An estimated 98% of us experience earworms. Despite the annoying instances when we can’t get a chorus or a hook of an overplayed pop song out of our heads, getting a really good earworm stuck can be one of the best things ever.
We here at Nerdist are dead-set on bringing you those types of songs, if only for the weekend. We’ll be scouring the internet for the best of ’em to shove into your meaty brains!
As far as this week’s Earworms go, I’m writing this the night before I fly from Chicago to San Diego and boy oh boy, do I feel like a kid the night before Christmas. Comic Con is my Superbowl, World Cup, and most holidays wrapped into one weekend. I owe most of my favorite memories in recent years  to working for Nerdist Industries at Comic Con and part of that is because this beloved weekend results in some levels of fun not had since I was a kid.
And since I now realize this column, more often than not, ends up talking about music that hasn’t been popular in recent years, I thought I’d embrace that this week and share some Comic-Con-appropriate songs that bring me back to when I was a kid. Let’s get started with…
The Reverend Horton Heat – Johnny Quest/Stop That Pigeon
I won’t get into the debate about whether or not The Reverend Horton Heat is Rockabilly, Psychobilly, or both. That’s an argument for modern greaser types with better hair, more tattoos, and extremely strong opinions about how this is the best type of music ever. I don’t think there IS a best kind of music, but I grew up with folks who would go on for hours about how bands weren’t worth their salt unless they had a stand-up bass guitar. This cover of the Johnny Quest and Stop The Pigeon themes — among MANY others — from the album “Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits” somehow found its way to me in middle school and solidified itself as one of my all time favorites. The combination of different music styles and an appreciation of the classic cartoons of the 70s and 80s warped my young impressionable mind. If you frequent Nerdist.com, it’s a fairly safe bet you wouldn’t regret buying this album. Need more proof, try this on for size…
Ramones – Spider-Man
Hey! That was quick! You’re already back from whatever music purchasing site you just visited. Told you’d like the album!
If those weren’t enough to get you in the Comic Con spirit, feeling like a kid again ORÂ earwormy enough to get stuck in your head. I figure I’d give DC it’s due and share this inexplicably weird and completely beautiful piece of history…
Prince – Batdance
Nearly 7 minutes of choreographed dancing from Batmen, Jokers, a Vicki Vale breakdown, and enough Prince gyrating in this bonkers music video from 1989 would make anyone question their sanity — or at least their sexuality. Also, how on earth did DC allow Prince to basically be Two-Face in this? My best guess is that he’s Prince and can do whatever the hell he wants and it’s always amazing: including having the Joker symbolically give the electric chair the death sentence and then immediately telling his own music video when to stop.
Having written this earlier in the week I have no idea what DC may have announced but I’ve got my fingers crossed that Prince will be remixing this for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
That’s it for this week. Shared some stuff that reminds me of being the nerdy little kid I was while I’m working at a job that younger me couldn’t have ever dreamed of. I say this a lot but life is so goddamned weird sometimes and there’s a lot I have to be thankful for. I guess the best way to sum it up is with another song off of “Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits”…
Wax – Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy
—
What songs remind you of being a nerdy little kid? Let us know in the comments or tweet to me at @theblakerodgers!
