Ever since I started watching the vlogbrothers I’ve had a hard time identifying as a “nerd”. I fit all the classic signs - much more so when I was younger - I like comics, I spend a great deal of time on a computer and know things about the way it works inside, I am passionate about certain Sci-Fi tv shows almost to the point of obsession… but despite all the hard work by the “Nerdfighter” community I just can’t turn around the vast majority of my experience with the word “nerd”. When I was younger and first discovering my love for coding and computers and science fiction I identified with the word “Geek” because to me it summed up everything that John and Hank claim “Nerd” does, without having the social stigma attached to it. Maybe it’s a UK thing.

But when it comes to music I think it’s still kind of a dangerous adjective, especially if wrongly applied. Yes, Chameleon Circuit is “nerdy” music; we’ve taken a passionate love for a TV show and worked really incredibly hard to pull off a brilliant rock album on the subject. That’s super nerdy. The same can be said about All Caps, The Oceanic Six, and of course, every Wizard Rock band.

But when you start talking about a singer-songwriter’s music as “nerdy” you’re casting aspersions on not only the content they produce, but also the nature in which they approach music. There’s no room to be nerdy on a serious record.

When I posted yesterday about my music being seen as “nerdy” I got a lot of comments and asks encouraging me that it wasn’t, and a lot of opinions on why people might see it as so. For some people it was a question of discovery. Some had discovered me through Charlie, whose music is undoubtedly nerdy, or Chameleon Circuit, or just from DFTBA records, and thus they associated my music with other nerdy musicians, but this is something that’s always bothered me about DFTBA and “Youtube Music” - there seems to be no distinction made between different types and approaches to music. “Oh, DFTBA has a new album out? I will undoubtedly like it, I will purchase it immediately.” I worry that this attitude leads people to think less critically about the music they listen to. It’s cool because it’s from YouTube.

This leads me to another point I came across a lot, which is that “nerdy” music might be considered to be music that isn’t “mainstream”. This worries me as well, because the only reason I make music is so that as many people as possible can hear it. I don’t want to be stuck in a place where my music is considered inherently not acceptable in the mainstream. That’s exactly where I want to be. There used to be a word that described music that nobody else liked, and it was equally pretentious and counterintuitive: indie. Now some of the most popular acts in the charts are independent artists and the term no longer really applies.

This has been a really rambling post but I guess I had a lot to say on the subject. I just want you guys to think critically about music, think about why it appeals to you, and please god don’t stop at “it was made by a cute guy” or “not many other people like it”. If those are the only reasons you’re listening to my music, I’d really rather not know you’re listening to my music.