For some weird reason, an inordinate number of scientists are also accomplished (or aspiring!) musicians. Inevitably, the theories they think about all day, seep into the music they play. A surprising number of tracks are particle physics inspired, and when I came across these, I just knew I had to compile a playlist.
So, in the now long-ago tradition of mix tapes, I give you Collisions.
Side A:
- The ATLAS Boogie - The Canettes Blues Band
- Large Hadron Rap - Kate McAlpine
- The Collider - Les Horribles Cernettes
- Strong Interaction - Les Horribles Cernettes
- Mr. Higgs - Les Horribles Cernettes
- Every Proton Of You - Les Horribles Cernettes
The last five songs have the kind of vintage flair one would expect from the legendary Les Horribles Cernettes, the all girl ‘high energy rock band’ based at CERN and named so that their initials coincided with those of the Large Hadron Collider. Because CERN was the birthplace of the World Wide Web, the Cernettes also happen to be the subject of the first ever photograph on the web.
The first two songs in the ‘tape’ are newer and extremely catchy! I found the video for The ATLAS Boogie just incredible. Its surprisingly informational while also being a ton of fun.
If you find want more, here’s a page dedicated to the LHC Rap, complete with lyrics, videos and a downloadable .mp3 And if that still isn’t enough, the Atlas Experiment has released a CD called Resonance (preview here). Not all the songs are science-themed, but they’re definitely worth checking out.