Playlist: Science Rocks My World
I am a firm believer that music makes everything better… whether it’s driving through massive traffic, cleaning house, or summer reading programs. Since my system has gone with the Collaborative Summer Reading Program theme this year (SCIENCE for ALL) I have come up with the ULTIMATE playlist to get myself into the zone for any program we’re having. Got your player ready?
Now, a lot of these are available in various download stores in singles, and some I had from albums already. If you’re going to use them as background for a public program, make sure that you get the rights for the music before playing them- no need to be sued over music. However, there’s no reason why you can’t rock out in the car or in the back room of the library before a program starts, or use it for a killer game of musical chairs in copyright approved snippets. Also, my musical tastes vary like crazy, so if you ARE going to use these in public, be sure to check the lyrics first. Most are OK, but some may not be the most, well, family friendly, depending on the family.
- Rocket Man by Elton John
- She Blinded Me With Science by Thomas Dolby
- Quantum Theory by Jarvis Cocker
- Sounds of Silence by the Beastie Boys
- Dr. Funkenstein by Parliament
- Why Does the Sun Shine by They Might Be Giants
- The Scientist by Coldplay
- Science by System of a Down
- Biological by Air
- Chain Reaction by Diana Ross
- Atomic by Blondie
- White and Nerdy by Weird Al
- Radioactive by Imagine Dragons
- History of Everything by Barenaked Ladies
- Galvanize by Chemical Brothers
- Wonderful World by Sam Cooke
- Element Song (my favorite is by The Animaniacs)
- Chemical World by Blur
- Electricity by Suede
- Beautiful People by Books
- Glorius Dawn by Carl Sagan
- Einstein a Go-Go by Landscape
- Weird Science by Oingo Boingo
- Iron Man by Black Sabbath
- All About the Pentiums by Weird Al
- Space Oddity by David Bowie
- Spaceship Coupe by Justin Timberlake
- Rapture by Blondie
- Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Part 1 by Flaming Lips
- Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys
- Motorway to Roswell by the Pixies
- Set Controls for the Heart of the Sun by Pink Floyd
- Germs by Weird Al
- I Think I’m a Clone Now by Weird Al
- Slime Creatures from Outer Space by Weird Al
- Particle Man by They Might Be Giants
What would you add? Share in the comments!
Filed under: Collaborative Summer Reading Program, Playlists, Summer 2014
About Karen Jensen, MLS
Karen Jensen has been a Teen Services Librarian for almost 30 years. She created TLT in 2011 and is the co-editor of The Whole Library Handbook: Teen Services with Heather Booth (ALA Editions, 2014).
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I'd recommend several Jonathan Coulton songs, namely the EP that was commissioned by Popular Science:
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/wiki/Our_Bodies,_Ourselves,_Our_Cybernetic_Arms
and he has another one called “Bacteria” that was taken from a KFC training video.
I'd also recommend with reservation the song “(Lord It's Hard to be Happy When You're Not Using the) Metric System”. It has an f-bomb at the end, and I don't think there's a clean version marketed.
Oh! and the Periodic Table by Tom Lehrer!
I'll definitely have to look those up- I've never heard of them!
Thanks!