The Doubleclicks are one of my favourite bands. Sisters Angela and Aubrey Webber play the cello and the ukulele and write clever, funny, beautiful songs about Dungeons & Dragons , Mr Darcy, Velociraptors and geek culture. I was lucky enough to see them at W00tstock in San Diego last year and they were one of the show’s absolute highlights. I’ll be talking about their work in detail soon, but their new single, “Nothing To Prove”, deserves a spotlight all of its own.
There are two brilliant things here. The first is the song, a typical Doubleclicks number that’s arch, clever and has lead in the knuckles of its gloves. There is nothing to prove, for any of us, because fandom should be somewhere we all get to feel safe. Scratch the surface on any geek I know and you’ll find exactly the sort of social awkwardness or exclusion they sing about here, as well as the simply joy of being able to finally talk to people who think like you do and love the things you do. None of us should feel alone, or bullied, or judged, especially by people who claim to be geeks themselves.
Secondly, there’s the video, Angela and Aubrey asked female geeks to submit five second videos of themselves holding up signs talking about their experiences as a geek. Each one of the stories on those signs is true, and they all put their weight behind the song to create something which has quiet but absolute impact. This is a snapshot of what it’s like to be a female geek, and it shouldn’t be like this, not for anyone. The idea that there should be an entrance exam to fandom is bad enough, but to have one based on gender is so blisteringly stupid it defies description. Thankfully it can’t defy mocking and that’s exactly what the Doubleclicks and friends do here. They’ve done great work before but this is anthemic in the best possible way. You have nothing to prove and if anyone tells you different, show them this video.
”Nothing to Prove” is taken from their new album, Lasers And Feelings , available now.
• The Doubleclicks homepage is here: www.thedoubleclicks.com
• Their bandcamp page is here: http://thedoubleclicks.bandcamp.com/
• This is their tumblr: http://thedoubleclicks.tumblr.com/
