Lab 11 - Environmental Problems

I try to start class each day with music that has a link to the day's lecture. Many students have asked about specific songs or artists so I am starting a list. It is very incomplete BUT I will work on adding to it.

I am always looking for new music. I will consider anything but for me to play it in class it must meet certain criteria:

Have a link to course material. Ideally this is in the lyrics but I have played music that has a more obscure connection to class.

I avoid music that was specifically written to be a science song. There are a number of people that are selling music that is "eco-music" or "Environmental Songs For Kids" (A real album). Most of these are pretty lousy.

I don't usually play music with explicit lyrics or that is insulting or demeaning. I have made exceptions when other aspects of the music are compelling.

I lean toward English lyrics but have played music sung in other languages.

I have to like it! Life is too short for me to play music that I don't like. My tastes are pretty broad. In the past I have played top 40, classic rock, country, R&B, folk songs, world music, Broadway musicals, 40's crooners, hip hop, movie sound tracks and Dr. Demento tunes, for example. No opera yet but it's day is coming!

If you have a suggestion let me know.

“Music has charms to soothe the savage breast
To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.”

William Congreve (1670 - 1729)

Topic	Title	Artist	Link/Comment
Course Intro	Beautiful Day	U2
pH and Acid Rain	Acid Raindrops	People Under the Stairs	I play the "clean" version .
Human Population Growth	People Ain't No Good	Nick Cave (from the Shrek 2 soundtrack)	People are some of my best friends but we sure can cause problems.
Tragedy of the Commons	The Milk Cow is Dead	Wade Fruge	The "T of the C" results in dead cows, among other things
Evolution	Evolution	The Gift of Gab
Evolution	Do the Evolution	Pearl Jam
Climate	Volcano	Jimmy Buffett	Rain shadow effect on Mount Rainier (a volcano)
Biomes	Where the Green Grass Grows	Tim McGraw	Grasslands are a biome.
"Green Tunes"	Big Yellow Taxi	Joni Mitchell or Amy Grant or Counting Crows	Joni Mitchell wrote this song that complains about environmental degradation and compares it to losing a loved one: "They paved paradise and put in a parking lot."
	Seminole Wind	John Anderson
	Circle of Life	Elton John (from Disney's The Lion King)
	Color of the Wind	Vanessa Williams (from Disney's Pocahontas)
	Sparrow	Simon and Garfunkel
	What a Wonderful World	Louis Armstrong
	Goodbye to a River	Don Henley

In addition to the above environment-oriented music I play a few other songs at times

Topic	Title	Artist
Tests	Life is an Exam	Koncept
Spring Break	Spring Break Vacation	Kid Vegas
End of the Semester	School's Out	Alice Cooper