Today, we’re incredibly lucky to have a guest post by musical renaissance man and my friend Andrew Thomas, who has put together one of the best Top 5 lists in all of Planet Houston. Check out his most recent collection of his own musical masterpieces here.– JS

I’ve learned some important things putting this list together. First, Superman is really popular. It would be incredibly easy to make an entire top five list of only Superman-related songs. Second, not every song that mentions a superhero in its lyrics is really about a superhero. Last, but not least, creating a top five playlist is hard work, so we should all be thankful that our gracious host John is here to do the dirty work for us.

And now, in the immortal words of recently-retired master of counting-down Casey Kasem, “It was a little dog named Snuggles On with the countdown!”

Top Five Superhero/Villain Songs

1. “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues,” The Spin Doctors

It’s tough out there for a young photojournalist. You’re given unrealistic deadlines by cigar-chomping bosses, you’ve got adventures to go on, and to top it all off, you’re starting to get funny feelings about that female journalist who seems to have a thing for Superman. What’s a cub reporter to do? Fill a pocket with the Man of Steel’s only weakness, and get The Spin Doctors to write a song from his point of view, that’s what.

2. “Ballad of Barry Allen,” Jim’s Big Ego

Jim Infantino, lead singer/songwriter/head Ego of Jim’s Big Ego, has superhero blood. It’s true – he’s related to one of the creators of The Flash (aka mild-mannered Barry Allen). Paying tribute to his uncle Carmine Infantino’s creation in song, Jim and fellow Egos make the listener empathize with a guy who moves at the speed of light, and imagine how slow we must look in comparison. Side note – Carmine also created the cover art for They’re Everywhere, the album where this song appears.

3. “Flash’s Theme,” Queen

And now, we move from The Flash to a Flash of a different sort. You can be pedantic and say Flash Gordon isn’t really a superhero per se, but according to the song, he’s the SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE! What? That’s not heroic enough? HE’LL SAVE EVERY ONE OF US! HE’S A MIRACLE! What more do you people want?

4. “Particle Man,” They Might Be Giants

When you’re tired of all the normal superheroes, sometimes the best thing to do is make up a few new ones. Give them a defining power or characteristic. If you can create rivalries between them and have them duke it out amongst themselves, even better. If you can write a song about it, then, you might be a member of They Might Be Giants.

5. “Laundry Day (My Freeze Ray),” Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible – from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

And finally, jumping to the supervillain side of things, we have this song of unrequited, megalomaniacal love. Dr. Horrible isn’t so horrible now, is he? He’s just a sweet, shy young man who’s longing for the love of the beautiful girl at the laundromat. Oh, and he wants to take over the world. But he’s humane – it’s not a death ray, after all.

Top Five Superhero/Villain Tunes

Runners up: Magneto and Titanium Man – Wings; Superman – Lazlo Bane, the Kinks, and anyone else who’s ever recorded a song called “Superman”
Not-even-runner-up: Hero – Enrique Iglesias.

You’re driving the Batmobile, which means you get to plug an 8-Track into the aged BatTapedeck. What’s on your supermix? And could you even record onto an 8-Track? Discuss …