3.14.24

At last the sun is shining

The clouds of blue roll by

With flames from the dragon of darkness

The sunlight blinds his eyes

It’s weird that it’s only been over the past 10 or 15 years that nerds have attained cool status.

I mean, Led Zeppelin — a bunch of nerds if ever there was one — reigned over rock n’ roll for years and years. But I guess no one noticed, what with the sexy sexiness that also permeated the band.

Make no mistake, though. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones were big nerds. They wrote rock songs about Lord of the Rings. Total nerds-ville.

It’s ok. I’m a nerd too. Also a geek. And I’ve been positively identified by professionals as a dork. I know that of which I speak.

Anyway, The Battle of Evermore …

It’s one of those Lord of the Rings songs, but that’s not why I’m writing about it (he said four paragraphs later). I’m also not writing about Led Zeppelin, despite all appearances being to the contrary.

I’m writing about The Battle of Evermore — The Lovemongers’ (a side project from Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart) cover version from the 1992 Singles soundtrack — because it was in the mid-50s and sunny today. That meant it was time to roll down the windows and blast some tunes. And that song is one of my favorites to crank.

The first few times I can get in my car and do that, it’s like I’m shedding the old, weathered skin that grew old and unfeeling over the winter. It’s a beautiful thing.

Just remember, the next time you pull up to a stop light and there’s a dude rocking out in the car next to you, it might just be a nerd. Or maybe a geek. Possibly a dork.

Or if it’s me, all three.