Geek rock (also known as nerd rock, but distinct from the hip hop subgenre nerdcore) is a musical subgenre of alternative rock, although unlike many genres, the term is somewhat loosely applied as far as the style of music performed is concerned. Rather, the phrase is more often used to describe the artists and performers, whose personalities and/or appearance are considered “geeky” or “nerdy.”1
The entry goes on to explain some of the other traits that tie geek rock performers together. Often their musical styles are outside the norm. Many performers use instruments that are not typical for alt-rock musicians such as the accordion. There are also a number of similarities in the types of lyrics associated with geek rock. Tales of isolation, failed love lives and geek pop culture can often be found.
Finally, the wiki gives a list of a few “mainstream” bands that are part of the genre. They Might be Giants, Jonathan Coulton and Nerf Herder made the list, obviously. However, I wouldn’t necessarily call them mainstream. Weezer, Guster, and Ben Folds also made the list. I would agree that those bands are slightly more mainstream. Painfully absent from the list are Weird Al Yankovic and DEVO who I see to be the godfathers of geek rock, but I digress.
Ok, so now we know what geek rock is, or at least one possible definition.2 Interestingly enough, the Urban Dictionary definition is nearly identical.3 Anyway, now that we have a definition, let’s explore mainstream bands who seem to think geek anyway.4
There are tons of songs with comic references. The song “Catch Me Now I’m Falling” by The Kinks, references Captain America with the line:
Now I’m calling all citizens from all over the world
This is Captain America calling
I bailed you out when you were down on your knees
So will you catch me now?
Tori Amos has referenced comics a number of times in her songs. Well, one comic to be specific. Tori apparently has a thing for Sandman. She actually became friends with Neil Gaiman after referencing him in the song “Tear in Your Hand.” “Me and Neil’ll be hangin’ out with the dream king/Neil says hi,” is only the first of many Gaiman references in Amos’ music. “Space Dog” (“Where’s Neil when you need him?”) “Horses” (“But will you find me if Neil makes me a tree?”), “Carbon” (“Get me Neil on the line, no I can’t hold. Have him read, ‘Snow, Glass, Apples’ where nothing is what it seems”), and “Not Dying Today” (“Neil is thrilled he can claim he’s mammalian, ‘but the bad news,’ he said, ‘girl you’re a dandelion”) also refer to the author.
Of course Captain America and Sandman can’t measure up to the Man of Steel.
I found so many references to Superman; I can’t begin to list them all. Here’s a partial list:
- “Superman’s Song” Crash Test Dummies
- “Superman” Five for Fighting
- “Sunshine Superman” Donovan
- “Superman” The Kinks
- “Superman” REM
- “Kryptonite” Three Doors Down
- “Superman” Eminem
- “Superman” Goldfinger
- “Waitin’ For A Superman” Flaming Lips
- “Superman” Robyn Hitchcock
I could go on, but you get the picture. People love the Superman.
My final5 non-geek rock geek reference goes to rock gods Led Zeppelin. I found several websites dedicated to showing the Lord of the Rings references in Zeppelin’s music. Some went as far as to nearly accuse Robert Plant of plagiarizing Tolkien’s work.6 It is widely believed that songs from “The Battle of Evermore,” to “Stairway to Heaven,” to “Misty Mountain Hop” include Middle Earth references. The most blatant however, has to be “Ramble On.”
Mine’s a tale that can’t be told, my freedom I hold dear
How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air
T’was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her, her, her….yeah
Yeah, that about covers it.
Thanks for tuning in this week. Maybe next time I’ll tell you how Ben Folds writes songs about my life.
- From Wikipedia. [↩]
- That was most likely written by a 16-year-old. [↩]
- That 16-year-old gets around. [↩]
- Disclaimer: This is in no way an all inclusive list. I encourage you all to list any songs that you think of that I don’t mention here in the comments section. Let’s call this an audience participation blog. [↩]
- and most awesome, In My Humble Opinion [↩]
- I’m ridiculously geeked out that spell check includes the word Tolkien. [↩]
