# Songs for Mad Scientists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2004, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847 "2004-11-27T06:42:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/1 "2004-11-27T06:42:05Z")
That is, would anyone happen to have suggestions for songs that are about mad scientists, feature mad-sciency topics, or would just make good musical accompanyment for the practice of mad science? So far, I’ve got… —Bach’s _Toccata and Fugue in D_ (Naturally) —Thomas Dolby’s _She Blinded Me With Science_ —_Uranus the Magician_ from Holst’s _The Planets_. For some reason, it always evokes images of alchemical dabbling going hopelessly out of control, in my mind. Anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Hunter\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/50afbb/32.png) [@Hunter\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hunter_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/2 "2004-11-27T06:55:00Z")
Hawkwind’s entire catalogue? 😃 In particular, you might want to check out something like the album _Love In Space_. It’s a concept album about alien abduction and suchlike goings-on. You might also want to check out the Pressurehed album _Explaining the Unexplained_. It’s an album about things like UFOs, Bigfoot, ESP, etc. See also works by Farflung, Anna Oxygen, and Chrome. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/3 "2004-11-27T08:52:52Z")
Gary Gilmore’s Eyes, by The Adverts, a great second-generation English punk band: IRL, Gary was a serial killer in Utah in the 70’s, sentenced to death by firing squad - he requested before his death that his eyes be donated for transplant. The song pretty much picks up from there, with someone awaking from surgery to discover that he has been given the titular eyes… ---
**Author:** ![spiralscratch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@spiralscratch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spiralscratch)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/4 "2004-11-27T10:11:09Z")
“Weird Science”, Oingo Boingo ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/5 "2004-11-27T11:39:22Z")
**spiralscratch** : not a Buzzcocks fan, by any chance? ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/6 "2004-11-27T11:44:49Z")
Cloud Busting by _Kate Bush_ - great Mad Scientist video ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/7 "2004-11-27T13:07:36Z")
[The Elements](http://www.privatehand.com/flash/elements.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/8 "2004-11-27T16:35:52Z")
“Feed My Frankenstein.” BTW, check [THIS](http://www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius.html) out. ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/9 "2004-11-27T23:18:27Z")
Eight posts already and I still get to be the first to mention [The Monster Mash](http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/monstermashlyrics.html)! Woohoo! (Just thinking about it brings up memories of round-the-clock lab experiments). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/10 "2004-11-28T00:21:52Z")
“Automatic Man” - Michael “Maniac” Sembello It’s about a man who invents a dancing android who develops emotions. ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/11 "2004-11-28T00:36:30Z")
The Sun - They Might be Giants. It’s a third grade science lesson set to slightly manic bubble gum rock music. Mad scientists did geek rock. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/12 "2004-11-28T02:53:52Z")
“Intermezzo” from [_Tales of Mystery and Imagination_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000001FN3/qid=1101608681/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/103-0516728-3825423) by the Alan Parsons Project. “Catacombae, sepulchrum romanum (Catacombs, roman tomb)” from _Pictures at an Exhibition_ by Modest Mussorsky. “Con mortuis in lingua mortua (With the dead in a dead language)” from _Pictures at an Exhibition_ by Modest Mussorsky. “Summer” from [_Sonic Seasonings_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000DGXY/qid=1101609590/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/103-2521808-0947863?v=glance&s=classical) by Wendy Carlos (the clip heard at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com) is not representative of its sci-fi quality). “Prelude. Andante moderato (Prelude To Act I)” from [_Carmen Suite_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000029XF/qid=1101610232/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/103-2521808-0947863) by Georges Bizet. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/13 "2004-11-28T02:58:14Z")
**The Eggplant that Ate Chicago** – Dr. West’s Jug Band and Medicine Show. Though the Eggplant did come from outer space, it’s certainly mad scientisty. **Maxwell’s Silver Hammer** – Beatles. Maxwell Edison (named after two scientists) is majoring in medicine and starts killing people with a hammer. Several songs from **Rocky Horror**. **Poisoning the Pigeons in the Park** – Tom Lehrer (“We’ll poison them all amist laughter and merriment/Except for the few we take home to experiment.”) ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/14 "2004-11-28T03:15:33Z")
_The Sorcerer’s Apprentice_ from Disney’s _Fantasia_ Any creepy Phantom of the Opera type organ music makes me think of Dr Frankenstein in his lab creating his monster. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/15 "2004-11-28T03:32:25Z")
_What’s He Building In There?_ by Tom Waits. One of the creepiest songs I ever heard… _There’s poison under the sink, of course / There’s also enough formaldehyde to choke a horse / What’s he building in there?_ ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/16 "2004-11-28T04:22:30Z")
Imagine your generic Mad Scientist working feverishly away to the strains of Elvis Costello’s _Accidents Will Happen_. ---
**Author:** ![Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirt_Ninja_13)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/17 "2004-11-28T15:44:53Z")
“when you’re evil” by Voltaire, if one is inclined towards the nastier side. _bamf_ ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/18 "2004-11-30T00:14:18Z")
Spike Jones and the City Slickers’ version of “My Old Flame”. A must for any Peter Lorre fan. Napoleon XIV “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/19 "2004-11-30T00:52:58Z")
_Building the Perfect Beast_ Don Henley. The song’s about genetic engineering… ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2004, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847/20 "2004-11-30T01:01:11Z")
**ELO** - _Yours Truly, 2095_ About a guy who tries to fall in love with his robot, a la _Chobits_. (though the song long presceded the CLAMP manga/anime). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-for-mad-scientists/276847.md?page=2)