I work in a place that’s got a nuclear policy bent, and my week at work has been frenzied thanks to President Obama’s nuclear security summit. In honor of the assembled leaders’ pledge to corral loose nuclear material, I thought it would be fun to put together a nuclear playlist — enjoy!

• Nena, “99 Red Balloons”
  The Watchmen movie did a respectable job of setting the stage with nuclear tension by including this ditty by German pop band Nena, which tells a story of 99 balloons floating into the air, triggering an apocalyptic overreaction by military forces.
• The Postal Service, “We Will All Become Silhouettes”
  The post-apocalyptic/fallout shelter imagery is haunting stuff — thankfully, the video is more warped than creepy. Or maybe it’s creepy because it’s warped:

• Genesis, “Land of Confusion”
  Okay, the song itself isn’t necessarily about nuclear weapons, but the nuclear imagery of the music video was burned into my brain as a kid:

• Keith Richards, “Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me”
  I’d never encountered this recording before thinking about putting this list together. It’s a cover of a Charles Mingus recording (from the 50’s? 60’s? I can’t find any info about its origins) that features a host of Rolling Stones collaborators: Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, longtime backing vocalist Bernard Fowler, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and the Uptown Horns all appear. Loose, fun stuff.
• Tom Lehrer, “We Will All Go Together When We Go”
  If you’ve gotta go, you might as well go with a smile: this wry take on nuclear destruction was recorded at Harvard’s Sanders Theater in back in 1959.
• “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Christmas at Ground Zero”
  Fallout makes for some great holiday cheer: “Oh, it’s Christmas at Ground Zero/And if the radiation level’s okay/I’ll go out with you and see the all new/Mutations on New Year’s Day”
• Electric Six, “Nuclear War (On the Dancefloor)”
  These awesome hair metal riffs are offered without comment.
• Electric Six, “I’m The Bomb”
  I had to double-dip with the Six, because this pair of songs go so well together. The catchy disco beat & melody are paired with an impressive Kenny Powers-style bravado, especially when it climaxes in the chorus: “3-2-1 I’m the bomb/And I’m ready to go off in your shit.”

Download the songs here:

Download: Nena, “99 Red Balloons” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Postal Service, “We Will All Become Silhouettes” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Genesis, “Land of Confusion” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Keith Richards, “Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Tom Lehrer, “We Will All Go Together When We Go” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: “Weird Al” Yankovic, “Christmas at Ground Zero” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Electric Six, “Nuclear War (On the Dancefloor)” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Electric Six, “I’m The Bomb” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

This ZIP of the entire list is da BOMB:

Download: That’s noo-klee-er (ZIP)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

1. Alabama 3, “U Don’t Dans 2 Tekno Anymore”
   I couldn’t resist dropping a song from my favorite Brixton-based acid house/country/gospel collective this month. Their excellent debut Exile on Coldharbour Lane is brimming with drug/rehab/12-step program references (”Hypo Full of Love,” “The Old Purple Tin”), but my favorite is definitely this fiddle-fed ditty about a club overdose.
2. Placebo, “Special K”
   Definitely not talking about the breakfast cereal. Taken from Placebo’s highly underrated 3rd album Black Market Music, ketamine has never seemed more romantic & angsty.
3. Oasis, “Gas Panic!”
   I’d seriously thought about picking any random track from their 3rd album Be Here Now, as the recording sessions were rumored to have been fueled by booze and white lines, but I opted for this lesser-appreciated number from 2000’s Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. The song details Noel’s withdrawal-induced panic attacks while he was coming off of a serious addiction to valium. The song’s heavy, oppressive atmosphere beautifully accompanies the paranoia of the lyrics, and for that we can thank producer Mark “Spike” Stent, known best for his work with Massive Attack and Björk.
4. The Rolling Stones, “Mother’s Little Helper”
   It’s amazing to think that this Aftermath-era single was amazingly scandalous for its time. I almost included QotSA’s “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” right after it on the list to show how far we’ve come.
5. Guns N’ Roses, “Mr. Brownstone”
   This live, unplugged version of their Appetite ditty about heroin was recorded at the dearly departed CBGB in October ‘87. What an amazing goddamn band they used to be. Was this their way of testing the waters before releasing the acoustic Lies album? Maybe.
6. Electric Six, “I Buy The Drugs”
   Man, I love the Six. They made a bit of a splash with “Danger! High Voltage!”, an irresistible slice of silly dance-rock that featured a wild-sounding Jack White on backing vocals. They dropped off the radar of most after that, but they’ve continued to put out consistently clever, funny, albums of sophomoric dance-rock year after year, and this tune from 2005’s Switzerland is no exception. My favorite part? The address for the, uh, pharmacy that Dick Valentine rattles off? It’s one zip code digit off of the address for Fox Broadcasting.
7. The La’s, “There She Goes”
   Sorry, fans of the cloying Sixpence None The Richer cover: it’s really about smack. Adds an extra layer of comedy to the song’s use in ads for birth control meds.
8. Wyclef Jean, “Something About Mary”
   It’s, uh, about hair gel. Yeah.

Download: Alabama 3, “U Don’t Dans 2 Tekno Anymore” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Placebo, “Special K” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Oasis, “Gas Panic!” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The Rolling Stones, “Mother’s Little Helper” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Guns N’ Roses, “Mr. Brownstone” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Electric Six, “I Buy The Drugs” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: The La’s, “There She Goes” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Wyclef Jean, “Something About Mary” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download a handy ZIP of all of the songs:

Download: I don’t like the drugs, but the songs about drugs like me (ZIP)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Pride. Here’s what goeth before the fall:

UNKLE Matt:
Muddy Waters, “Mannish Boy”
This is the version from “Electric Mud” - the song that launched a thousand brag-rap careers.

The Man(del) from UNCLE:
Elton John, “Ego”
One of the great forgotten gems from Elton John’s canon. This was released as a single in 1978 and it stalled on the lower end of the Top 40. Love Bernie Taupin’s lyrics in this song and it’s got a mad piano riff that I love to bang out on my piano. Ripe for a cover or for use in a movie… and I highly recommend going on YouTube to find the video. It’s one of Elton’s first videos and it’s quite a hoot…

Uncle Sam:
Electric Six, “I’m The Bomb”
I almost went with Prince’s “My Name Is Prince,” but I couldn’t resist the Six’ call to awesome self-delusion: “3-2-1, I’m the bomb/And I’m ready to go off in your shit.”

Onkel Rudi:
Joe Walsh, “Life’s Been Good”
The ultimate party boy of The James Gang and The Eagles talks of a life of excess (double points for gluttony, right?), but otherwise is proud of his achievements and blunders. Note that this song is, in many respects, autobiographical.

Download: Muddy Waters, “Mannish Boy” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Elton John, “Ego” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Electric Six, “I’m The Bomb” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)

Download: Joe Walsh, “Life’s Been Good” (mp3)
(Right-click/control-click link to download)