Geeky music lovers rejoice

Best. Concert. Ever.

If you are of a geeky temperament, you probably already know about Jonathan Coulton. If you’re of a geeky temperament and you don’t know Jonathan Coulton, you’ll want to pay attention to this post (it’ll make me feel better if people from the first group pay attention, too.)

Jonathan Coulton is best known for his ironically geeky songs that have become emblematic of geek and nerd culture. He’s played live at PAX and his beloved song “Still Alive” first appeared during the end credits to the video game portal. If none of that made any sense to you, don’t worry; you don’t need to be a card-carrying member of the geek crowd to appreciate Coulton’s style. His music has a rather folksy feel to it, but his lyrics are decidedly sharp and witty and tend to focus on computers and technology rather than the traditional country themes you might be used to.

You can find a live recording of some of Coulton’s best music on the library’s Freegal page. If I was going to spend my three weekly downloads on Coulton (and I really recommend that you do!), you really can’t go wrong with any of his music but these are the three songs that I would consider to be “must listen.”

“Re: Your Brains” is not only my favorite Coulton song, it’s one of my favorite songs ever. With Halloween right around the corner, it’s thematically appropriate for the season. You’ll want to sing along with newly reanimated zombie and former office worker Bob informs co-worker Tom that, really, zombies aren’t that unreasonable of a group. All they want to do is eat your brains. Totally understandable, that.

“Code Monkey” is an ode to anybody that’s ever worked a computer or IT department job. We’ve all felt like Code Monkey once or twice in our lives; felt underappreciated by the boss, tried to work up the courage to chat up the attractive co-worker at the front desk, and most importantly, we all (hopefully) have a warm, fuzzy secret heart beneath that geeky exterior (if you don’t, you may wish to refer above to the song about zombies.)

Finally, we have “The Future Soon,” which expresses a sentiment felt by anybody that grew up nerdy. If you were told to hang in there because one day, nerds would rule the earth, this is your song. Admittedly, when we were told about the glorious nerd future, it was due to the prospect of having highly paid technology jobs, rather than reengineering ourselves into deadly cyborgs to take over the world. Regardless, I think anybody can appreciate the appeal of building one’s very own space lab (in space!)

Even if you’re not a fan of Star Trek or D&D, Coulton is worth your time. He’s upbeat, catchy, and witty; his lyrics are sharp in all the best ways. From zombies to killer robot armies, Tom Cruise to the virtues of IKEA furniture, Coulton covers a little bit of everything in his music. I’ll never forget the first time “Re: Your Brains” came up on the playlist during a long road trip and we all merrily sang along as zombies bent on devouring some tasty brains. It wasn’t even close to Halloween at the time, either.

~Guest blogger Matt