so i’ve seen some very good documentaries lately.
yes, i sound like a nerd, so what?
one of the documentaries, ‘spellbound’, made me realize that not only am i a nerd (i, too, competed in a few spelling bee’s in my youth…) but that i’m proud to be a nerd.
nerds rule the world, even if they sometimes rule through a puppet or a frontman (just look at gw’s cabinet…).
pop-culture is, especially as of late, decidely anti-intellectual.
and that’s why it’s, especially as of late, decidedly crappy.
people in the music business wonder why record sales are down…well, maybe because the music business has, in dumbing things down, effectively exorcised anything challenging or thought provoking from mainstream music.
the best rockstars have always been nerds, even if they’ve tried to cover up their nerd roots.
the beatles? nerds.
the rolling stones? nerds.
the clash? nerds.
jimi hendrix? nerd.
jim morrison? nerd.
david byrne? nerd.
kurt cobain? nerd.
eddie vedder? nerd.
bruce springsteen? nerd.
thom yorke and radiohead? mega-nerds.
even grand-master flash, one of the progenitors of hip-hop, was a nerd.
and now the american single and album charts have been de-nerded, much to the detriment of music, pop-culture, and record sales.
modern rock radio, which was once the exclusive domain of nerd musicians, is now a leading force in the anti-intellectualization of popular music in america (with incubus and tool as the only modern rock nerd bands that i can think of).
america has been de-nerded, and it’s to our collective detriment.
bill clinton was a nerd president, and the economy flourished. george bush is a frat boy president, and the country is going down the tubes (even though he has some serious nerds in his cabinet).
ok, i’m a nerd and i’m proud.another great documentary is ‘capturing the friedmans’. i’m sure that i’ve written about it before, but it’s wonderful.
and ‘the weather underground’. another great documentary.
go see documentaries. they’re invariably more entertaining than most big budget hollywood movies, they’re certainly more thought provoking, and every now and then a documentary can actually be benignly educational.
‘spellbound’ was great. go see it and revel in your nerdiness.
it also paints a very nice picture of the good old u.s of a.
and it also made me realize that the winner of the spelling bee will most likely be president in 30 or 40 years.
and he/she will get my vote (i can’t say ‘he’ or ‘she’ cos i don’t want to give away the ending).
thanks
moby the nerd.
p.s-i mean, at the end of the day who would you rather be, bill gates or the guy who used to beat up nerds in high school and who’s now selling used lawnmower engines in tucson?
p.p.s-although i personally have nothing against used lawnmower engines, and tucson does seem like a pretty nice, albeit hot, place.