xkcd theme songs

[CircleTriangles]

I've been thinking about this for awhile.

Add N to (X) - All Night Lazy
Kelley Polar - Sea of Sine Waves
...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - Source Tags & Codes
Architecture in Helsinki - It's 5!
Air - Surfing on a Rocket
Múm - The Land Between Solar Systems
Young Galaxy - The Alchemy Between Us
Tokyo Police Club - The Harrowing Adventures Of...

Am I on to something here? And, more importantly: can anyone one-up me on this one?

[Fat Tony]

Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science

[enk]

Rilo Kiley - Science Vs. Romance


Except with xkcd you can have both.

[Mat]

I have a better idea. We should record our own xkcd theme tune!

and by we I mean you (seeing as how my musical abilities are pretty much limited to singing badly and tapping on desks)

also: Epoxies - Science of You.

[solvents]

"The Math Song" - The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

[enk]

Freezepop - Science Genius Girl

[malec2b]

I think it might also be fun to find theme songs to the individual comics

like http://xkcd.com/24/ I think would go with And You And I by Yes

[1337geek]

Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science

Freezepop - Science Genius Girl

These would be superb choices for the forum guys and gals, respectively.

[Apemeat]

I have a better idea. We should record our own xkcd theme tune!

and by we I mean you

It needs to be done.

[enk]

I have a better idea. We should record our own xkcd theme tune!

and by we I mean you

It needs to be done.

In a fit of lazyness, one could re-use the melody/music of another four-letter-song. YMCA springs to mind, but personally I think DVNO by Justice would be much cooler

[golig1]

How about 'Nobody move, nobody get hurt' by We Are Scientists?

That song kicks ass.

Or there's this :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTby_e4-Rhg - NOT A RICK-ROLL!

[ShaKri]

I have a better idea. We should record our own xkcd theme tune!

and by we I mean you (seeing as how my musical abilities are pretty much limited to singing badly and tapping on desks)

also: Epoxies - Science of You.

hmm.. i might just try something for a laugh...

my recording crap is at my other home atm tho .. so you may have to settle for an acoustic.

[Sir_Elderberry]

"The Future Soon" - Jonathan Coulton

You can listen to it (but not download it) here:
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdeta ... ure%20Soon

[aleflamedyud]

I have a better idea. We should record our own xkcd theme tune!

and by we I mean you (seeing as how my musical abilities are pretty much limited to singing badly and tapping on desks)

also: Epoxies - Science of You.

With blackjack? And hookers?

[ascendingPig]

"The Future Soon" - Jonathan Coulton

You can listen to it (but not download it) here:
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdeta ... ure%20Soon

Speaking of which,

"Mandelbrot Set" - Jonathan Coulton

[H.E.L.e.N.]

Can't I just reach into my hypothetical bin of TMBG songs, pull out a bunch at random, throw them at this thread, and pretty much be on target?

[SkaBassist]

Ok guys, we need to get all the musicians on here writing an XKCD theme song.
I'd say we should get into two groups, one to write the lyrics and one to write the music. They can overlap, of course.
Let's do it.

[Day Tripper]

History of Everything - Barenaked Ladies. This song is like an epic rock science anthem (rock AND science!). Plus, they can rhyme, "Australopithecus would really have been sick of us".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aym8_S3BXKw

[Kaelri]

Anyone for The Flaming Lips' "Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"?

[Kaiyas]

Tom Lehrer- Elements

[enk]

For more win, I think we need to have songs with several aspects of xkcd. Romance, sarcasm, math, and language. And science.

Songs about one at a time are not that hard to find.

Including sarcasm.

[Various Varieties]

Ok guys, we need to get all the musicians on here writing an XKCD theme song.
I'd say we should get into two groups, one to write the lyrics and one to write the music. They can overlap, of course.
Let's do it.

I think we've found our backing track!

[CVSoul]

OK, I'm not sure if Johathan Coulton has written anything about raptors, but he did write a SUPERBLY entertaining song about zombies called Re: Your Brains.

ROMANCE: Honest Bob and the Factory-To-Dealer Incentives -- All the Cool Girls
Listen to this song. Find it. It's not exactly common, but it fits pretty well.

[Account20151023]

For some reason, I feel like Aeroplane over the Sea by neutral milk hotel would be a good theme song for the comic. I don't particularly like the song, but it seems to have about the right vibe.

[lira_riu]

I wrote a theme and variations on the xkcd classics. It's for mixed quartet (what four instruments happen to be available) and since I'm in Germany without a printer, I can't actually get it played. Any suggestions? otherwise, I can just wait till I get home in two weeks.

[sillybear25]

I think it might also be fun to find theme songs to the individual comics

like http://xkcd.com/24/ I think would go with And You And I by Yes

A couple of friends and I were joking around coming up with names for xkcd-themed albums...

How's "The Rise and Fall of Elaine Roberts and the Red Spiders from the Blogosphere"?

Edited for linkage
Edited again to fix tags

[enk]

I wrote a theme and variations on the xkcd classics. It's for mixed quartet (what four instruments happen to be available) and since I'm in Germany without a printer, I can't actually get it played. Any suggestions? otherwise, I can just wait till I get home in two weeks.

A software sequencer?

[lira_riu]

Sorry, what's a Software sequencer? I already have a midi file... but I really despise midi instruments.

[sillybear25]

Sorry, what's a Software sequencer? I already have a midi file... but I really despise midi instruments.

it's a program which lets you put create music (many of them let you import MIDI files) which is then synthesized by the program's built-in instruments. One of the better-known ones is Apple's Garage Band (as much as I don't really like Apple, it's one of the best examples), but there are many different ones, in both pay-for and free and/or open-source flavors. The one I have installed is a demo version of FL Studio, which is identical to the full version except it doesn't let you save a work-in-progress. That's okay though, because I figured out an exploit which lets you kind-of save: you have to assign MIDI instruments instead of whatever synthesized instruments you have and export it as a MIDI file, then re-import the MIDI file later when you want to work on it again.

[enk]

Sorry, what's a Software sequencer? I already have a midi file... but I really despise midi instruments.

If midi-instruments happen to be four available instruments, wouldn't that count?

Some samplers found in sequencers can have great sounds and if you nudge the perfectly timed score around a little, it doesn't sound mechanical at all.

I've been using FL Studio (the one sillybear mentioned) for the last six years. You can download the demo (beware, 100+ MB) and play around with some instruments/synths on that midi and then render an mp3. I can also make one if you'd like. I assume your goal is to display your work to us xkcdians?

[lira_riu]

yes, I would like to share a recording with everyone. Since I'm a mac user, I already have garageband, though I've never used it. I thought it was for people who didn't read music. But, like I said, if I wait a bit, I might be able to round up some live people with physical instruments and record. If I'm bored, I might see what I can get on my own.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Edit: I can't figure out how to upload a midi in GarageBand. Also, thanks for the link, but there doesn't appear to be a mac version...

[Anjruu]

Dude, people've talked about Jonathan Coulton without mentioning Code Monkey?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqTaqVi9J8k

I promise it's not a rickroll.

[ParanoidAndroid]

For some reason, I feel like Aeroplane over the Sea by neutral milk hotel would be a good theme song for the comic. I don't particularly like the song, but it seems to have about the right vibe.

Yeah, it does have the right vibe. Good call.

I'm surprised that there haven't been any Boom-de-yadda's yet.

[NuclearWinter]

Lateralus by Tool has elements of the fibonacci sequence in it as well as reminding me a little of xkcd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS7CZIJVxFY

[Neb Namwen]

I have been thinking about the possibility of an "XKCD" song ttto "YMCA" for a while, and was surprised to find no Googleable evidence that anyone else had already written or (outside of this thread here) considered it. Here's my attempt at it — I've tried to mention a good representative sample of xkcd tropes, but I would also welcome suggestions for alternative lyrics:

Code: Select all

"XKCD"
lyrics by Benjamin Newman
ttto: "YMCA" by The Village People

Geek fan, is your workday too dull?
I said geek fan, bored right out of your skull?
Can you scare up a couple minutes to kill?
Just until your code compiles...

Geek fan, there's a way to stay sane
I said geek fan, put some fun on your brain
There's a website that has just what you need
Guaranteed to raise a smile

   Just point your browser at XKCD
   Point your browser at XKCD
   It's called XKCD, I don't know what that means
   But it's on everybody's screens

   Point your browser at XKCD
   Point your browser at XKCD
   It's a comic for geeks, posted three times a week
   Head right over and take a peek

Stick figures, but they show such pizzazz
Puns and punch lines, like intellectual jazz
Lots of science, and computers and space
A velociraptor speed race

Humor, for when you need some laughs
And some flow charts and informative graphs
An apartment filled with colorful balls
Spiders crawling out of the walls

   Just point your browser at XKCD...

What if we could blow up the moon?
You could blog it from your hot air balloon
Only watch out for that guy with the hat
You can never tell where he's at

And then, when the humor's enough
You can find some deeply meaningful stuff
Tales unfolding with the passage of time
All the best of reason and rhyme

   So point your browser at XKCD...

      Take a peek at XKCD!