News In Rap

News In Rap 7-01-09

Rising Pun — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:54:38 GMT

I could have done a whole episode just rapping about all the celebrities who died recently, but I figured everyone's heard enough about that. So don't worry; this week's rap only touches on that briefly, because it was only one headline on the news feed. I do, however, go off a little bit about Governor Mark Sanford. I've also been trying to make more interesting rhymes lately, so hopefully that can be heard in this week's episode.

News In Rap 6-24-09

Rising Pun — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:45:55 GMT

Two cups of death, one cup of Obama, one cup of bad economy, and a sprinkling of health warnings... yep, it's the weekly news report! Also, the squirrel outside my window on the power line was totally fascinating.

News In Rap 6-15-09

Rising Pun — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:02:26 GMT

I spent much of last week being ill, and consequently I am less ill on this week's track. Next week I hope to be less and more ill, respectively.

News In Rap 6-07-09

Rising Pun — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:29:16 GMT

For some reason, this file did not want to be posted in the correct audio format. If it took any longer to convert, I'd need an Inquisition. Also, I'm apparently really out of the loop because I had no idea about many of the news headlines this week.

News In Rap 6-02-09

Rising Pun — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:07:48 GMT

For some reason, this seems to have posted with no description. I'll try this again. Although I now forgot what clever things I said the first time around. Suffice to say, it's June, there's a plane crash and a prominent murder, and I rap about all of it. Cheers, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap 5-24-09

Rising Pun — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:59:36 GMT

So I spent all day at a pre-Memorial-day gathering with some friends in from out-of-town, and got home after midnight and a bit tired. And then I thought, why not record an episode? It's possible you can tell. Anyway, I'm pleased to report that the Tamil Tiger and Sri Lankan army situation may finally be coming to a close. Seriously. I can hardly believe it myself.

News In Rap 5-16-09

Rising Pun — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:42:43 GMT

I apologize that it broke me out of my rap when I saw the headline, but honestly, five weeks straight where one of the top headlines is that the fight against the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka will be over any day now? Come on. It's like waiting for that package from Amazon that never ships. Unrelatedly, root beer floats with chocolate ice cream are awesome.

News In Rap 5-10-09

Rising Pun — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:00:58 GMT

So, Dick Cheney has decided to repudiate Colon Powell and claim that Rush Limbaugh is what the Republican party needs. Personally, I agree with half of that -- I think Rush Limbaugh is what the Republican party needs... to realize how they've managed to alienate their more centrist members and hand the Democrats control of Congress. You can blame Obama's charisma or McCain's VP pick for the presidential race, but the congressional elections are about people losing faith in the Republican party. Er, yo.

News In Rap 5-03-09

Rising Pun — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:06:54 GMT

Howdy Folks, Well, as you hear during the prologue, I got some disappointing news this week. But I'm trying to stay positive, and to that end, I'd like to invite you to watch my new hastily-made rap video, which I recorded and submitted to YouTube for a contest in which I am attempting to win a microphone. If it racks up lots of views in the next week, that would be keen. Take a look. Thanks, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap 4-26-09

Rising Pun — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:04:11 GMT

It's surprising to me how different recording this podcast is from freestyling on stage, even while taking suggestions. Having just done the latter last night, and the former now, they do not feel alike. Anyway, I hate to spoil the news for you, but a few people got killed in America, more people got killed overseas, and the economy still sucks. I believe that can be the concise summary for pretty much any week.

News In Rap: 04-18-09

Rising Pun — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:28:21 GMT

I just found out Jedi Mind Tricks may be playing near me tomorrow, but tickets are pricey and only for students. Do I schlep out anyway to see what's up? A definite maybe. Oh, and there's some news and stuff you could listen to.

News In Rap: 04-10-09

Rising Pun — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:42:28 GMT

Some people were supposed to join me for multi-man freestyling tonight, which I haven't gotten to do in ages, but then they bailed on me. This is, alas, why I am resigned to freestyling alone while scrolling down the Google News page. Don't forget to turn in your taxes.

News In Rap - 4/1/09

Rising Pun — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:25:01 GMT

I could have posted an April Fools episode, but I was too lazy and already am fooled out. I'll do that another time when you won't expect it.

News In Rap 3-27-09

Rising Pun — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:02:23 GMT

So, while rapping through the headline about the risks of ADHD drugs, I suddenly became highly distracted. I'm not sure whether that's coincidence, or psychosomatic, or what. I can't believe it's almost April. And not butter. Oh, and since someone pointed out to me that my icon was way too big, I resized it. I guess I presumed it would make things icon-sized automatically, and just uploaded my picture. Sorry about that.

News In Rap 3-17-09

Rising Pun — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:57:30 GMT

For some reason, it occurred to me today while rapping what an odd thing it is that I'm doing. It occurred to me, of course, very briefly, because I can't really have thoughts that last for more than half a second without losing my place. But still, in case you forgot: This is a weird podcast. Ah well. Thursday night is a poetry slam at a local pub, where I'll rhyme about something that isn't the news. Should be fun.

News In Rap: Back from Vacation Edition

Rising Pun — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:00:32 GMT

I am back from the west coast, where my rap credentials increased slightly. I randomly approached a man with gold-plated front teeth and asked him where I could find local freestyle sessions. And although his advice didn't pan out, I later rapped along with a street drummer in San Fran and managed to draw a pretty decent crowd. Anyway, today's news features the economy sucking a lot. My advice: Get used to it.

News In Rap 2-22-09

Rising Pun — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:51:24 GMT

I am hale and hearty once again! In recent weeks I've been focusing more on my poetry than my rapping, and the only rapping I've done has been these podcasts. I hope I don't fall out of practice, but I did win the poetry slam, so I really can't complain. Anyway, this episode features a whole lot of Obama, and I have a feeling the news cycle is going to trend that way for a while.

News In Rap: too ill to rap edition

Rising Pun — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:13:39 GMT

I made it about halfway through before I got too sick to continue, but I figured I'd come back and finish up the mp3 today just to post it. Healthier rap next week.

News In Rap 2-07-09

Rising Pun — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:18:27 GMT

Special Opinionated Edition! I'm back for February with vigor and VIM. I even started throwing in my opinions to the rap, which sadly meant there was not quite enough time to cover every single story on the page. If *you* have an opinion as to whether you prefer hearing my own opinions or just straight factual news rap, drop me an email at seth@risingpun.com and let me know. Cheers, Seth

News In Rap 1-30-09

Rising Pun — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:47:08 GMT

It's still January! And the economy is still in the toilet! Yippie! Oh, and that Obama guy won some election.

News In Rap 1-25-09

Rising Pun — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:33:15 GMT

It's the can't focus barely awake news. We'll be energized again in February, just like Jesus when he rises from the grave, and if he sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter.

News In Rap 1-16-09

Rising Pun — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:25:27 GMT

I'm in a bit of a fog. I just recorded this episode and already have no idea what I rapped about. I only read the headlines, I don't remember them. Last Thursday my freestyle rap at the local bar was pretty well received. It wasn't about news, though.

News In Rap 01-07-09

Rising Pun — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:11:37 GMT

Well hey, looks like the Mumbai terror attacks were planned from Pakistan after all. Who'd have thunk? This, and other less important news, all in this week's episode.

News In Rap 1-03-09

Rising Pun — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:26:32 GMT

First News In Rap of the new year! Now with even more stories I know nothing about!

News In Rap: 12-24-08

Rising Pun — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:41:14 GMT

There's not much else to do on Christmas Eve aside from recording another episode of News In Rap. Tomorrow, however, I'm totally going out for Chinese food. Happy holidays! Oh, and if you're religious (Judeo-Christianly) and enjoy rhyming, check out www.GodToVerse.com. Best, Seth

News In Rap: 12-16-08

Rising Pun — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:03:41 GMT

If you caught last week's episode (or even if you didn't), you won't want to miss this week's podcast, where I've finally learned how to properly pronounce "Rod Blagojevich" thanks to Jon Stewart. As always, if you enjoy NewsInRap.com, please tell a friend. Thanks, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap: 12-11-08

Rising Pun — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 02:34:14 GMT

Oh the weather outside is frightful, But the podcast's so delightful. So when it's raining and sleeting and crap, News in Rap, News in Rap, News in Rap. --S.

News In Rap: 12-05-08

Rising Pun — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:37:21 GMT

Once a week, yes. Same day every week, no. Anyway, we're back from Thanksgiving and into December, so if you want to catch up on stories about OJ Simpson, Norm Coleman, Blackwater guards, a Facebook worm, and more, just queue up this week's podcast. As always, if you enjoy it, please tell a friend about NewsInRap.com Thanks, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap: 11-25-08

Rising Pun — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 02:00:28 GMT

My mind is mostly on the swift arrival of Thanksgiving, as you'll probably be able to tell from the opening minute of this week's episode. But don't worry, there's still plenty of time to discuss Obama, the economy, cancer, pirates, Michael Vick, new movies, and more. As always, if you enjoy www.NewsInRap.com, please tell a friend. Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap: 11-20-08

Rising Pun — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:59:51 GMT

I realize that the length of these has crept up slightly, from 10 minutes to 11 minutes this week. This one is as long as these will get. After the ridiculously long presidential debate raps I did, I vowed to keep these to a reasonable length. Next week's won't be any longer than this one, and likely shorter. My goal is to make this a reasonably fast 10-minute-ish news summary that anyone can make time to listen in to. So as always, if you know someone who falls in that category (the category of "anyone"), please feel free to tell them about NewsInRap.com. Thanks for listening. Cheers, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap: 11-14-08

Rising Pun — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:29:09 GMT

I have to say, the "feature" of Google News that causes it to auto-refresh every few minutes is not helpful to my rapping. But I can't see where to turn it off. As always, if you enjoy the podcast, please tell a friend about www.NewsInRap.com. If you don't enjoy the podcast but feel you could, let me know how I can improve it. Thanks, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap: 11-06-08

Rising Pun — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:06:05 GMT

This episode was very hastily recorded just before rushing out to perform at an open mic comedy night. But it's still 10 minutes of freestyle while scanning the news page, so what's not to like? I started this one with 45 seconds of news I knew about (e.g. Obama won) before reading off the screen, but everything else is direct from the headlines. As always, if you enjoy it, please tell a friend about www.NewsInRap.com Thanks, Seth seth@risingpun.com

News In Rap: 10-30-08

Rising Pun — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 02:35:23 GMT

I open Google News. I turn on the backbeat. I begin freestyle rapping. Every week. That's it. Last week was essentially episode zero, since it used my old debate beat. This week is the first episode with the official News In Rap beat, created by the incomparable Pelicaine. As always, if you enjoy it, please tell a friend. (And possibly me.) Thanks, Seth seth@risingpun.com www.RisingPun.com

News In Rap: 10-24-08

Rising Pun — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:18:28 GMT

Hello again! With the presidential debates out of the way, I thought I'd try bringing you all the other news you may have been missing. If you'd like to know what's going on in the world, in the country, in health, science, entertainment, and sports, but don't want to waste time and be depressed by watching the network news, then tune in to my podcast starting now. This week's stories include: Isiah Thomas, Obama's Grandma, a McCain Staffer, Google Android, OPEC, the World Series, and Flatulence. News In Rap is created by my scrolling the news feed at news.google.com and freestyling all the main stories. It turns out to be much easier to read headline summaries than to read debate transcripts; I was able to keep this under ten minutes, while still hitting most of the stories on the page. As always, if you enjoy it, please tell a friend. Thanks, Seth www.RisingPun.com seth@risingpun.com

Freestyle: Final Presidential Debate

Rising Pun — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 07:38:39 GMT

Well, this is it. The last of the presidential debates. I freestyled this one as well, and it clocked in at under a half hour, but not too much under. I hope you've enjoyed listening to my rapped summaries of these debates. But this podcast isn't over -- check back next week! Best, Seth www.RisingPun.com seth@risingpun.com

Freestyle: Second Presidential Debate

Rising Pun — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:35:51 GMT

Well, I'm back again. But I didn't have time to write a rap that summarized Tuesday's presidential debate. So here's what I did: I opened up a transcript of the debate, I put my background beat on repeat, and I freestyled a summary in real time as I read the transcript. The good news is that this means that recording this didn't take me nearly as long, and it's possible that I could do this every week. The bad news is that the rhymes are a lot less polished and there are one or two places where I can't read and process information fast enough. But that's how freestyles work, so I hope you're okay with that. Thoughts? Let me know - visit www.RisingPun.com or email seth@risingpun.com

Vice Presidential Debate in Rap

Rising Pun — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:13:23 GMT

I told myself I was only going to do this once every four years. But then someone who heard last week's summary of the presidential debate in rap asked me to cover this debate too. And so, here are all the important parts of the Vice Presidential debate, summarized in a rap. As always, if you enjoy this, please tell a friend. Thanks, Seth www.RisingPun.com

2008 Presidential Debate in Rap

Rising Pun — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:01:59 GMT

Four years ago I stayed up far too late and rewrote the presidential debate in rhyme. This year I did it again, but also recorded it as a rap. Why do I do this? I don't know! But maybe someone will enjoy it. If so, feel free to visit my site at www.RisingPun.com.