Geek rock
| Geek rock | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late-1990s geek culture; United States |
| Typical instruments | Guitar, electronic instruments, unusual instruments |
| Derivative forms |
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| Other topics | |
Geek rock (also known as nerd rock or dork rock) is a musical subgenre derived from alternative rock within the nerd music group. It is a sister-genre to the chiptune-influenced rock subgenre nintendocore and related to other branches of nerd music such as hip hop's nerdcore and contemporary folk's nerd-folk. Geek rock is characterised by the standard instruments of rock music often combined with electronic and unusual instruments; references to geek culture and specialised, yet often mundane, interests; and an element of humour. Specific subgenres of geek rock range from those related to elements of geek culture, such as the Harry Potter-based wizard rock, and those related to elements of rock music, such as the punk rock variant called nerd punk.
Geek rock is characterised by strong use of both electronic instruments and more atypical musical instruments, such as accordions or ukuleles.
Lyrically, the genre is generally characterised by subject matter that covers topics such as geek media pop culture (including science fiction, comic books and video games), academia, technology and related topics. Kyle Stevens of Kirby Krackle expands this to include any passionate interest, saying in a 2013 interview: "To us now, what we consider or genre of 'nerd' or 'geek' rock means anything we are really passionate about, whether that be traditionally geeky subject matter or a song about how we’re really into tacos. In essence, they’re love songs directed to whatever we’re really passionate about."Irony, self-deprecation and humour are major elements.
While mainstream rock music tends to be aspirational, representing things the average male audience member wants or wants to be, geek rock celebrates the mundane, common things that its audience members would find familiar.
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