Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Here's something you all may enjoy. Below is a link to a song about FIRST. The artist did his homework on this one, for sure.

Song title: Smart is Cool
Artist: Calvin Simmons
Production Company: 31 North Entertainment

Calvin lives here in Kokomo, Indiana. He is a parent of a TechnoKat student, and wanted to write a song that tells what FIRST is about. He asked for as much material as he could get, and created a song with a great message.

What do you all think?

Andy B.

- thanks to Greg Needel for hosting this song

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Mentions Dean, Segways, FLL, Vex, Real World Learnin', life skills, treads, "C code," and omniwheels.... Whoa, yeah that would be a first for rap, way to do his homework. Can we expected see a cooperative show with DSKB? :D

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

When Andy sent this to me tonight I knew we needed to get this out there. It really is amazing, and another example of how dedicated people are to this program.


I also think there is a good opportunity to see some music videos for this song, any takers?

P.S. I just upgraded my server to 500GB of transfer per month, so it shouldn't die. If you have any problems please send me a PM.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Can't say that I usually care for the Genre, but it sounds good! A very high production quality, and you definitely can't beat the message. :)
This is definitely going to my playlist.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Does anyone have the lyrics to the song?

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Andy has them and will be posting them sometime tomorrow, when he gets back to his work computer (or so he says) When I get them I will put them into the zi p file with the song.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I'm not the biggest fan of rap, but this is cool. The FIRST songs created for the Boston regional last year seemed a lot more flat compared to this. Calvin really has a feel for what FIRST is like and managed to cram it all into a three minute song instead of just generic things like the other two songs ("kings and queens of the laboratory"?)

It's really awesome to see people channel their creative energy like this. It's a lot easier to create thanks to technology, and I wish more people would go out of their way to contribute something back.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Here are the lyrics:

Smart is Cool
Music and lyrics by Calvin Simmons of 31 North Entertainment

Chorus
Real world learnin: design, built, test
FIRST Team Robotics at its best
For Inspiration Recognition of Science Technology
Dean Kamen Segway, check the chronology
Lego League robotics Vex Competition
And we set goals bring 'em all to fruition
You know I'm singin' 'bout FIRST, you know the rules
And we teach students that bein' smart is cool

Gotta get busy got a deadline in a week
If it wasn't for my parents, I don't think I would ever sleep
Got a MicroChip controller, got it dirt cheap
Gotta finish my robot and it's gonna be sweet
And when I sleep and I see omni-wheels and tank treads
Roller chains, screws, sprockets all in my head
My design is so hot it's borderline toxic
Just call me Mr. FIRST Team Top Robotic
In the shop, engineer to the core
And somebody please get those grippers off the floor
This task is the world's greatest mind test
On track to be the next great scientist
Havin fun while learnin a life skill
Also gaining character and a winnin' will
I can build any design you hand to me
FIRST team where dreams become reality

Chorus

Me and my team, we on a quest
All we do is design, build, test
Havin trouble with the automode
The software team re-works the C Code
Compile it, debug it, and then we run it
Pretty smooth, cause we do it all on a budget
I listen close as my mentor begins to teach
Learnin career goals previously beyond reach
And it's important that we listen (that we listen)
The goal is the Finals of the robotics competition
And we all win, no matter the team
It's not if you win or lose, it's how you play the game
Havin fun while learnin a life skill
Also gaining character and a winnin' will
I can build any design you hand to me
FIRST team where dreams become reality

Chorus

Chorus

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I dont care much for rap but it was good. The quality was amazing, very crisp and clear.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

even though i'm not a huge fan of rap...it's still awesome.

this song actually talks about FIRST, instead of just spelling it. love it!

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

yeah, im with everyone else on the rap aspect. However, this is the first song ive heard that is based on FIRST, so i loved it.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I think it would be cool to hear this sometime during the kickoff! COUGH, can anyone pull some strings? COUGH

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Its one of my few favorite rap songs, the others being White and Nerdy and All About the Pentiums by Weird Al. Lyrics really work too.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I'm not a huge fan of the idea of having a song for FIRST, or about FIRST. There's too much to represent and many different view points, plus FIRST's fundamentally is against megastars and such.

I think some sort of high paced instrumental piece would be better than anything with lyrics, but I guess that's just me. :rolleyes:

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

under normal circumstances, I hate rap, but this one is pretty cool. :cool:

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

What? No F-I-R-S-T anywhere in the song? :p

Big improvement over the anthems that FIRST tried to do last season.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

[parliamentary procedure]Motion to replace the FIRST theme song with "Smart Is Cool"[/parliamentary procedure]

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Try listening to it 2x speed. Backwards.

Edit: Why was this put in a zip archive? To save 0.04MiB of space?

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

simply...amazing. I, too, typically dislike rap, but this one is awesome! Just one more field to relate FIRST to: music!!

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Not that Woody and Kamen are famous or anything.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

It isn't so much that FIRST is against megastars really it is just that Dean thinks that people who do things that effect society, like scientists and engineers should be at the same level. Dean was actually the one who started the whole song idea. It seems that if a song is a way to get kids to hear about the program then it is a very good idea. I don't think any one could write a song that could truely encompass all of FIRST, nor is that at all what people are trying to do. The song is instead just an attention getter, something to catch someones interest.

If you go back to when championships were at Disney(I wasn't there but based on what I have heard) FIRST had Mandy Moore perform and Will smith do a little video clip. Dean doesn't want to get rid of the megastars, just get engineers up there with them

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Lets pretend my ears didn't bleed when I heard the song. The cross between megastars (and I mean this as a song/actor type situation, not inventor megastars) and FIRST has never gone well and will not go well. People LAUGHED at the Nats back then when Mandy took the stage and when Will Smith behind all his trophies told us to keep doing great things as he made loads of money (go do a CD search if you don't believe me). FIRST is not about splash and artificiality, it's about much more than any song can cover.

Now to the song itself. It's bad, and I know I'll probably get neg repped, but it's not my musical style. Now, this is not true about many others, but I have a question: what if this was death metal? Punk? Ska? Country? We're talking about a subjective medium here. My problem comes from the idea that we should have an OFFICIAL FIRST SONG to be played at all the competitions. Would you want your friends to hear this song? Would you want to play it in the car?

Now I'm going off to go listen to The Current....

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I've got to say i like it. I think it has broad appeal and a pretty good message. I think it has alot of potential to amplify FIRST's appeal.

rap is: genre of African-American music of the 1980s and 1990s in which rhyming lyrics are chanted to a musical accompaniment; several forms of rap have emerged
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

rap is about your life expierence. yeah the media and the world is focusing on gangsters telling their stories but you know what more than gangsters have stories to tell.

Some rock bands sing about anarchy and death, others sing about christianity. Don't hammer down a broad genre based on one style, FIRST is about opening your mind and thinking outside the box.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I agree... there should be no "official FIRST song".

In this case, this is just a song about FIRST. There is a difference. No one from FIRST asked the artist of this song to create it. (heck, we don't even know what they think about it in Manchester) He just did it 'cause he thinks FIRST is a good program and wanted to help in his way.

For each his own. Some people create designs for FIRST. Some people volunteer at FIRST events. Some people create FIRST-related podcasts. Some people make FIRST-related rap songs. It's all good.

Andy B.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

To add to what Andy is saying, people do these things because they care about FIRST. They carry a passion and because of the passion, want to help FIRST grow. When offering opinions we can be gracious and kind and we can be respectful of the effort. That is what matters.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

When Dean was on the Colbert report the reception on here was great. I hate to say it but no matter how many inventors and politicians show up at competitions and are impressed the general public, the people who really need to hear FIRST's message are not going to care, until FIRST has things like celebrity spokes people It will never enter the mainstream, and the majority of people will never get it's message. Traditional views of engineering are not appealing to the majority of people, the reason that kids want to become actors, athletes singers etc is because those fields are prominent, the only way for FIRST and engineering to become as prominent as these mega stars is to do what these mega stars do. FIRST has borrowed from these areas in the past, hence why many regionals are in sports arenas, why there is loud music like a sporting event, and why there is lighting like concerts. It seems like songs may just be another media. This is not going to be a hit pop song(most likely) maybe it would fit better as the background track for a commercial, or maybe it will just get laughed at like Mandy Moore. However I think that the song idea that Dean had last year may be worth a try and I also believe that this song stands head and shoulders above the two we heard last year. To say that FIRST will not be able to cross with mega stars seems like an admission of defeat. In a battle with Mega stars engineers wont win in the eyes of the public. but with mega stars FIRST and Dean's ideas could get a huge boost.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

As a audio geek, I feel I must post my feelings on this song. Whoever did the recording has the perfect mix, with excellent levels. I've gotta give props to whoever did this.

As for rap, not so much, but this is clearly an exception. awesome job!

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

[parliamentary procedure]I second that motion.[/parliamentary procedure]

BTW, I also dislike rap, but I like this song. The only song in my playlist (the rest are podcasts).

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

The FIRST Rap song is awesome. Great job. I've been waiting for the robot rap for a long time.

Good luck this upcoming season.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Great song! Kudos to the writer! This song sparked a few questions in my dorm room. With the hundreds of speeches I have done about FIRST, I must say this song gave a backbone to what I say each time. Can't....stop......listening!!!!!! ;)

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I just have to ask-- when's the music video coming out???

(I can just see the pimped-out robots now...)

But seriously, I think that if there was a music video to this song that people could have in the background or something like that while they were explaining about FIRST... Something with real footage showing what FIRST is like.

If I had any video skills whatsoever I'd volunteer, but that's not the case.

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I know exactly what you mean by that cross, but the fact of the matter is these "megastars" are still taking time out to do something for what they believe is a cause that merits their time. I wasn't there at that incident with Mandy Moore, but I would like anyone that was to picture it from her perspective. How does it make you feel as a performer when you are on stage, say delivering a speech about FIRST if a bunch of people walked off. Cries about her vocal quality or anything else aside, to borrow a tired phrase, its just not graciously professional to simply walk away when someone is performing and taking time away from their schedule to appear. At least the effort was there.

Just because someone is successful doesn't mean they don't care about it. Its the same thing when you donate to a cause for cancer or for anything else. You may not be the most involved in it, but you wouldn't want your endorsement becoming marginalized based on the operations of the group you supported would you?

Back on topic (sorry I just felt like it needed to be said after having read it many different times) anything like this that gets FIRST's message across a variety of mediums can do nothing but benefit the program. Also I can't believe its a parent on that track ;). We don't have to have one anthem, but theres nothing to say we can't have 20 different songs that we are known by either!

p.s. I for one, love rap. As most people on my team can attest to. Jurassic 5 anyone?

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

I think it would be really awesome to add to the end right before the song ends: "Calvin Simmons Out"

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

Being a huge hip hop fan, I think beside the subject matter the song is nothing special. I find the combination of a very mainstream sound to it (seems like I heard that beat a few times and a cliche voice/flow) with a very unmainstream subject matter very interesting and almost comical.

Rap isn't 'an African American genre"....

PS: Any Sage Francis, Brother Ali, Soul Position.... fans out there?

Re: Smart is Cool (a new FIRST song)
 

This is good - FIRST needs stuff like this, badly. Anyone still got a copy of the rap done with Team Hammond last year? That was good too, the video of it wasn't loading on their website last time I checked.

Edit - Nevermind, it loads - http://www.hammond.k12.in.us/TeamHammond/aimhigh.html

Is there an .mp3 version somewhere :)