For the longest time nerds had been social outcasts and the very definition of uncool. Their unusual levels of intelligence and obsession with topics that generally don’t appeal to the majority coupled with their lack of social skills kept them at the bottom of the social ladder. Things however seem to have changed in the 21st century where nerds are concerned. Yes, they’re still uncannily smart and spend a lot of time and focus on various obsessions more than they spend talking to people, but they’re no longer the definition of uncool.
In fact, they’re so cool nowadays that several musicians and bands are undoubtedly nerdy. Fantasy and science fiction are two main areas of interest to nerds. Normally, the rest of the world cannot understand what’s going on, but with the growth of undying fandoms, nerds have enough of each other so that they’re never lonely in their obsessions. Many artists nowadays make songs that may seem bizarre and incomprehensible when you listen to the lyrics and watch the videos. If you quit expecting the normal and started looking at the fantasy in the productions and futuristic content in between the lines, then you would realize that there’s actually a tangible theme to the song.
Most musicians who are nerds are in rock bands. We all know rock stars are considered cool and most kids imagine themselves with guitars strapped over their chests and bright lights shining upon them. A closer look at the content found in rockstar studio albums reveal that when they’re not tackling themes about dark emotions or getting high, they’re creating new worlds and characters in their songs and narrating adventures. That or they’re making songs inspired by famed fandoms such as The Lord of the Rings, a fantasy trilogy that every book nerd knows about, or various other stories.
Take Led Zeppelin, for instance. With a number of their songs devoted to the world of The Lord of the Rings as created by author J.R.R Tolkien, they paved way for more infiltration of nerd culture into music, particularly rock music. Their song ‘Ramble On’ makes direct references to the trilogy. Pink Floyd is yet another rock band who took a turn from the normal and introduced sci-fi inspired themes in their songs. They even made one song titled ‘Childhood’s End’ that shared the title with a sci-fi novel by Arthur C. Clarke about an alien invasion that inspired the song.
Rush was a rock band that many found hard to understand, but nerds had no problem with that. This was one truly nerdy group of musicians who were open about the fact that yes, their creations were pretty nerdy. Their albums contained songs with both sci-fi and fantasy topics. Some of their lengthy songs like ‘The Necromancer’ and ‘The Fountain of Lamneth’ narrate fantastical adventures.
More recent musicians in genres such as Electronic Dance Music also dabble a lot in fantasy. The apocalypse, alien invasions and mythology seems to be common themes that many people jam to, not just the nerds. This because the fact that they’re nerdy doesn’t mean there’s anything lame about these musicians’ works.
