Neuroscientists truly are rock stars. And, apparently, some are *literally* rockstars, or at least grasping desperately at it. Meet Joseph LeDoux's band, The Amygdaloids:
Joseph LeDoux, Daniela Schiller, and Nina Galbraith Curely are neuroscientists who study emotion and memory functions of the brain, and Tyler Volk is an environmental scientist who has also written about mind and brain. Their original songs are about mental life and mental disorders (Mind-Body Problem, An Emotional Brain, If You Want Your Brain to Last). They also cover other "heavy mental" tunes like Manic Depression, 8 Miles High, and 19th Nervous Breakdown. When all else fails, they slip into the blues for. Newsday, not surprisingly, describes The Amygdaloids as "Heavy Mental."
Yes, their songs are about brains, neurons, and mental disease.
Yes, it is incredibly nerdtastic.
You know you want to listen to Joseph Ledoux sing to a casiotone melody. Think William Shatner singing in his heyday.
(Hat tip Lisa.)
Comments
Shelley, have you heard of Jonathan Coulton? He's a really talented musician who sings a lot of geeky and proscience stuff, along with ironic covers and more conventional fare.
Posted by: chuko | May 18, 2007 12:15 AM
Speaking of Jonathan Coulton here's the funniest World of Warcraft video ever AND it involves brains. lol
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BjMiDZIY1bM
Posted by: Boosterz | May 18, 2007 8:56 AM
Drat, they already have a drummer. So much for my planned shortcut into NYU's grad school.
Posted by: Johan | May 18, 2007 11:23 AM
""Following the selection of 'The Stripped Amygdaloids,' 'A Purple Spray Of Cloth Violets,' and 'Guestowel' this past weekend, it is essential that new bands pick a name as soon as possible," read a statement on the organization's website."
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/report_only_7_band_names
btw, science love.
Posted by: amnestic | May 18, 2007 11:35 PM
I have this strange feeling that I won't like Joseph LeDoux's music nearly as much as I enjoy his books.
Posted by: Brad S | May 19, 2007 6:29 AM
Drat, they already have a drummer.
Um, it might be less difficult than you think to displace them (if its based on skill....) :)
I hadn't heard of Jonathan Coulton but after checking out that WOW vid, I really dug the lyrics. And the vid was hilarious too (All we want to do is eat your brains?! SWEET!)
I recently bought a good CD by a guy named Andrew Bird who reminds me of what Coulton must be like....Bird rhymes words like 'mitosis' and 'fibrosis.' In a love song.
Posted by: Shelley | May 21, 2007 2:02 AM
I know Andrew Bird. I used to run a weekly swing dance at U of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Tea and Thorazine makes a nice slow lindy.
Posted by: chuko | May 22, 2007 3:06 AM