Jonathan William Coulton, often called "JoCo" by fans, is an American folk/comedy singer-songwriter, known for his songs about geek culture and his use of the Internet to draw fans. Among his most popular songs are "Code Monkey", "Re: Your Brains", "Still Alive", and "Want You Gone". He was the house musician for NPR weekly puzzle quiz show Ask Me Another from 2012 until its end in 2021.
Coulton in 2009
Coulton, Paul and Storm, and Molly Lewis performing at Dragon*Con 2011
"Still Alive" is the song featured in the closing credits of the 2007 video game Portal. It was composed and arranged by Jonathan Coulton and was performed by Ellen McLain, who voiced the Portal antagonist and in-game singer of the song, GLaDOS. The song originated in a meeting between two Valve developers and Coulton about him writing a song for the company, which Coulton accepted as he was a fan of Valve's Half-Life series, which is set in the same universe as Portal. The song was released on The Orange Box Soundtrack on December 21, 2007, along with an exclusive vocal mix not heard in the game.
Jonathan Coulton, the composer of "Still Alive"