Lost a Wheel

Of all the main superheroes, Batman seems to have the least songs written about him. Why do you think that's so? Sure Superman could be a generic term like, "he's a super man" or "super clea." (You do know Clea was Dr. Strange's daugher don't you? I come by this naturally.) But Spiderman? I mean the premise behind Batman is so much more interesting: he chose this way of life, this dark do-gooder stance, where as it was thrust upon Spiderman by one colossal accident. Just a thought.

Basically, in the realm of Batman songs, they are all the same thing: variations on the theme.

But when doing a little web searching for songs I found a most interesting post on WFMU's blog regarding a 1966 LP that I actually own (but haven't quite figured out how to record yet, 'nother story, 'nother day.) Apparently this gem was allegedly an un-credited session with Sun-Ra's Orkestra and Al Kooper's Blues Project. I knew the versions on this LP were pretty fabulous and a touch beyond. Could this be true or blown steam, a May 30th sort of joke? The blog has put up all the MP3s for us and they are groovy. And familar. They sound like other songs because they are in fact really other songs. Read about it in WFMU's words since this is the first I've learned about all this truth and/or fiction. These songs, and the ones I've posted below, are all fairly good background music for the littles. I mean, they can't sing along, save for "Batman! Batman! Batman!" so someone like oh, my daughter, gets a bit bored.

And of course, the Naked City track is loose doozy with the likes of John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz and friends blowing through the track like sloppy jazz drunks on a hot day. You probably only need one theme... pick your flavor.

Batman & Robin (Sun Ra) record

Naked City, "Batman"
David McCallum, "Batman Theme"
The Who, "Batman"
Neil Hefti, "Batman Theme"

The Jam, Iggy and purportedly the Flaming Lips (I never heard it) also covered the tune, but alas I don't have those.

Speaking of my daughter singing along... ahem. I apologize.

Extra Not-Such-A-Bonus Bonus Track:
Tuesday True, "Sheena is a Punk Rocker"

Happy Thursday.