---
title: 'Code monkeys rejoice: Geek music icon Jonathan Coulton swings by Portland'
date: '2012-06-20T15:22:18-07:00'
type: post
word_count: 767
char_count: 4240
tokens: 998
categories:
  - Events
  - Oregon
  - Portland
  - Startups
tags:
  - 'code monkey'
  - 'jonathan coulton'
  - Music
  - Portland
  - voodoo
---

# Code monkeys rejoice: Geek music icon Jonathan Coulton swings by Portland

When it comes to geeks making music, few people are more recognizable than [Jonathan Coulton](https://twitter.com/jonathancoulton "Jonathan Coulton"). And he’s got quite a range. [Thing a Week](http://www.jonathancoulton.com/wiki/Thing_a_Week_One "Thing a Week") broke new ground in music distribution, “[Code Monkey](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W_wd9Qf0IE "Code Monkey")” has become an anthem for an entire generation of developers, and [his rendition of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltjbnyvq_SI "Baby Got Back") could be considered a pop masterpiece.

Well, [Jonathan is playing the Aladdin on Thursday, June 21](http://www.songkick.com/concerts/12171528-jonathan-coulton-at-aladdin-theater "Jonathan Coulton plays Portland"). And I didn’t want to let the opportunity to chat with him pass us by. So I asked him a few stupid questions and maybe one good one.

*Silicon Florist: How often do you get hit up for boring email interviews by bloggers? Why do you continue to subject yourself to this torture?*

Jonathan: Constantly. I grow weary of all the attention. It is such a terrible burden to have people care about what I think enough to want to ask me questions. Being a rock star is VERY HARD. Everyone knows this. <–joke

*SF: You were among the first musicians to truly embrace the geek culture. Why would anyone in his or her right mind do that?*

JC: At some point I noticed that I was writing all this geeky stuff. At the same time I noticed that there were a lot more geeks in the world than there used to be. That was one of the convergences that made me think I could actually make a living this way.

*SF: Many of us were big fans of the the “Thing a Week” project. What surprised you most about that effort?*

JC: How difficult it was. At the beginning I thought that writing a song every week would make it easier to write songs, but it was always hard. If anything, that’s the most important lesson that I learned – that it’s always sort of difficult and painful, so you’re not doing anything wrong if you feel that way, you just need to keep going.

*SF: You get to see a lot of geeky cities. Anything stand out about Portland and its geek culture?*

JC: For me, Voodoo donuts is the very essence of Portland. Maybe that makes me a tourist. But the weird combination of breakfast cereals, bacon donuts, donuts shaped like penises, and the surly tattooed people who serve it all to you feels very Portland. Also I like bacon.

*SF: If you were to launch “Thing a Week” today, what would you do differently? What technology would make it easier?*

JC: I would probably build less stuff myself. When I did thing a week, I did my own wordpress install, built my own wordpress theme, and created my own mp3 store. All that stuff is a lot easier to do cookie cutter style today, which is kind of awesome because it means lots of people can publish their stuff pretty easily.

*SF: You’re the inspiration behind Radiohead’s online music release (maybe), you improved upon the perfection that was Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” and you’re prettier than John Hodgman. What’s the next challenge you plan to undertake?*

JC: As for Radiohead, I doubt the inspiration flows in that particular direction. I merely polished the diamond that Sir Mix-a-Lot dug up out of the earth, and Hodgman is a beautiful man. I don’t really know for sure what’s next. My last album was a bit of a departure, and felt like a challenge that was exciting and scary. So I’d like to do something that feels the same way – just waiting for the right thing I guess.

*SF: Anything we can do to convince you to call Portland your home? I mean, you don’t have to move here. You can just call it “your home.”*

JC: Sure! Buy me a bacon maple donut and we’ll call it even.

### Oh and one more thing?

Want to go to the show? Jonathan was nice enough to comp two tickets for the Portland startup scene. Tell me a sob story in the comments below about why you should get to go, and I’ll pick two random lucky winners.

*([Image courtesy Lisa Brewster](http://www.flickr.com/photos/sophistechate/3539990072/). Used under Creative Commons.)*