That End of the Year Thing
The year is ending and I must give in to writing a post of the year in review, but I can’t. Nerdcore and Chiptunes is fairly new to me and this site is just a way for me to get to know it better. But there is some good reading material for you nerds. Hipster, please! wrote a nice long entry on his reflections of Nerdcore in 2006: Nerdcore version 2.0.
Being fairly new to this genre, I’m just enjoying it as much as I can. From my what I saw during my radio years, I don’t see nerdcore catching on and even coming close to mainstream view. But it doesn’t have to blow up. Myself and a lot of techies and nerds can enjoy it and that’s all that matters. Who else would appreciate a track about entropy?
Looking at the reactions of the Nerdcore for Life! trailer on Youtube, it seems a lot of people think that this is some kind of movement of nerds becoming rappers, which is not the case. There is that nerd element in the lyrics and theme. Take for example Spamtec’s first album, where they rap about spamming to make a living, parallel to rappers bragging about dealing drugs:
How you think I get green like the incredible hulk?
It’s because I’m sending the incredible bulk
My MX is in Texas, Spam both sexes
Check my PO Box, cause it’s where my checks is
-Spam City
And For real hardcore gangster nerdcore rap, get MC Hawking’s album, it’s freaking hilarious. Go and read the lyrics yourself. One of my favorites:
I glance at the Doom to make sure he’s packed,
his fingers on the trigger of his baby Mac.
Time to give a Newtonian demonstration,
of a bullet its mass and its acceleration.
-All My Shooting’s Be Drivebys
That element is why I and a lot of other people like it: we relate to it. Nerds do drivebys at MIT all the time.
I completely agree; nerdcore doesn’t have to blow up. I think Gabe over at Nerdcore News said it best when he described nerdcore as music “by us, for us.” He went on to say that if those outside the community enjoy what they hear that’s certainly alright, but that the music itself exists for our entertainment.
There are many in the genre (YTCracker, Optimus Rhyme, Metamystiks) that definitely have the chops to survive in more relatable hip hop or alt-rap circles, but nerdcore as a whole doesn’t have to cross over to be successful. We’re currently living in a time when the community has grown significantly and been afforded a great amount of exposure, but we remain at the core a very tight-knit group. And while, commercially, that may not be the most lucrative position, it is, in my opinion, the best of both worlds.
Oh, and thanks for the support.
Definitely has grown. It’s good right now.
And no problem with the linking.