Data & Picard remains one of the best fan-made songs ever in Star Trek history.
It was six years ago that Pogo released this banger of a tune, titled “Data & Picard”. It’s an electric dance mix that takes dialogue from Star Trek: The Next Generation, specifically from Data and Picard, and mixed them into an original song.
The music uses the Klingon Victory Song, as well as Che Gelida Manina, as sung by Data in the Next Generation series “In Theory”. Some more of Picard’s best lines were used as the verses, while Data’s singing was the chorus.
The music video itself is even more impressive, as most of the video used simple lighting techniques to make the characters appear more in line with the green screen images behind them. For Data, Pogo even used CGI to alter the color of the uniform and his eyes to fit Data’s look.
Six years after we first talked about the video, it remains a hallmark of fan ingenuity but its creator has come under fire in recent years.
The shine is off Pogo despite his brilliant music
Pogo, whose real name is Christopher Nicholas “Nick” Bertke, has had to deal with some controversies that he caused. The first with his stance on feminism, deriding it as nothing more than gold-digging. He also came under fire when he made insensitive comments about the LGBTQ, right after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016.
Pogo has tried to claim that he has Asperger syndrome and bipolar disorder, which may be true. That, unfortunately, doesn’t take away from his distasteful comments. His brilliance is undeniable but his less than savory opinions have certainly dampened his perception.
Pogo’s music is impressive, and if you can look past the problematic statements, his library of content is among the most incredible things you can possibly hope to hear today.