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'{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}} {{Short description|American musician, comedian and filmmaker (born 1986)}} {{Infobox person | name = god | image = Neil Cicierega speaking at XOXO 2016 (cropped).png | caption = Cicierega in September 2016 | birth_name = nernehhhahahahahehejekdieoekdkdjd Stephen Cicierega socks socks socks | birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1986|8|23}} | birth_place = [[Bridgewater, Massachusetts|Bridgewater]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S. | other_namessidjdjcndndj = {{hlist|[[Lemon Demon]]|Deporitaz|Trapezoid|Trapezzoid|MEGO vs. SPAGO|Grapes and Sunshine}} | occupation = {{hlist|Comedian|actor|filmmaker|singer|musician|songwriter|puppeteer|artist|game developer|animator|god}} | spouse = {{marriage|Ming Doyle<br />|2015}} | children = 1 | years_active = 1998–presenrjdhndnrjdmdt | website = {{URL|http://neilcic.com}} | module = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes | background = solo_singer | genre = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[Pop music|pop]]|[[New wave music|new wave]]|[[Comedy music|comedy]]|[[Mashup (music)|mashup]]}} }} }} '''DjdjrijddjmdwmNeil Stephen Cicierega sock sock sock sock sock sock socks socks''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|s|ɪ|s|ə|ˈ|r|iː|g|ə}} {{Respell|SISS|ə|REE|gə}};<ref name="xoxo"/> born August 23, 1986) is an American filmmaker, YouTuber, animator, and musician. He is known as the creator of ''[[Potter Puppet Pals]]'', a puppet jsjdjdjdjejdjrjdjei3irntnfncvhrhrnjfjfjrjfjfjdjejsjdieoekrriirrjfjtjrit8tifiifitfififjfjdjdjckvkvkvkckxldlelwl parody of ''[[Harry Potter]]'', [[The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny]], a flasheooddkkdjdjdjdjddjdidjdjdjdjdjdjdrii3eiribyrvmd3in2e8j3d8jd38j3dn77d44jfif4hfi4h animation and song, and multiple music albums under the name [[Lemon Demon]]. He also released a series of [[Mashup (music)|mashup]] albums under his own name that have since gained a cult following.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Romano |first=Aja |date=March 7, 20174jrkrjkememsjsjdrjiwsj |title=This '90s kid turned his love of the decade into the internet's best mashup albums - Vox |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/7/14371422/neil-cicierega-mouth-moods-90s-mashups |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103162650/https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/7/14371422/neil-cicierega-mouth-moods-90s-mashups |archive-date=November 3, 2019 |access-date=March 24, 2020}}</ref> ==Early life== Neil Stephen Cicierega<ref name="Jarboe2011">{{cite book|last=Jarboe|first=Greg|title=YouTube and Video Marketing: An Hour a Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GqGTN3LScAoC&pg=PT139|date=October 7, 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=9781118203811|page=139|access-date=October 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627142236/http://books.google.com/books?id=GqGTN3LScAoC&pg=PT139|archive-date=June 27, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> was born in [[Bridgewater, Massachusetts]], on August 23, 1986.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cicieregawrote |first=Neil |last2=trapezzoid |first2=Neil Cicierega |title=oh a survey how fascinating |url=https://trapezzoid.livejournal.com/56639.html |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=trapezzoid.livejournal.com |language=en-us}}</ref> His father was a programmer, which meant he was surrounded by computers while growing up. He has a brother and two sisters. His sister, Emmy, went on to become a storyboard artist for animated series such as ''[[Gravity Falls]]'',<ref>{{cite web |date=2014-09-21 |title=Soos and the Real Girl marks my first episode storyboarding for Gravity Falls! |url=http://gravi-teamfalls.tumblr.com/post/98091892923/emmyc-soos-and-the-real-girl-marks-my-first |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529080226/http://gravi-teamfalls.tumblr.com/post/98091892923/emmyc-soos-and-the-real-girl-marks-my-first |archive-date=May 29, 2017 |access-date=May 17, 2017 |work=Gravi-Team Falls |publisher=tumblr}}</ref> ''[[The Owl House]]'', and the reboot of ''[[DuckTales (2017 TV series)|DuckTales]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Emmy Cicierega (@EmmyCic) |url=https://twitter.com/emmycic |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524130545/https://twitter.com/EmmyCic |archive-date=May 24, 2019 |access-date=2020-04-08 |website=Twitter |language=en}}</ref> At a young age, Cicierega started using a simplistic game developing program named [[Clickteam#Products|Klik & Play]]. Beginning in the fourth grade, his parents [[homeschooling|homeschooled]] him and his siblings. He continued making amateur games, and began creating digital music to feature in them; he soon shared his music online through [[MP3.com]] under the name Trapezoid, which was later renamed to the anagram "Deporitaz" at the behest of another band already named [[Trapezoid (band)]]. He also began composing [[MIDI]] music fragments that were referenced in his later works.<ref name="xoxo">{{cite web |date=Nov 17, 2016 |title=Neil Cicierega, Internet Person – XOXO Festival (2016) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB7fqT1uAII |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206172904/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB7fqT1uAII |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |access-date=January 27, 2017 |website=YouTube |publisher=XOXO Festival}}</ref> ==Career== ===Animutation=== {{main|Animutation}} Cicierega was first known for a series of [[dadaist]] or [[surrealist]] [[Flash animation]]s he termed "[[Animutation]]".<ref name="Salon">{{cite web |url=https://www.salon.com/2001/04/26/animation_4/ |title=All hail Neil Cicierega |first1=Katharine |last1=Mieszkowski |first2=Amy |last2=Standen |work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |date=April 26, 2001 |access-date=March 3, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704093451/https://www.salon.com/2001/04/26/animation_4/ |archive-date=July 4, 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Animutations feature arbitrary, nonsensical scenes and [[Popular culture|pop culture]] imagery and are typically set to novelty or foreign music, often from the Japanese version of ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''. ===''Potter Puppet Pals''=== {{main|Potter Puppet Pals}} Cicierega's ''Potter Puppet Pals'' is a comedy series which parodies the book series ''[[Harry Potter]]''. It originated as a pair of Flash animations on [[Newgrounds]] in 2003, and later resurfaced in the form of a series of live action [[puppet show]]s released onto YouTube and PotterPuppetPals.com, starting in 2006. The central characters of the ''Harry Potter'' series are portrayed simply by puppets. The most successful ''Potter Puppet Pals'' video, ''The Mysterious Ticking Noise'', currently has over 204 million views ({{as of|2024|January|df=US|lc=y}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4|title=Potter Puppet Pals: The Mysterious Ticking Noise|last=Cicierega|first=Neil|date=March 23, 2007|via=YouTube|access-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110223945/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4|archive-date=January 10, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Cicierega has done puppetry live at ''Harry Potter''-themed events. ===Lemon Demon=== {{main|Lemon Demon}} [[file:Lemon Demon.jpg|thumb|Lemon Demon performing in 2006]] Since 2003, Cicierega has released 10 full-length albums under his musical project Lemon Demon.<ref name="Globe">{{Cite news |author=Sweeney |first=Emily |date=June 22, 2006 |title=He's a hit with Internet set |newspaper=Boston Globe |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/06/22/hes_a_hit_with_internet_set/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 21, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001839/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/06/22/hes_a_hit_with_internet_set/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> In 2005, he and animator Shawn Vulliez released a Flash animated music video "[[The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny]]" on Newgrounds. The song was later included in the 2006 album ''Dinosaurchestra''. An updated recording of the song was released to the [[Rock Band Network]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rockband.com/songs/artists/Lemon+Demon |title=Lemon Demon on Rock Band Network |access-date=May 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715194151/http://www.rockband.com/songs/artists/Lemon+Demon |archive-date=July 15, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In April 2009, Cicierega released his first four albums as free downloads on his site "neilcic.com"; however, they are now currently hosted on "lemondemon.com". In January 2016, Cicierega announced ''[[Spirit Phone]]'', a full-length Lemon Demon album released on February 29, 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 Jan 2016 |title=New Lemon Demon Album "Spirit Phone" |url=http://neilblr.com/post/137705396948 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190614115215/https://neilblr.com/post/137705396948 |archive-date=June 14, 2019 |access-date=January 21, 2016 |website=Neil Cicierega Tumblr.}}</ref> On July 10, 2018, it was announced that copies of the album on CD, cassette tape and vinyl would be sold through [[Needlejuice Records]], who would later distribute remastered versions of Lemon Demon's Christmas EP ''I Am Become Christmas'', as well as ''[[Nature Tapes]]'', ''View-Monster'', ''Damn Skippy'', ''Hip to the Javabean'' and ''Dinosaurchestra''. ===The ''Mouth'' mashup albums=== {{further information|Mouth Sounds|Mouth Silence|Mouth Moods|Mouth Dreams}} [[File:Neil Cicierega at ROFLCon II.jpg|thumb|Cicierega in 2010]] Cicierega has also created [[Mashup (music)|mashup]] music under his own name. He released two mashup albums, ''[[Mouth Sounds]]''<ref name=avclub>{{cite news|first=Katie|last=Rife|date=April 29, 2014|url=http://www.avclub.com/article/mouth-sounds-punishing-90s-nostalgia-mixtape-world-203927|title="Mouth Sounds" is the punishing '90s nostalgia mixtape the world deserves|newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]]|access-date=November 5, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106092649/http://www.avclub.com/article/mouth-sounds-punishing-90s-nostalgia-mixtape-world-203927|archive-date=November 6, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Mouth Silence]]'',<ref>{{cite news |author=Rife |first=Katie |date=July 22, 2014 |title=The sequel to 'Mouth Sounds' is here, and it's laugh out loud horrifying |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/sequel-mouth-sounds-here-and-its-laugh-out-loud-ho-207169 |url-status=live |access-date=January 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202014814/http://www.avclub.com/article/sequel-mouth-sounds-here-and-its-laugh-out-loud-ho-207169 |archive-date=February 2, 2017}}</ref> as free downloads in 2014, and a third, ''[[Mouth Moods]]'', in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Minor |first=Jordan |date=2017-01-26 |title=Game of the Year: DJ Hero/Mouth Moods |url=https://www.geek.com/games/game-of-the-year-dj-heromouth-moods-1686450/ |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701002226/https://www.geek.com/games/game-of-the-year-dj-heromouth-moods-1686450/ |archive-date=July 1, 2019 |access-date=March 24, 2020 |website=[[Geek.com]]}}</ref> A fourth album, ''[[Mouth Dreams]]'', was released on September 30, 2020. All four albums are linked by their usage of [[Smash Mouth]]'s [[All Star (song)|"All Star"]], which is repeated frequently throughout ''Sounds'' and ''Moods'', and appears through [[Easter egg (media)|Easter eggs]] and references in ''Silence''. In ''Mouth Dreams'', "All Star" only makes one appearance in the track "Mouth Dreams (Extro)", where a heavily distorted edit of the lyrics can be heard. ===''Gravity Falls''=== {{see also|Gravity Falls}} Cicierega was commissioned to make a number of songs for the TV series ''[[Gravity Falls]]'': a musical number for the character [[List of Gravity Falls characters#Main|Bill Cipher]] titled "It's Gonna Get Weird", which was scrapped. Another song was "Goat and a Pig" (a parody of [[Natalie Cole]]'s "[[This Will Be]]"), which appeared in the end credits for the episode ‘The Love God’.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 Apr 2016 |title=[holding back tears] The final song I wrote for Gravity Falls. It didn't get used, but use your imagination! |url=https://neilblr.com/post/142982667678 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021130222/https://neilblr.com/post/142982667678 |archive-date=Oct 21, 2020 |access-date=2020-10-20 |website=Neil Cicierega Tumblr. |language=en}}</ref> He also created two separate theme songs, one with vocals and one without, both of which were unused. Cicierega reused these songs in his album '[[Spirit Phone]]', one of them being named 'Gravitron' with no alterations, and another being remixed into a different song called 'Moon's Request'. ===Other works=== On October 3, 2002, Cicierega launched his first [[point-and-click adventure]] game, ''Satan Quest''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 3, 2002 |title=Satan Quest |url=https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/126-satan-quest/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923202907/https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/site/games/game/126-satan-quest/ |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |access-date=September 23, 2022 |website=Adventure Game Studio}}</ref> In October 2012, Cicierega created the darkly satirical "Windows 95 Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks" blog, located at windows95tips.com. In the blog's telling, [[Windows 95]] is a brooding, evil presence bent on dominating humanity. Most of the posts are faked error messages, with messages like "Windows needs a lock of your hair to continue," but presented in the exact graphical style of Windows 95. The blog has received favorable press attention.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trendacosta |first=Katharine |date=July 30, 2014 |title=Messages From Your Old Abandoned Computer, Which Has Achieved AI |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/messages-from-your-old-abandoned-computer-which-has-ac-1613188448 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204505/https://io9.gizmodo.com/messages-from-your-old-abandoned-computer-which-has-ac-1613188448 |archive-date=January 6, 2019 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |website=[[Gizmodo]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wirefresh.com/windows-95-tips-tricks-and-tweaks-a-lovely-parody-of-system-messages/|title=Windows 95 Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks – a lovely parody of system messages|last=Fletcher|first=Tony|date=November 14, 2012|website=wirefresh|access-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107015756/http://www.wirefresh.com/windows-95-tips-tricks-and-tweaks-a-lovely-parody-of-system-messages/|archive-date=January 7, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Varias |first=Lambert |date=November 19, 2012 |title=I Don't Remember Windows 95 Being This Terrifying |url=https://technabob.com/blog/2012/11/19/windows-95-tips-tricks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106204544/https://technabob.com/blog/2012/11/19/windows-95-tips-tricks/ |archive-date=January 6, 2019 |access-date=January 6, 2019 |website=Technabob}}</ref> On February 26, 2015, he announced another game, ''Icon Architect 1.0'', with themes similar to his "Windows 95 Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks" blog. On February 5, 2018, he released ''Monster Breeder,'' which is a [[Text sim|text-sim game]] centered around collecting monsters and breeding them into amalgamations of each other to sell.<ref>{{cite web |date=5 Feb 2018 |title=Monster Breeder |url=http://neilblr.com/post/170555068008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219120327/http://neilblr.com/post/170555068008 |archive-date=December 19, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2018 |work=Neil Cicierega Tumblr.}}</ref> In February 2019, Cicierega created Endless Jeopardy, a Twitter account that automatically posts a bot-generated ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' prompt every hour and awards points to the most-liked responses within 15 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/18/18229785/twitter-bot-endless-jeopardy-launch|title=The best new Twitter bot is an endless game of Jeopardy where the winners are good at puns|first=Ashley|last=Carman|date=February 18, 2019|website=The Verge|access-date=August 24, 2020}}</ref> In March 2019, he created "Bot Pops" (@BotPops), a Twitter account that writes setups for jokes on popsicle sticks, then finishes them with a punchline from the replies.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cicierega |first=Neil |date=Mar 30, 2019 |title=Please check out my new twitter bot/game @BotPops, write punchlines for randomly generated popsicle sticks! |url=https://twitter.com/neilcic/status/1112170108472963072 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421025829/https://twitter.com/neilcic/status/1112170108472963072 |archive-date=Apr 21, 2021 |access-date=27 July 2020 |website=Twitter}}</ref> In April 2019 he created "4:3" (@FullscreenDream), a Twitter account that randomly makes GIFs from old commercials and CGI shorts.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cicierega |first=Neil |date=Apr 6, 2020 |title=Last year I messed around making a bot that randomly makes GIFs from old commercials and CGI shorts and posts them every two hours. I forgot about it, and it's been running this whole time. enjoy? |url=https://twitter.com/neilcic/status/1247257116202713093 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406201812/https://twitter.com/neilcic/status/1247257116202713093 |archive-date=Apr 6, 2020 |access-date=27 July 2020 |website=Twitter}}</ref> ==Personal life== On August 8, 2015, Cicierega married illustrator and comic artist Ming Doyle, with whom he lives in [[Somerville, Massachusetts]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}} Their daughter was born in March 2018.<ref>{{cite tweet |first=Ming |last=Doyle |title=Meet Darcy, the best part of our 2018. We had her back in March and she's lit up our whole year. Wishing you all a 2019 filled with good things! 💛 |user=mingdoyle |number=1079771446132527104 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713182726/https://twitter.com/mingdoyle/status/1079771446132527104 |archive-date=13 July 2021 |access-date=13 July 2021}}</ref> ==Discography== ===As Deporitaz/Trapezoid=== *''Outsmart'' (2000) *''Microwave This CD'' (2001) *''OC ReMix: Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge "Monkey Brain Soup for the Soul"'' (2002)<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2009 |title=OCR00799: Monkey Island 2 Monkey Brain Soup for the Soul OC ReMix |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdgUFVOvHts |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200307013116/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdgUFVOvHts&gl=US&hl=en |archive-date=March 7, 2020 |access-date=October 5, 2019 |website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=OverClocked ReMix: Video Game Music Community}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Artist: Trapezzoid |url=http://ocremix.org/artist/4497/trapezzoid |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129122735/http://ocremix.org/artist/4497/trapezzoid |archive-date=January 29, 2019 |access-date=January 28, 2019 |website=[[OverClocked ReMix]]}}</ref> *''Dimes'' (2002) *''Circa 2000'' (2007) *''The Count Censored'' (2007)<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 November 2007 |title=The Song of the Count |url=https://trapezzoid.livejournal.com/167510.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810163123/https://trapezzoid.livejournal.com/167510.html |archive-date=10 August 2022 |access-date=10 August 2022 |website=[[LiveJournal]]}}</ref> ===Lemon Demon=== *''Clown Circus'' (2003) *''Live from the Haunted Candle Shop'' (2003) *''Hip to the Javabean'' (2004) *''Damn Skippy'' (2005) *''[[Dinosaurchestra]]'' (2006) *''View-Monster'' (2008) *''Almanac 2009'' (2009) *''Live (Only Not)'' (2011) *''I Am Become Christmas EP'' (2012) *''[[Nature Tapes|Nature Tapes EP]]'' (2014) *''[[Spirit Phone]]'' (2016) ===Neil Cicierega=== *''[[Mouth Sounds]]'' (2014) *''[[Mouth Silence]]'' (2014) *''[[Mouth Moods]]'' (2017) *''Not for Resale: A Video Game Store Documentary'' OST (2020)<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6483458/fullcredits Not for Resale (2019) - IMDb]</ref><ref>[https://www.amazon.com/Not-Resale-Video-Store-Documentary/dp/B084QHRDHQ/ Amazon.com]</ref> *''[[Mouth Dreams]]'' (2020) ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category}} *{{official website|http://www.neilcic.com/}} *[https://www.youtube.com/user/NeilCicieregaMusic Official YouTube channel] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130907213559/http://eviltrailmix.com/index2.html Old archived EvilTrailMix website] *[https://archive.org/details/Mouth_Sounds_Neil_Cicierega Mouth Sounds], [https://archive.org/details/Mouth_Silence_Neil_Cicierega Mouth Silence], [https://archive.org/details/Mouth_Moods_Neil_Cicierega Mouth Moods] and [[iarchive:mouth-dreams-neil-cicierega-flac|Mouth Dreams]][[iarchive:mouth-dreams-neil-cicierega-flac|,]] each on [[Internet Archive]] {{Neil Cicierega}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cicierega, Neil}} [[Category:1986 births]] [[Category:21st-century American musicians]] [[Category:American alternative rock musicians]] [[Category:American amateur film directors]] [[Category:American animated film directors]] [[Category:American Internet celebrities]] [[Category:American mashup artists]] [[Category:American puppeteers]] [[Category:American surrealist artists]] [[Category:Computer animation people]] [[Category:Film directors from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Flash artists]] [[Category:Keytarists]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Music YouTubers]] [[Category:People from Somerville, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Remixers]]'