CD Review
Chris Hardwick: Mandroid
4 stars (out of 5)
Chris Hardwick is Mandroid. Masquerading as a nerd, he is in fact a bionic hybrid of dweeb and well, regular person. From his nerd origin he has decrypted a path to cool. The third track, “Nerds Make the World Go Round,” contains a decree of this neo-geek. In his youth he was into “everything that makes vaginas go away,” but now, “Pop culture is run by nerds, nerds make the shiny things that distract the mouth breathers.”
“Nerds have changed, we have evolved.” He provides evidence of the new, edgier dweeb by citing a stabbing that occurred at Comicon, albeit perpetrated with a mechanical pencil over a seat at a Harry Potter panel. This new, powerful hybrid is capable of equating Earth to Crispix in successful metaphor and yet proves it still holds on to invaluable nerd malice by launching attacks against Ed Hardy T-shirt wearer’s and radically unbelievable cable shows about ghost hunting. One can never underestimate the value of nerds unabashedly scrutinizing a culture’s most fallible concordances, as the geekier life-form has nothing to gain from acquiescing with such social constructs as Twighlight fandom and conversations about sports.
Hardwick’s schtick is beyond social isolationism and The Big Bang Theory’s pretentious “What am I to do with all this brain power.” His book The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level (In Real Life) is an earnest attempt at rehabilitating high school nerds and preparing them to turn their “obsession laser” towards more worthwhile and pragmatic activity. Mandroid is plucked from the same cyborg tree but only dabbles briefly in self-revelation and advice.
The stories from his drinking days here are less morally instructive and more “I woke up with my dick in a shoe.” This better fits the whimsical, light-hearted nature of a set that claims nerd is the second N-word. The funny is strong in this one.
