We wanna get Down & Nerdy. Now we need music.

June 28, 2009 4:51 PM

Help me come up with opening theme music/sounds for a geek-oriented radio segment.

Later this week, we're going to debut a new feature on my morning radio show - "Down 'n' Nerdy," a 5-minute bit where myself and a fellow nerd co-host offer a weekend nerd culture recommendation, whatever we're excited about lately ... a new comic book series ("Irredeemable" for the win!), the season debut of Torchwood, a new Decemberists single, that kind of thing.

So, I'm looking for the perfect 6-10 second bit of music to open the segment. It needs to immediately suggest geek/nerd ... but, and here's the rub, it needs to suggest that to someone who isn't steeped in that culture. (Otherwise, the Doctor Who theme is a no-brainer. And maybe it's still the right choice, but I worry that too many people will not recognize it.)

So, can you help? What's the perfect musical opening for a nerd radio segment (one which will be podcast, BTW). Theremin music? Some old TV show theme? 8-bit blips and bloops?

posted by jbickers to media & arts (19 comments total)

Maybe record the dialing noises of an old dial-up modem? It didn't scream geek/nerd at the time, but now it kinda does.
posted by Precision at 5:32 PM on June 28

The Faint - "The Geeks Were Right". The sweet spot is cut off in that clip, but the lyrics are "...when I saw the future, the geeks were right".
posted by tylermoody at 5:58 PM on June 28

Damn! That's the right link, but the wrong text. Another good clip later in the song is "they've got modified features and software brains, but that's what the girls like, the geeks were right".
posted by tylermoody at 6:04 PM on June 28

The THX Sound With Just My Voice

(You could, and should, also consider having the Songs To Wear Pants To guy write you your very own song, because he does that sort of thing.)
posted by ook at 6:31 PM on June 28

What about the Revenge of the Nerds track from the band battle
posted by deezil at 6:32 PM on June 28

Ooh, hard one...

The only song that comes immediately to mind, recognizable to nerds and non-nerds, was the song Napoleon Dynamite danced to at the talent show: Jamiroquai Canned Heat.
posted by foooooogasm at 6:37 PM on June 28

Have you ever heard of Atom and His Package? Google "Punk Rock Academy," he's got a bunch of songs like it that are totally nerd and music.
posted by history is a weapon at 6:59 PM on June 28

If it were me, I'd go with Through Being Cool by Devo. Or maybe TMBG, although apart from the band being nerdy, I can't think of a specific song that says "it's nerd time."
posted by O9scar at 7:06 PM on June 28

Two, perhaps too, obvious suggestions:

Weird Al- White and Nerdy
Weezer- In the Garage

Both are very nerdy, about nerds, and recognizable to the mainstream.
posted by DanielDManiel at 7:08 PM on June 28

Dave Dameshek's ESPN podcast opens with a modified version of the Superfriends theme that never fails to make me laugh.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:59 PM on June 28

Mr. DNA by Devo. Or anything by Devo!
posted by Redhush at 8:01 PM on June 28

I third pretty much anything by Devo.
posted by Brody's chum at 8:11 PM on June 28

Original Star Trek theme
posted by ashputtel at 9:07 PM on June 28

I third pretty much anything by Devo.

I was thinking, The Devo Corporate Anthem. Or something from early Laurie Anderson. Or -- yes, this is it exactly -- Brain Eno: Here Come The Warm Jets!
posted by Rash at 11:33 PM on June 28

I have a soft spot for the theremin idea, but shouldn't legal ramifications be taken into consideration here? From what I've read, using a licensed song on your podcast probably isn't worth the potential trouble.

I'd suggest maybe combining a relevantly nerdy sound effect along with some short podcast-suitable music.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 12:38 AM on June 29

Wow, 6-10 seconds is short. Perhaps some chip tune music? Something like the Sanxion loading music (0:24-0:31). The sound is a bit shakey in that YT video, you can get a cleaned up version from the Seiklus FAQ page (the song is included in the game). Or Borderline (8-bit mix) (track #10 on that page), which is a remix of a CC licensed song, so there's kind of double nerd cred built in.
posted by bjrn at 2:22 AM on June 29

In the song Loungemeister by Ugress, there's a bit at the beginning that goes "We need an expert in...we need an expert in....we need an expert in computers". And the song is hopelessly catchy too.
posted by JaredSeth at 9:10 AM on June 29

The "Just got a new sword" musical flourish from the original Zelda game.
posted by SinisterPurpose at 10:24 AM on June 29

The Faint it is ... thanks, all!
posted by jbickers at 9:19 AM on June 30