the recording quality (which he does from a home studio) is phenomenal. His style is un-canned, quirky, fun, and is bringing Coulton more and more fame by the minute. The music revolution we’re currently in, where treadmill videos and songwriting gimmicks can make you famous, is history in the making. As a musician, I find the present state of music to be a double-edged sword. On the downside, everyone and their dog can record a song and put it on the Internet, creating a drowning level of clutter and competition. On the other hand, we can circumvent the record labels and use our present technology to our advantage in limitless ways. What gathers mass attention is no longer formulaic. I’ve personally tried to come up with some crazy gimmicks myself that didn’t take off (I’ll spare you from the details). Fortunately for Coulton, his marketing strategy caught on, and he’s living the musician’s dream. “Code Monkey,” from the Thing a Week Three CD, is a witty, well-written tune, and has helped Jonathan Coulton achieve national fame without a record label. He’s a talented songwriter deserving of the fame he’s achieved. Though it may take you many, many hours to listen to all of his songs, I suggest you check out at least a few of those he has to offer. Artist Website: www.jonathancoulton.com Review By: ListenersGeneration.com
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