Nerds are cool (and here’s why)

Nerds get a lot of hate. When you think nerd you think McLovin from Superbad, or some acne ridden kid with taped up glasses too big for his face. But I think 2025 should be the year we reclaim and rebrand nerds and realize how cool they really are. 

Best example of this - the band They Might be Giants. As a child I stumbled upon They Might Be Giants when my teacher played a few of their educational songs in a science class (this one specifically blew my mind). My eyes were opened. Why am I learning something but in the same breath busting a move? How could this be? I looked a little deeper into their music and discovered one or two songs. “Damn Good Times” off their album The Spine (2004) specifically stands out; I would listen to it on my iPod Touch in early middle school, feeling oh so scandalous for listening to a song with a swear word in the title. But besides a few songs from time to time none of them really stuck. 

I don't remember exactly how it came to be, but one fateful day last year I was smacked in the face with a resurgence of my middle school They Might be Giants love. My uber cool uncle offered to take me and a few friends to a show they were playing in Detroit, so I had a mission to delve even deeper this time around. I couldn't be a poser at a They Might be Giants concert. How lame is that? I had to go big or go home, and I definitely went big. 

They Might be Giants is made up of John Flansburgh and John Linnell (it's already cool enough that they have the same name), hometown friends who happened to move into the same apartment building in New York in the early eighties and then decided to start a band (and thank god they did). Their third album Flood (1990) is considered one of their most popular, and is one of my personal favorites (especially thanks to this extremely charming promotional video: https://youtu.be/C-tQSFQ-ESY?si=9lzPZoaQ6KFph_V-) featuring the songs “Birdhouse In Your Soul” and “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)”, both of which you have likely heard before. 

Their quick witted lyrics, containing big words, accompanied by funky beats and instruments not usually found in mainstream pop (such as a plethora of accordions and saxophones) gained them a huge cult following. In a quote from the unofficial They Might Be Giants site found here, it is said that “the band has an extremely unique sound, which others have tried and failed to copy. The band's lyrics are unusual as well, incorporating some very sophisticated allusions and imagery.” It's clear these two are big on experimenting with their sound. And most importantly it's clear these two don't care about the mainstream, which only makes them cooler.

In my most recent delve into the band, these are some of my favorite songs I've discovered, as well as some essential listening:

“Don't Let Start”, “She's an Angel”, They Might be Giants (1986)

“Ana Ng”, Lincoln (1987)

“Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love”, “Birdhouse In Your Soul”, Flood (1990)

“A Self Called Nowhere”, John Henry (1994)

“Call You Mom”, Nanobots (2013)

One of my favorite pieces of TMBG lore is that in 1998, John Linnell (who I always lovingly refer to as “the little John” to Maddie) was named one of the most beautiful people of the year in an online poll by People magazine, prompting this response from him, linked here.  So, long story short… he's cute, and humble, and he’s one of the many reasons I would like to invest in a time machine, because all the gorgeous nerd boys are in the past and I must go back in order to make them mine. 

I've tried to do some research on what exactly qualifies these possible giants as nerds… and I've come up empty. It just feels obvious. From their sound, to their nerdish charm, to their many educational children's albums covering science, to numbers, to why the sun REALLY shines, it all just screams nerd. While I don’t have absolute factual or scientific proof they are nerds, I do have a statement from my friend Gunnar, who is a fan of weirder music, who said They Might Be Giants are “too nerdy for him”. So it's just a common consensus. You either rock with these cool nerds, or you don't. 

Prime example of cool nerds number two…the band Tally Hall. Consisting of four nerds from Michigan (the exact town I am from in Michigan, to be exact) and one nerd from New Jersey (probably the exact town Snooki is from or something. I don't really know anything else about New Jersey), they make nerd music about things like having a crush on the Olsen twins and how time is really cool, but also kind of scary. Their sound takes clear inspiration from bands like Queen, The Beatles, and Weezer, somehow seamlessly blending the three with gorgeous harmonies and mind melting guitar. You’ve probably heard their song “Hidden in the Sand” if you spend enough time on the internet.

Tally Hall are more nerdy in the literal sense, three of the members being at the University of Michigan studying various kinds of science when the band was fatefully formed. One was a film major which is slightly cooler, but still nerdy (as a film minor I’m allowed to say that), and another studied music composition. And also… one look at these boys and you can tell they are nerds. The matching outfits, the glasses…it's all just too clear. But in the same breath, you look at them and just want to give them a smooch on the face and take them out for a drink. Something about the nerd look is just oh so charming!

They were a very passionate band, and this passion is clear in every single thing they did. Alongside their first album Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (2005), they created Tally Hall’s Internet Show, a sketch comedy series consisting of ten episodes showcasing songs off the album and basically pioneered early internet humor. It's really great and everyone should be required to watch it at least once in their life.

One listen to the Marvin's album makes it clear that these nerds are musical geniuses. Similar to the Giants, they aren't afraid of some audible experimenting. The opening track, “Good Day”, with this amazing music video, is pretty groundbreaking, winning the band the BMI John Lennon scholarship award in 2004. The song was even featured in an episode of the OC. My personal favorite is “Welcome to Tally Hall”, a song where they introduce each member of the band. This song is just fun! They aren't afraid to be silly or occasionally make fools of themselves, but at the same time they take themselves very seriously. 

And finally, I can't speak on cool nerds without bringing up the musical comedy group Flight of the Conchords. I'll keep it brief, but if you want to see two nerds with cute New Zealand accents try to make it as a band while rapping about various things, like Lord of the Rings, and refer to themselves as the “Hiphopopotamus” and the “Rhymenoceros”, this show is a MUST watch. Once again, these two nerds are not ashamed! They know they aren't cool and they couldn't care less. Here is a video to start. 

So basically… nerds are cool because they make good music. They care about things like science and ancient Mesopotamia and they write songs about it. They write songs for strange and off putting nerds girls such as myself to listen to. And they are cute in a weird way while doing it. Nerds are cool because they don't care about being cool, they are passionate about weird niche things, and they wear that on their sleeves. In this glorious New Year I think everyone should find at least one weird thing to be passionate about and love that thing unabashedly. Scream it from the rooftops. VIVA LA NERD!!!

One extra source that is not linked elsewhere:

https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/20060411_its_a_good_day_for_lennon_scholarship_winner