Still a Nerd

If I ran a game store I would play Still a Nerd by Tom Smith.

Still a Nerd is another nerd anthem, like my previous post about Weird Al's White & Nerdy, but this song is softer and gentler. It's closer to the heart of a nerd and does without the juxtaposition of being a hip-hop parody. Musically, Still a Nerd is not an anthem, but lyrically it sure is. Maybe it's better to call it a love letter to nerds but I think it's too unabashed for that label. Still a Nerd is the sort of song that gets into your head as you find a quite spot to read through a D&D module. You could play it while painting minis or while you're at an empty convention table building a Magic deck. It's very much a song cut for playing in a game store.

Still a Nerd is a parody of Jonathon Coulton's Still Alive, which is a song I would play if I ran a video game store. Still Alive was used in the ending credits of the video game Portal. Tom Smith gives credit for his inspiration to Rob Balder – "His Jonathan Coulton parody 'Still Annoyed' made my brain form the phrase 'Still A Nerd'. That's pretty much it." Still a Nerd was released in 2008 on The FuMP.

Still a Nerd on The FuMP

White & Nerdy

If I ran a game store I would play White & Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic.

Weird Al has always been connected to geeks and nerds, but White & Nerdy pushed that connection over the top. While Al had previously sung about geeky topics like Star Wars, Pentium microprocessors, and TV quiz show Jeopardy, none of these songs (which X Marks the Spot will cover) were nerd anthems. White & Nerdy is very much a nerd anthem. Being a parody of hip-hop song Ridin' by Chamillionaire and Krayzie Bone, it has the ability to be played with the car windows down and the volume up. The song very much embraces and teases those with nerdy pursuits and it gently jabs those nerds who enjoy emulating gangster culture (I'm seeing Kipling Dynamite in my head). Weird Al wrote a heat-seeking missile aimed at game store speakers - it's almost embarrassing that games stores don't play this song. White & Nerdy is Weird Al Yankovic's biggest hit single to date, peaking at #9 on Billboard Hot 100 in 2006.

White & Nerdy on Google Play