Computer Nerd - 20,000 Years & Still Going Strong (CD 2026)
On January 16, 2026, Future Imperfect released 20,000 Years & Still Going Strong, the ambitious 55-minute full band prog rock opera written and produced by me, Chris Bush, founder of Future Imperfect, under the artist name Computer Nerd.
This release culminates multi-year work from over a dozen contributors. Following the release of my previous rock opera concept album, a synth instrumental about the nuclear waste warning messages called Place of Honor, I felt the need to write a real rock opera with lyrics, singers, and real instruments. 20,000 Years & Still Going Strong was conceived as a six-track album exploring the concept of boundaries in interpersonal relationships. Eventually, it grew to 8 distinct tracks about an immortal man who, having lived through every artistic and technical revolution in human history since the last ice age, now in a new ice age faces a lonely and seductive AI that forces him to choose between false comfort and the risk of real connection.
Writing started early 2024. After an initial reading performance late 2024, the band and I went to GB's Juke Joint in Queens to record most of the instrumentals. Guitarist Franco Vittore, bassist Josh Uguccioni, keyboardist Miles Wilkins, and drummer Murphy Aucamp were great. We tracked seven songs in about 8 hours. The eighth song (which ended up as track 3) had not been written yet. I wrote it later when I realized the love story could use a sample of the relationship actually working at some point, which makes the eventual breakdown even more tragic.
After retooling the music and lyrics based on feedback from the reading, in the summer of 2025, we got back into the studio and laid down the vocals. We also added tenor sax by Daniel Berkey, more synth, more guitar, B3 organ, and grand piano. Plus we recorded the whole new song. Vocalist Jessica Greenfield, percussionist Daniel Sadownick, and dobro player Raymond Klassen contributed their parts remotely. I even added some of my own vocals and few splashes of flute, for the bit. Finally, Owen Mulholland, who mixed and edited earworm, did a great job editing and mixing the lengthy and layered album.
This album celebrates and carries on the classic prog rock traditions of Yes, Genesis, and Pink Floyd, with a strong dose of Broadway camp and tragedy, while lyrically deploying weapons-grade self-analysis in the vein of Poe and Woolf.
Whether you stream or listen on a CD (with 12-page lyric booklet), you'll find lots to think about amid all the psychedelic solos in 20,000 Years & Still Going Strong.
Computer Nerd
