You either love them… or you’re wrong!
Let’s start with Number 10…
10. “Mr. Spock” by Nerf Herder
Much of Nerf Herder’s work is about being geeky, but not a lot of their songs have gotten much airplay. The lyrics of “Mr. Spock” is told from the perspective of guy who is frustrated with his nerd girlfriend who is apparently being compared to the perfect man, Mr. Spock from Star Trek.
9. “The 7 Colours of the Rainbow” by Mannheim Steamroller
This is a little cerebral for our list, but we had to put it on here because it’s so brilliant. Any nerd worth his salt knows that different frequencies of light produce different colors. What if we could take those frequencies down so that we could “hear” them? Now assign a different tone for a “warm” red versus a “cold” green.
This song explores the “mixing” of colors and what they would sound like if we could “hear” them.
The other songs on our list have a lot more energy, so you can turn your speakers up now…
8. “Yoda” by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic
There are lots of nerd topics covered by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, but “Yoda” is probably the best. It’s a parody of a song written before many nerds were even born, “Lola” by The Kinks.
This song was recorded shortly after The Empire Strikes Back was released in theaters, and is told from the perspective of Luke Skywalker as he endures Jedi Training on Dagobah by Jedi Master Yoda.
7. “The Future Soon” by Jonathon Coulton
What nerd hasn’t been persecuted or shunned by the popular kids, then daydreamed about taking revenge on them when they are a rich and successful Evil Genius that enslaves all of mankind?
Then this song by Jonathon Coulton will be completely relatable.
6. “Save World, Get Girl” by I Fight Dragons
Not only is this a catchy pop-rock song, but it features synthesizer sounds from a Nintendo NES. Video games, particularly retro games in the NES era, were all about saving the world and getting a hot girl as a reward, a feat only obtainable by many nerds in a video game.
5. “Button Smasher” by The Copyrights
It may be a punk song, but just read the lyrics:
Hey there button smasher
I’m not going to let you win no more
’cause you’re really beating my score and I’m loving it
Hey there button smasher
I taught you everything you know
so you gotta let me know how you’re doing it
The guys are lining up to play you
they start by letting you win
but pride it over powers hormones
and they try and try and try
but they’re never gonna beat you
This song celebrates online gaming, and the pure joy of being beaten over and over by your Internet nemesis.
4. “Science Genius Girl” by Freezepop
Like many of the other artists in this lineup, Freezepop has many songs about nerds and geek culture. Science Genius Girl is a fun take, as a geek gurrrl thinks the only way she can get a boyfriend is to literally make one herself.
This song was featured on the game “Frequency” as well as Guitar Hero and Rock Band (as in the video above).
You can read our interviews with Freezepop here and here.
3. “Girl at the Video Game Store” by Parry Gripp
If not for our Number 1 Spot, this song by the leader of Nerf Herder would easily be the Nerd Rock Anthem.
The video above premiered on “Attack of the Show” when G4 still had great shows for geeks like X-Play, and there were still video game stores. It seems like the great Video Game Store is going the way of BlockBuster video, but still.
Our #3 spot remembers our own Trisha Duerr, who was once that “Girl at the Video Game Store” before she moved on to a successful nursing career.
2. “Still Alive” by Jonathon Coulton
Jonathon Coulton has lots of nerd-related songs. His most famous of course, is about GlaDOS, the sociopathic artificial intelligence from one of the most cerebral video games: “Portal”.
The cake is a lie.
1. “Geeks Will Inherit The Earth” by I Fight Dragons
The quintisential Rock Anthem for all nerds who became successful and left all of their bullies behind in the close-minded one-horse town they grew up in, left for college to expand their minds and hone their creativity, and then become wildly successful by running one of the best tech websites on earth…
or whatever.
Point is: Be nice to nerds. You’ll probably work for one.
There were lots of other songs we wanted to include on this list, but then this article would be way too long. Did we miss any? Post in the comments below!