Peer-to-Peer

Brian James Kirk geeks out

by Brian James Kirk

Jonathan Coulton

In 2005, musician Jonathan Coulton quit his day job as a software programmer to write a song each week for a year. It was an experiment in new media — to test if viral marketing and Creative Commons copyrights could float his music career, la Radiohead. Except dude didn't have Radiohead's prolific fan base, probably because he writes lo-fi pop songs about geekdom, like computer coding, giant squids and robot overlords.

"It wasn't too clear how it was going to work," he says. "To my surprise — secretly, I hoped this would happen — along the way, people were paying to download music from me."

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He's since kept his Internet buzz alive, appearing regularly on podcasts and perpetually touring wherever there's an opportunity to meet his dedicated fans, like ones who created his official Wiki. Here's hoping I don't get flamed.

Thu., Dec. 3, 7 p.m., $30-$40, with Paul and Storm, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.

After 98 years of entertainment on a quaint street in Center City, Plays & Players Theatre recently decided to rebrand itself to reach a younger audience. But the venue's community spirit — and tolerance for the inane — has been left unstirred for its monthly Super Heroes Who Are Super! series.

The show — a rapid-fire, unedited reading of classic comic books — plays off gender stereotypes and dated commentary once printed in the yellowing rags. It provides a good, silly look at a time when Wonder Woman was obsessed with shopping and Joker's "boners" were mishaps, not euphemisms. "The low class is kind of the fun of it," says founder Daniel Student. "It's alive and not scripted."

Actors wear elaborate handmade costumes. They publicly acknowledge when they've lost their place in the script. They play off friendly heckles. And it won't bother anyone that admission includes a free drink. Pow!

Every second Saturday through June, 10:30 p.m., $10, Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey Place, 215-735-0630, playsandplayers.org.

(editorial@citypaper.net)