Saturday, January 2, 2010

Nerdcore Rising (2008)




It's a newbie, but since we're all a bit nerdy in here I thought I'd share.

Nerdcore is a relatively new music phenomenon that attempts to usurp the style of hip-hop and infuse it with the substance of nerdiness. Songs about mathematics, video games, internet porn addiction, role-playing games, etc. are the standard.

Nerdcore Rising documents the first American tour of Damian Hess (AKA MC Frontalot) and his band. Damian is widely acknowledged as the father of the Nerdcore movement and considering the fact that he is credited with legitimizing a brand of music that started as a joke he takes the practice pretty seriously. His band is something of a combination of Devo, De La Sol, The Minutemen and Kraftwerk. The road footage of the tour is not your typical get-drunk-and-party-like-a-rock-star fare. These guys give it their all on stage and then head back to the Motel 6 to complain about road fatigue and lower-back pain. After all, they are a bunch of nonathletic nerds, not rap stars.

Things come to a head when some members of the crowd cry racism in the face of Frontalot's efforts to bridge the culture gap. Interestingly enough he has seasoned supporters that rise to his defense including: Al Yankovic, Jello Biafra and even famed Hip-Hop producer Prince Paul (Who claims that Frontalot's efforts are more creative and honest than most modern mainstream rappers). Either way, Frontalot is a web sensation and his fans seem to adore the fact that he speaks their language.

If you're a nerd (and if you just stopped to consider the idea then you know you are) it might give you a kick.

2 comments:

Mavis Martini said...

Well, just because there may be NILFs involved I'll check it out, but rap isn't my cup of Glengettie.

Mr. Sophistication said...

I'd hardly call it "rap." Just some nerds being nerdy with instruments. And, yes, the bass player is nerdy, Mavis.