Why is Nerf Herder’s American Cheese on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
A strong sense of humor and the musical chops to create songs that are both fun and musically compelling.
What does Nerf Herder’s American Cheese mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
With as much love as I have for music (and man… I must I guess, to have embarked on this audaciously ludicrous best 1,000 albums ever project?), if I had to pick one pop culture realm to rule them all it would be television.
Therefore, and I’m sure the same is true for teeming hordes like myself, I came across Nerf Herder for the first by way of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s title sequence.
Legend has it that Alyson Hannigan, who played Willow on the show, lobbied on the band’s behalf and convinced creator and showrunner Joss Whedon to leverage Nerf Herder’s stuff and, as they say, the rest is history. It’s a great song, exuding an alternative rock energy that matched well with the genre bending and groundbreaking show (which, trust me, is nothing like the mostly mediocre movie that predates it).
Anyway, onto the American Cheese.
I’m always a fan of a band that has a strong sense of humor and the musical chops to create songs that are both fun and musically compelling. Along those lines, “Mr. Spock” crushes with strong hooks, great harmonies, and an added dash of nerd rock cred (a very cool thing in my book!).
The video is fun… but might be one of those times where the music works better on its own, frankly.
“Jenna Bush Army” works great as early 2000s political satire, but if that’s a little dated for you or you’re not able to recall that era, it’s a super fun rocker that’s like a funny mashup of Bad Religion and The Offspring.
“New Wave Girl” is a great and energetic alt rock with, appropriately, a perfect new wave feel.
And it puts me in the mind of a great song by The Aquabats, “Martian Girl!” So here’s that one for kicks.
This album also sounds like
A lot of really cool influences here that are all favorites of mine, ranging from Bad Religion to Weezer to the Descendants.
Pop culture stuff that’s somehow related to Nerf Herder’s American Cheese
One of my most favorite Saturday Night Live commercial parodies of all time (and there are so many great ones) is “Nerf Crotch Bat” with the legendary Chris Farley.
“Nerf plus crotch equals lots of fun!”
Is that really your sense of humor, Eric? Is that what makes you laugh?
Yes, sometimes, absolutely. Okay, maybe more than sometimes.
Oh, and by the way, if you’re reading this you probably know this already, but here’s where the band name comes from if you’re not already hip to it.
Some stats & info about Nerf Herder – American Cheese
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock, Alternative Rock, Pop Punk, Nerd Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was American Cheese released? 2002
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #936 out of 1,000
Nerf Herder’s American Cheese on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.