0
CanuckInUSA

Greatest "Brilliant Dorks" of all time?

Recommended Posts

Who are the greatest "Brilliant Dorks" of all time? You know people who were absolutely outstanding at what they did but who were also dorks. He of course is not the only one, but I would like to start it off by nominating David Byrne, lead singer of the 1980's icon band Talking Heads. Here is a taste of his dorky brilliance from the 1984 movie concert Stop Making Sense.

Who else should join David as one of the best brilliant dorks?


Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Woody Allen


"You may ask yourself, why such a big suit? You may ask yourself, can the suit be taken in a little?"
-- Joe Piscopo in an SNL parody :D

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The band Rush. Brilliant musicianship and they got better (not neccessairly marketable) through the years. I learned practically all Neil Pert's playing. . .having a hard time with music after Test for Echos.
_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote


I believe he was actually a "nerd". But it doesn't matter. My opinion of successful people of that genera:

One of the greatest coming of age aspects of graduating high school is the fact that labels such as "dorks", "geeks" and "nerds" cease to have any importance in pecking order in life. If anything, it's telling of of an adult who still use the phrases to put down any group(recognize a certain poster who uses this tactic, anyone?) The best has been called one of these three things in their adolescence at least once. Thank progress for them.
_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Who are the greatest "Brilliant Dorks" of all time? You know people who were absolutely outstanding at what they did but who were also dorks. He of course is not the only one, but I would like to start it off by nominating David Byrne, lead singer of the 1980's icon band Talking Heads. Here is a taste of his dorky brilliance from the 1984 movie concert Stop Making Sense.

Who else should join David as one of the best brilliant dorks?



Nerds are a valuable staple of our twisted self-culture, serving as punching bags for the elite and as loveable underdogs for the downtrodden. Sometimes, these nerds manage to break free of their geek chains (which they will be quick to tell you are made from Adamantium) and overcome the odds. It is these nerds who we gather here today to celebrate. Sure, they might not be able to throw a tight spiral forty yards down the field and they need an asthma inhaler to get through, well… through anything really but in the end these nine nerds serve as an inspiration to nerdlings everywhere. Sure, maybe that writer from Gizmodo still won’t date you, but what the hell, someone out there will. After all, these nerds managed to find love -– or at least a whole lot of money, which from what I understand is a kind of love.

Mark Zuckerberg

The Social Network might as well have been the remake of Revenge of the Nerds. I mean, after all, the whole premise of the movie seemed to be that Mark Zuckerberg was sick of being just another programming nerd and decided cut a swath of destruction through his social world in route to building a castle made of money atop a giant mountain made of, well, money and the broken dreams of his friends/rivals. Of course, this was a fictionalized hyper-sensationalized depiction of the life of the real Mark Zuckerberg, who by various accounts seems to be neither vindictive nor status-obsessed. In fact, he’s just a genius who capitalized –- big time -– on an idea, which honestly is about as American a story as you can find. But, even if you take all the Iago-like plotting out of the Mark Zuckerberg story, what you’re left with is the story of a nerd (the last time I checked, mastering computer programming as a child not only marked you as a highly, highly gifted person but it also gave you a free pass into secret nerd societies everywhere ) who conquered the world. I mean, I doubt Mark Zuckerberg is sitting around outraged because a woman from Gizmodo didn’t like him, you know? Hell, Mark Zuckerberg could buy Gizmodo -– and everything else too, including that writer. (Hell, this writer too if he’s reading. I’m not too proud to pitch in if you need a new footrest/court jester, milord. Why, yes, I will take a check.) Sitting on top of almost 15 billion dollars tends to give you a lot of options. Oh, and it also pretty much automatically makes you one of life’s winners.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Here is a taste of his dorky brilliance from the 1984 movie concert Stop Making Sense.



I watched half last night, then the second half this morning, then went out for a 50 mile bike ride today with Byrnes voice in my head for the entire duration.

And why have I never heard Tina on lead vocals before??? She has a beautiful voice!
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

went out for a 50 mile bike ride today with Byrnes voice in my head for the entire duration.



Hope they were good songs in your head. There is nothing worse than being out on something like your bike with some bad songs. Also "Talking Heads" is an acquired taste. I remember when I first heard the band in the early to mid 1980s my reaction was "What the #### is this". But my friends were persistent listening to them and the more I listened to them the more I liked them and grew to appreciate the brilliance of David Byrne.


Try not to worry about the things you have no control over

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Travis Pastrana

Nowadays he does Nitro Circus and races Rally Car. Ive been following him since I used to race motocross. He was a prodigy. Won every amateur national back in the day and then pro. Was home schooled and graduated college at 16. Turned pro and won racing and freestyle simultaneously. Definitely a dork, and brilliant at the same time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote

Here is a taste of his dorky brilliance from the 1984 movie concert Stop Making Sense.



Still the definitive concert movie in my book, not bettered in the nearly 30 years(:o!) since it was made. Everybody in that movie is cool - Byrne, the core band, the extended band, the backing singers... musicians/ performers at the top of their game, giving it their all and having fun doing it.

I think the thing about David Byrne is that he's not just both brilliant and a dork - his dorkiness is integral to his brilliance. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Quote


Still the definitive concert movie in my book, not bettered in the nearly 30 years(:o!) since it was made. Everybody in that movie is cool - Byrne, the core band, the extended band, the backing singers... musicians/ performers at the top of their game, giving it their all and having fun doing it.

I think the thing about David Byrne is that he's not just both brilliant and a dork - his dorkiness is integral to his brilliance. :)



The Wikipedia page on the background of that perfromance is interesting; e.g. no colored lights on the performers, painting most everything flat black, removing logos on equipment, not showing audience but showing stagehands.
"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

0