have you ever got the notion that he's just a bat with wings?

August 14, 2009 4:10 PM

MixTapeFilter: I'm looking for songs about fictional characters, particularly ones from geeky fandoms (comic books, video games, etc.)

Examples: Thank You Mario But Our Princess Is In Another Castle by the Mountain Goats and Kaki King, Aquaman's Lament by Mark Aaron James. Preferably ones that are not just funny-- I know about that "Link is come to town!" one; I'm not a huge fan of it.

In particular I love stuff that takes a deeper look at two-dimensional characters, particularly throwaway villains in videogames (goombas, etc.).

Wizard Rock is okay but please recommend individual songs, not bands.

posted by NoraReed to grab bag (46 comments total)

Ookla the Mok's Arthur Curry.
Jim's Big Ego's Ballad of Barry Allen.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 4:30 PM on August 14

"Superboy and Supergirl" by Tullycraft!
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:32 PM on August 14

http://www.urbangeek.net/supersongs/index.html
posted by ursus_comiter at 4:36 PM on August 14

I was coming to post "Superman" by Five for Fighting, but ursus has you covered on the superhero front. Will think of fictional characters.
posted by rw at 4:41 PM on August 14

Would an inverse case work? The comic Scott Pilgrim (and its protagonist) is named from a song by Plumtree (YouTube link).
posted by clearlydemon at 4:43 PM on August 14

Team Gato. Although, if you haven't played Chrono Trigger you won't understand what is going on.
posted by demiurge at 4:44 PM on August 14

Although it doesn't refer to a specific character, I feel that any mix of that ilk would be lacking without Skullcrusher Mountain.
posted by Sidhedevil at 4:46 PM on August 14

Superman by the Flaming Lips? Strangely, that's not on ursus' list.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 4:47 PM on August 14

Captain America by Jimmy Buffet, for all your WWII Marvel fun.
posted by iarerach at 4:53 PM on August 14

One of my favorites of all time is "Dr. McCoy" by the Swedish synthpop band S.P.O.C.K.

Senior ship's surgeon since '66
Multitalented, knows all the tricks
Been almost everywhere in the galaxy
Traveled time and changed history
Has a running feud with a green-blooded man
Takes every opportunity to argue if he can
He's one of a kind, says what's on his mind
You might think he's complaining when you here him saying
He's a doctor - not an escalator
He's a doctor - not a bricklayer
He's a doctor - not a shuttle-conductor
And everybody knows him as Dr McCoy

posted by Kirklander at 4:53 PM on August 14 [2 favorites]

Where's Captain Kirk by Spizzenergi is a great one
posted by hobgadling at 5:03 PM on August 14

Frodo Don't Wear the Ring by Flight of the Conchords is kind of a gimme, but in case you didn't know about it, there you go.
posted by Diagonalize at 5:06 PM on August 14

The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets is an awesome band with very geeky songs. Most of them are Lovecraft-based, but some of them are not.

Power Up (scroll a bit down) is generically super-heroey...although there's a definite X-men innuendo or two. That album was made before the RPG got released and way before the possibly vaporware movie is.

Ogdru Jahad is inspired by Hellboy. This set of lyrics specifically notes what inspired what.

This one is its own set of stories, but the Sleestak from Land of the Lost is part of one of the last songs.
posted by cobaltnine at 5:07 PM on August 14

Can U Dig It? by Pop Will Eat Itself ... includes references to Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Watchmen, all manner of cooler than cool shit (circa 1990). Great song.
posted by philip-random at 5:12 PM on August 14

The Superman Song - Crash Test Dummies
The Ballad of Bilbo Bagins - Leonard Nemoy
posted by Midnight Rambler at 5:22 PM on August 14

No mention of Pac-Man Fever yet?
posted by jozxyqk at 5:31 PM on August 14

The Screaming Blue Messiahs - I Wanna Be A Flintstone
posted by crenquis at 5:35 PM on August 14

Supermans dead - Our Lady Peace
posted by JonnyRotten at 5:54 PM on August 14

"Here Comes a Special Boy" by Freezepop comes immediately to mind.

As long as I'm obsessing over Bulghakov on the green: "Amen" by Jolie Holland is sung from the perspective of Margarita from The Master and Margarita, and "Emil's Vietnam in the Sky" by Elvis Perkins is sung from the perspective of the poet in the same book.

Two songs about the character Billy Liar: "Billy Liar" by the Decemberists, and "Tom Courtenay" by Yo La Tengo.

Sparks have two songs about fictional characters: "Modesty Plays" and "Slow Boat" (sung from the perspective of the protagonist of Death in Venice.) They also have a musical about the manga series Mai the Psychic Girl which is easy enough to find if you know where to look for it.

"Little Red Riding Hood Hits the Road" by Robert Wyatt may also fit the bill, as would "William Holden Caulfield" by Too Much Joy. "Happy Phantom" by Tori Amos is about the character of Death from The Sandman. There's also Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights".
posted by pxe2000 at 5:59 PM on August 14

Oh! Also! "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes. "The Seventh Seal" by Scott Walker might also fit this description.
posted by pxe2000 at 6:01 PM on August 14

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd another: "Prove It" by Television was apparently inspired by Elliott Gould's portrayal of Marlowe in The Long Goodbye.
posted by pxe2000 at 6:03 PM on August 14

Check out Kirby Krackle's latest tunes, particularly "Ring Capacity" which is about Green Lantern.

(Disclosure: I ocassionally sub on bass with this band.)
posted by scottandrew at 6:20 PM on August 14

I keep thinking of songs, sorry...

Lucien Desar has written a song cycle based on Alice in Wonderland, which might have some use for you. I believe "Magic Rabbit" by My Brightest Diamond is also about/sung from the perspective of a character in Alice.
posted by pxe2000 at 6:40 PM on August 14

Fette's Vette, by MC Chris. The obscure Star Wars references are especially thick in there.

Pretty much anything by Thee Shatners (but "Green Blooded Love" is an especially awesome song title).

A lot of Jamiroquai's album Travelling without Moving has a science-fiction theme, although no SF character in particular.
posted by adamrice at 6:40 PM on August 14

Techno Syndrome 7 by The Immortals. (Who would have thought demonic ninjas would dig Praga Khan?)

Yoda by Wierd Al Yankovic.

I would suggest suggest the entire Rasputina catalog, especially Cage in a Cave, but alas, it would seem that they only write about really weird (but real) people as far as I can tell.

... but who can forget the primo mos' ultimate geeky fictional character homage of all time:

TROGDOR the Burninator!!!
posted by EnsignLunchmeat at 6:44 PM on August 14

How about Jonathon Coulton's "Still Alive" from Portal, sung from the perspective of the game's villain, GLaDOS? It appears at the end of the game, so I'm not sure if it's too "official" to meet our qualifications, but it's funny and sad at the same time.

I’m not even angry
I’m being so sincere right now
Even though you broke my heart and killed me
And tore me to pieces
And threw every piece into a fire
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you
Now these points of data make a beautiful line
And we’re out of beta, we’re releasing on time
So I’m glad I got burned, think of all the things we learned
For the people who are still alive.
posted by onlyconnect at 6:44 PM on August 14 [2 favorites]

Hobbit Love, by the Gazillions. Hard to go wrong with lyrics like "My love is bulbous / my love is an onion."
posted by lysimache at 6:50 PM on August 14

has a couple songs about Star Trek.

A Perfect Circle has a song called Sleeping Beauty

Harry Potter, you live beneath the stairs. Harry Potter, you have unruly hair..

Da Vinci's Notebook have Ally McBeal.
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:08 PM on August 14

Let's add the word Voltaire to the start of my previous comment.
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:08 PM on August 14

The Pixies' Tony's Theme is about a fictional superhero that I think they made up.
posted by ORthey at 7:41 PM on August 14

Check out "I Fight Dragons" - an "NES-Rock Band" (they've rigged up computer-instruments using old NES controllers). They have a song called "No one likes Superman anymore" - but anyways, all their stuff is cool and maybe along the lines of what you're looking for. http://www.myspace.com/ifightdragons


posted by katopotato at 7:44 PM on August 14

Rivendell, By-Tor and The Snow Dog by Rush. Also, check out tolkien-music.com & the Zeppelin and Tolkien relations page.
posted by torquemaniac at 8:16 PM on August 14

Not technically the answer to your question (since he's not fictional) but David Duchovny is more about Fox Mulder than about Duchovny himself, and certainly hits the "geeky fandom" target.
posted by anastasiav at 8:36 PM on August 14

Tom Waits "Alice" (from the album of the same name) is about Alice Liddell, for whom Alice in Wonderland was written. The whole album is off the charts great, but this song might be what you're looking for!
posted by elmer benson at 10:07 PM on August 14

Transvision Vamp's "Hanging with Halo Jones", an homage to the Alan Moore/Ian Gibson strip that ran in 2000 AD.

Duke of Stratosphere's "Brainiac's Daughter" ( Brainiac's offspring and the ancestor of Brainiac 5.
posted by prinado at 10:38 PM on August 14

Mario Kart love song!. This one made me tear up a lil.
posted by mikeyk at 11:16 PM on August 14 [1 favorite]

Bat Boy the Musical was inspired by a Weekly World News story, which may or may not count as a geeky fandom.
posted by Diagonalize at 11:49 PM on August 14

These are great. Keep 'em coming.
posted by NoraReed at 11:53 PM on August 14

4 colour love story by the metasciences, its not about a character per se but its about 'comic book' hero and heroine in love. I find it a lovely and touching song.
posted by Neonshock at 11:57 PM on August 14

It's more of a generic song but David Crosby's Hero is one.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:28 AM on August 15

The Powerpuff Girls: Heroes and Villains is a whole album of songs written about the various characters in the show, and, as a bonus, is actually pretty good music as well.
posted by KatlaDragon at 12:51 AM on August 15

Aimee Mann's song Ghost World is based on Daniel Clowes' graphic novel of the same name.
posted by howiamdifferent at 6:52 AM on August 15

Where's Neil When You Need Him? is a Neil Gaiman tribute album - the track listing

1. Rasputina - "Coraline" (Coraline)
2. ThouShaltNot - "When Everyone Forgets" (American Gods)
3. Tapping the Vein - "Trader Boy" (The Day I Swapped My Dad For Two Goldfish)
4. Lunascape - "Raven Star" (Stardust)
5. Deine Lakaien - "A Fish Called Prince" (The Goldfish Pool)
6. Thea Gilmore - "Even Gods Do" (American Gods)
7. Rose Berlin featuring Curve - "Coraline" (Coraline)
8. Schandmaul - "Magda Treadgolds Märchen" (The Sandman)
9. Hungry Lucy - "We Won't Go" (The Wolves In The Wall)
10. Voltaire - "Come Sweet Death" (The Sandman)
11. Future Bible Heroes - "Mr. Punch" (Mr. Punch)
12. Razed in Black - "The Endless" (The Sandman)
13. The Crüxshadows - "Wake the White Queen" (MirrorMask)
14. Ego Likeness - "You Better Leave the Stars Alone" (Stardust)
15. Azam Ali - "The Cold Black Key" (Coraline)
16. Joachim Witt - "Vandemar" (Neverwhere)
17. Tori Amos - "Sister Named Desire (New Master)" (The Sandman)
posted by Jilder at 7:38 AM on August 15

Save Ginny Weasley, by Harry and the Potters
posted by 23skidoo at 7:49 AM on August 15

"Weird Al" Yankovic has several, though they trend more toward funny than deep. Besides the aforementioned "Yoda," there's also "The Saga Begins" (Star Wars), "Ode to a Superhero" (Spider-man), "Bedrock Anthem" (Flintstones), and "Ricky" (I Love Lucy).

The Protomen's songs are all about a weird dystopian version of the story of Mega Man. I'd recommend "Unrest in the House of Light," "The Will of One," or anything off their album, really.
posted by shammack at 8:02 AM on August 15

I've heard that "Creeper", by We Are Scientists was inspired by this Creeper. You'd have to do more digging to find out. And speaking of W.A.S., they also have a song about Mothra. I haven't listened to these in years, so my memories of details within songs might be hazy.
posted by knile at 7:24 PM on August 15