Chiptune musicians mod archaic game systems from Atari, Commodore, and Nintendo, among others, to be used as musical instruments. The music sounds a lot more varied than I would have expected, from hard-pumping dance electro to atmospheric pieces, not to mention the workshops, screenings, and presentations that are included in the Festival.

The documentary Reformat the Planet, which debuted earlier this year at South by Southwest, will be shown at the festival, and the trailer here does more than I could to describe how cool this is. The Blip Festival's tickets are $15 a night, and held at the Bell House (149 7th Street, Brooklyn).

[New York Times, photograph by Richard Gin]

I'm a huge, unabashed, and unembarrassed Girl Talk fan, yet even I'm not sure that, like he says, "Software and computers are the most punk rock thing that's happened, ever." I think punk rock might actually hold that crown. But hey, Night Ripper was the unofficial dance party soundtrack for my entire fourth year at college, so whatever you say, dude. [YouTube]