| Nerd Rock |
| 1 |  | king crimson
lizard
although led zeppelin were the first major rock n roll band to sing about nerdy shit, king crimson was the first rock band that was truly for nerds. in the 70s, if you knew about king crimson, you were a music critic who got paid to write panning reviews of their work or you were a nerd. lizard is their nerdiest album simply because it is so inaccesible and often a bit silly. the medieval cover art and the jazzy and plodding music make for an experience that only a true nerd can appreciate. that's why i dig this record so much. |
| 2 |  | genesis
nursery cryme
same with king crimson, if you liked genesis in the early-mid 70s, you were a nerd. lyrics about hogweed bought from explorers and greek mythological nymphs trying to rape hermaphrodites. |
| 3 |  | emerson, lake and palmer
tarkus
the title track's about an armadillo army tank fighting the MANTICORE. supposedly has deep and philosophical meaning according to greg lake, but knowing greg lake, he's full of shit (and tons of food too) |
| 4 |  | bo hannson
lord of the rings
no explanation needed |
| 5 |  | jethro tull
thick as a brick
other than the flute thing, these guys weren't THAT nerdy. they had songs about pedophilia and they dissed organized religion. but then this album came along and solidified their nerd status |
| 6 |  | gentle giant
octopus
cover art |
| 7 |  | rick wakeman
the six wives of henry VIII
toss-up between this and king arthur, but this is A. a better record, and B. dealing with a nerdier subject matter |
| 8 |  | yes
tales from topographic oceans
80 minutes, 4 songs, 5 nerds. |
| 9 |  | gryphon
red queen to gryphon three
instrumental concept album about playing chess |
| 10 |  | hawkwind
warrior on the edge of time
the world's first "space rock" group collaborates with michael moorcock. if you even know who that is, you're a fucking nerd. |
| 11 |  | rush
caress of steel
bastille day is a history lesson, i think i'm going bald is about what happens to many of us nerds, lakeside park was probably a good place to LARP, and the necromancer and fountain of lamneth are the titles of 2 of the songs... |
| 12 |  | rainbow
rising
blackmore and dio at their finest - 2 nerds with huge egos at their finest. |
| 13 |  | rush
a farewell to kings
xanadu and cygnus x-1. |
| 14 | | renaissance
scheherzade and other stories
just look at it. say the title out loud |
| 15 |  | cirith ungol
frost and fire
cirith ungol is from lord of the rings, so is everything else |
| 16 |  | rush
signals
every budding computer programmer in the 80s had this in their walkmen. all nerds can relate to subdivisions. plus, countdown's about a fucking rocket ship. |
| 17 |  | iron maiden
powerslave
swordfighting, old british tv shows, samuel taylor coleridge, ancient egypt. the songs about war and death save this from being nerdier |
| 18 |  | attacker
battle at helm's deep
dont have to say shit |
| 19 |  | iron maiden
somewhere in time
if you're nerdy enough, you could easily interpret this album as a concept album about time travel. even if you don't see it that way, there's still one song about time travel, one song whose title was probably taken from a robert heinlein novel (a great one at that), and one song about alexander the great |
| 20 |  | queensryche
operation: mindcrime
relevant and thought-provoking lyrics, but you have to be a nerd to think it up. plus, the maiden/rush influence is pretty clear. |
| 21 |  | bolt thrower
realm of chaos
got their name from warhammer 40k. |
| 22 |  | bathory
twilight of the gods
influenced by vikings and wagner |
| 23 |  | burzum
burzum
varg is an example of the nerd gone bad. played D&D, larped with his bros, listened to metal...became racist church burning murderer. burzum comes from orc languange, meaning darkness or light, and this record's got fantasy all over it. |
| 24 |  | dream theater
images and words
nerds |
| 25 |  | running wild
black hand inn
at least in this day and age, you can be a normal person with a family and a job and friends who loves fantasy or sci-fi or orcs or whatever the fuck. i know plenty of non-nerdy LOTR fans. how many pirate enthusiasts do you know who aren't nerds? |
| 26 |  | summoning
minas morgul
tolkien should get royalties |
| 27 | | rhapsody of fire
smyphony of enchanted lands
yup. |
| 28 |  | blind guardian
nightfall in middle-earth
yup. |
| 29 |  | the sword
gods of the earth
robert e howard, george rr martin |
| 30 |  | blind guardian
at the edge of time
the first band to put songs about the wheel of time, a song of ice and fire, and lord of the rings on one album. |
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