NYLON - June 2008 - (Page 82) JUST LIKE BUDDY H BACK IN SCHOOL, BEING A NERD WAS DEEPLY UNCOOL, BUT NOW GROWN-UP CREATIVE TYPES ARE CELEBRATING THEIR INNER DORK. KATE WILLIAMS REVEALS WHY THE GEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH. PHOTOGRAPHED BY RUVAN WIJESOORIYA Recently, while researching Kid Sister, I clicked through the pictures on her MySpace page, and one, in particular, caught my eye: It was a group photo that included her, DJ A-Trak, Steve Aoki, Pedro “Busy P” Winter, and So-Me, which was taken by Mark the Cobrasnake. I was shocked that you could get that much cool in one photo without it spontaneously combusting. Had I not known, though, that Winter heads up Ed Banger, one of the world’s hottest record labels, that A-Trak worked as Kanye West’s DJ, Aoki is an internationally in-demand party DJ, and that the picture was taken by everybody’s favorite party photographer, I would have quickly dismissed it as just a bunch of dorky kids on vacation. But then, this just goes to show that in the world of music, the definition of what is cool and what isn’t is far from black and white, in fact, it’s more like a clashing multi-color plaid. Fashion and music are two realms that are defined and pushed forward by relentless creativity, obsession, and eccentricity. Coincidentally, these are all also characteristics of the nerd. For many of us, our teenage years are when we begin to develop the interests that sustain us as adults, and without pandering too much to stereotypes, it’s not without reason to say that nerds, dorks, geeks, misfits and other assorted social outcasts end up with more time to devote to these interests than the kids whose schedules are packed with football games, dates, and keggers. “It is a well-established fact that most rock stars cut their teeth as sociallyostracized loners fixated on hobbits, tribbles, and such in their early years of bitter bedroom isolation. The transition from hobbit to Doom and then guitar is often a mere formality,” says Frank Portman, the singer of pop-punk band the Mr. T Experience and the author of the novel King Dork. A riotous account, the book is high school seen through the eyes of Tom Henderson, a loner who’s forced to fake an interest in guns to scare bullies away but finally finds salvation, and girls, in a punk band that changes names more often than it actually performs. “Rock ’n’ roll is one of the few areas in modern society where an obsessive-compulsive disorder and a sense of bitterness derived from childhood can actually pay off,” Portman continues. “If you can channel that hatred of your fellow man into catchy, romantic songs about how hard it is to explain stuff, so much the better.” Case in point: Nick Lachey probably didn’t get picked on in high school; Thom Yorke probably did. Growing up, I had an uncontrollable bookreading habit and spent most of my high-school lunch periods trolled up in the journalism lab darkroom. I definitely didn’t have it rough, but mania myspace.com : luellabartley / Check out nerd-inspired fashions by Luella. http://myspace.com/luellabartley
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