They Might Be Geeks

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch

Who watches over you?

Make a little birdhouse in your soul…

I once took one of those internet personality tests, only it was a “geek test” – and one of the questions was whether you listen to They Might Be Giants. What’s that about, I wonder? I admit that I am a geek…but I didn’t ever know that listening to TMBG contributed to one’s geekiness. I think they’re cool! Of course, since I am a self-confessed geek, maybe what I think is cool is subject to some scrutiny… I mean, I know “Particle Man” is kind of dweeby, even if it is familiar to many people. Maybe that’s my problem - I know too much of their music. Maybe it’s acceptable to be silly and sing along to “Istanbul (Not Constan-tinople)” …but what if I told you my favorite three songs off this album (Flood) are “We Want A Rock,” “Dead,” and “Women And Men”? And that I also like “Don’t Let’s Start” from their 1986 self-titled album, not because it’s such a great song particularly, but because another band recently did a remake of it that I really like. That band is Common Rotation, which I’ve mentioned here before, and the reason I know about them is…No, I can’t do it! This is a band that - at least in Texas - almost no one seems to have heard of, and whose CDs are nearly impossible to find outside of their website. I hate to destroy the coolness of that by telling why I know about them. But if you read or hear anything about this band, odds are, you will eventually learn that the lead singer, Adam Busch, had a recurring role on TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer – he played Warren, one of the sixth season’s “evil nerd trio,” who was crucial to the final episodes and plot twists of that season. Now he fronts a band that toured with They Might Be Giants, and covered one of their songs. (It's a good song - you should listen to it, and I think you can if you click the link and go to their website.)

So there, now I’ve established my geekhood forever. But that’s okay - I have my own brand of cool.