Nerds Rule at the Bookstore
October 4th, 2007Another article dealing with the rise of Nerds and Nerd Culture in America. This one spends time dissecting two different nerdy books. David Anderegg’s Nerds: Who They Are and Why We Need More of Them (Tarcher/Penguin, Dec.) and Benjamin Nugent’s American Nerd: The Story of My People.
This begs the question that as the world of nerdiness becomes more and more mainstream how will what it means to be a nerd change in the future. We’ve seen the press go mad about the rise of nerdcore hip hop by featuring the same nerdcore musicians who are really safe like MC Frontalot, and now the rise of nerds in the cinema. But is anyone ready for a truly nerdy character? And what ever happened to the likes of YTCracker who released entire albums for free and even compressed them as a .RAR files. Is this no longer possible? I respect the frontrunners of nerdcore hip hop, the true visionaries are those who are many times rightfully getting the most press and attention today. Nerdcore happened for the same reason that traditional hip hop became popular. And this is why. It generally used a bunch of beats which were technically owned by someone else, and also gave a voice to a group of people who were traditionally marginalised. Now, I know, I know, I am in no way comparing being an African American to being a Nerd, there are far too many complications to make such a wide statement. However I am saying that the best Nerdcore Hip Hop was made with a sense of honesty and was made to speak to a small audience (on the internet) and it was free to download. Once the rich suburbanites start wearing nerdy glasses, and buying original casio calculator watches on ebay, and then they will move on to the next fad, but where does that leave us? Those of us who are going to stay nerdy. Are we going to let our music, and style of dress (of lack there of) just simply be co-opted by the mainstream. Because if we do, they will eat us up, and spit us right out as fast as they can.
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heres the beginning of the article
Publishing may rank close to chemistry and molecular biology as one of the most nerd-friendly fields. The vocation tends to attract brainy types who may not have excelled at math and science in school, but reread books until their spines fell apart. Editors are rarely not reading books, whether on elevators, in supermarket lines, or even walking on the sidewalk. And they usually wear glasses. Hike up those pants, add a pocket protector, and… well, if it isn’t Alfred E. Newman.
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October 4th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
i released the dirty nerdy vol. 1 mixtape for free in may - we still pir8 and release free music always and forever:
http://www.ytcracker.com/nerdy-south-records-records-presents-dirty-nerdy-vol-1/
October 4th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
plus i’ve released two one off tracks this month alone (found here: http://www.ytcracker.com/music/?M=D at the top) and the new sinister six project that i am a part of (www.thesinistersix.com) is going to be a free album, and probably one of the best you’ve ever heard!
i’m not forgetting my roots.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:10 pm
Absolutely agree. I could see how you may have misconstrued that statement about releasing works for free. I was saying that you as one of the frontrunners of nerdcore hip hop are still releasing your works for free (thanks for the links BTW) and if you can do it as someone who is well known within the community, then why are so many others afraid of releasing their works. I think people should be happy if people want to pir8 their tracks. It just annoys me when I go over to MySpace pages and none of the tracks are available for free. But theres no doubt that you have not lost your roots man. Three albums all available for free online, and now these new tracks, props to you man, you deserve it.