Philosophy
There are a set of bands that are comprised of and have music aimed at nerds. Go to see Moxy Fruvous, They Might Be Giants, or Weezer and you'll be comfortably in the company of nerds galore. How far back does this movement go? Who are the founding fathers of it? Talking Heads would be an earlier case. One might argue that Steely Dan is a place where it splits of from art rock. There were a number of Dr. Demento type novelty records back in the 50s and Spike Jones in the 40s, but might be more parody than nerd fare. Lord Buckley in the late 40s/early 50s put out albums of verbal performance art set to music, but I'm not sure one could draw a straight line from one to the other. So, where would you put the roots of nerd rock and whose work belongs in the genre?
A little Lord Buckley:
- Wonks And The Nerd Taxonomy
Heard the word "wonk" used on the radio this morning and it started me thinking. "Wonk" is used to refer to policy nerds. But, of course, there are quite distinct nerd populations, some of which are even in perpetual conflict (Hat tip to Nick...
- The Feast Day Of Saint Demento
My Fellow Comedists, Today is the 70th birthday of Barry Hansen, better known as Dr. Demento. Long before we had YouTube and e-mail to help comedy go viral, Dr. Demento and his syndicated radio program were our primary vector for infectious laughter....
- Poe's Law Nevermore?
Our friends Scott Aiken and bob Talisse have an interesting post up about the argumentative effects of Poe's law. Poe's law is: Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such...
- The Feast Of Saint Weird
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend we celebrate the 50th birthday of Weird Al Yankovic. I remember listening to a call-in interview show where a listener asked him if "Weird Al Yankovic" was his real name. Without missing a beat he responded that no "Weird...
- Religious Fundamentalists Are The Ultimate Nerds
When you think of a nerd, you probably have a very specific image in your mind of someone who wears thick glasses and lacks physical and social grace, but if you were to think about the general qualities that characterize a nerd, you'd find things...
Philosophy
Roots of Nerd Rock
There are a set of bands that are comprised of and have music aimed at nerds. Go to see Moxy Fruvous, They Might Be Giants, or Weezer and you'll be comfortably in the company of nerds galore. How far back does this movement go? Who are the founding fathers of it? Talking Heads would be an earlier case. One might argue that Steely Dan is a place where it splits of from art rock. There were a number of Dr. Demento type novelty records back in the 50s and Spike Jones in the 40s, but might be more parody than nerd fare. Lord Buckley in the late 40s/early 50s put out albums of verbal performance art set to music, but I'm not sure one could draw a straight line from one to the other. So, where would you put the roots of nerd rock and whose work belongs in the genre?
A little Lord Buckley:
- Wonks And The Nerd Taxonomy
Heard the word "wonk" used on the radio this morning and it started me thinking. "Wonk" is used to refer to policy nerds. But, of course, there are quite distinct nerd populations, some of which are even in perpetual conflict (Hat tip to Nick...
- The Feast Day Of Saint Demento
My Fellow Comedists, Today is the 70th birthday of Barry Hansen, better known as Dr. Demento. Long before we had YouTube and e-mail to help comedy go viral, Dr. Demento and his syndicated radio program were our primary vector for infectious laughter....
- Poe's Law Nevermore?
Our friends Scott Aiken and bob Talisse have an interesting post up about the argumentative effects of Poe's law. Poe's law is: Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such...
- The Feast Of Saint Weird
My Fellow Comedists, This weekend we celebrate the 50th birthday of Weird Al Yankovic. I remember listening to a call-in interview show where a listener asked him if "Weird Al Yankovic" was his real name. Without missing a beat he responded that no "Weird...
- Religious Fundamentalists Are The Ultimate Nerds
When you think of a nerd, you probably have a very specific image in your mind of someone who wears thick glasses and lacks physical and social grace, but if you were to think about the general qualities that characterize a nerd, you'd find things...