super hearing

Last night, I was talking with Nicolas Kummert (see upcoming concert review) and the topic of what superheroes listen to briefly came up. This seems to me totally bloggable. Nicolas came up with Spiderman's entry right away, the rest are mine.

Superman: Doesn't listen to music, or even partake in any kind of cultural activities, really. When the only thing that can harm you is kryptonite (and no-one's managed to kill him with it in, what, 60 years?), what do you need music for? Clark Kent might listen to the radio and like a few hits, but he's a terrible dancer. Cyclops (of the X-Men) and Captain America are squares, too.

Spiderman: Spidey is definitely a Bad Plus fan. Hip and ironic/sarcastic. Peter Parker listens to emo.

Batman: He's into Wagner, but harbours a secret fondness for decrypting the psychological turmoil in Kylie Minogue. Bruce Wayne can discuss opera and the latest indie band. He's like Steve Smith, minus the depth.

The Incredible Hulk: Metal, obviously, but none of that hipster crap.

Namor/Aquaman: Namor's a serious guy. He doesn't actually listen to music, he reads Adorno. Maybe the occasional Schönberg, when he's feeling frivolous.

Spawn: In one issue, Spawn actually sings "Stayin' Alive," but I attribute that to Todd MacFarlane. Spawn clearly is/was a soul guy.

Rorschach (from The Watchmen): Whatever the Columbine killers listened to.

Marv (from Sin City): Johnny Cash murder ballads, but also Destiny's Child, with a kind of paternal affection.

Wolverine: A classic rock kind of guy, with a penchant for the genre's bad boys, obviously.

The Punisher: He used to hate punk, but totally got into gangsta and hardcore rap in the mid-80s. He's old, but keeps up with the times: he's into Atlanta and Houston at the moment.

R2D2 (one of the greatest heroes of them all): Timbaland, because they speak the same language.