Alex Day is a self-confessed Nerd and lover of all things nerdy. He’s a musician with two studio albums and three UK Top 40 hits under his belt. He’s also a prolific YouTuber (with over 100 million views!) – no small feat at the tender age of 23! We chatted to him to find out what makes a Nerd in 2013 and to find out whether nerdiness is now considered cool…

 

What do you think of the idea of a ‘Nerd’ Tribe?

I like the idea of Nerds being described as a ‘Tribe’ – of course I do, I’m a Nerd. I like to imagine myself with war paint surrounded by other Nerds all yelling primal words, instead of sitting at my desk on my laptop like I actually am.

What would you say defines a Nerd?

I think a passionate interest in niche topics is usually how I would define a nerd – an obsessive collective kind of interest. The sort of people who won’t stop until they’ve caught EVERY Pokémon there is to catch. They’re also typically unashamed of such interest; lots will have t-shirts that reference or joke about the things they like.

What do you think defines YOU as a Nerd?

I’m definitely passionate about music in a way very few of my friends are. I also have that collective quality – I have a huge playlist of songs I love that spans all eras and genres. My music isn’t ‘nerdy’ – I’m writing about normal things that most people experience – but I definitely approach it in a way that’s unorthodox.

Do you think the fast rate at which technology evolves has had any influence on the Nerd tribe?

Yes – there’s a huge Nerd culture online, through things like Tumblr, because they were the first people to adopt this technology; as it became ubiquitous they dictated the tone. It also allows Nerds to interact with other people who relate to how they’re feeling – typically nerdiness comes hand in hand with privacy or introverted-ness so typically that was harder before technology evolved to the point that it did.

Finally, is being a Nerd cool?

I don’t really like that nerdiness is ‘cool’. I think what makes something ‘cool’ is whether or not popular people do it, but I think influential people wear nerdiness as a badge of honour and don’t have a clue what it means. “I went to see Avatar in the cinema twice, I’m such a Nerd” – no you’re not. Avatar is the most popular movie EVER. Get back to me when you have a Na’vi tattoo or you can recite the whole film line by line or you’re animating an unofficial sequel simply because you need it to exist. That’s nerdy!

Alex’s album is out now, for more info check out his website:www.alexdaymusic.com