American Scientist

History is full of examples of how society and culture reflect on and process scientific advancements and issues, and music is one outlet for this processing. This year was no exception, so I was excited to jump down the rabbit hole of 2018’s music releases to dig up the artists incorporating topics from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into their work. It’s a pretty fascinating reflection of our moment in history of science—and these are also just great jams to listen to. The songs are ordered for variety, but I save some of the heaviest hitters for last. This list is far from comprehensive; let us know what additions you suggest in the comments!

“Spacewoman” — The Breeders

In this indie rock song, The Breeders paint dreamy sci-fi scenes and compare them to real life here on Earth, moving between soft singing and raucous distortion.

“Nobody” — Mitski

“Venus, planet of Love, was destroyed by global warming. Did its people want too much?” sings Mitski in this lonely song. The disconnection portrayed in the music video also seems to comment on changes in communications and information technology.

“Vertigo” — Khalid

Singer Khalid explores the sensation of vertigo (“I been falling with my eyes closed.”) and reflects nostalgically on past love in this ballad.

“Space Cadet”* — Metro Boomin

This track on Atlanta-based hiphop artist Metro Boomin’s latest album, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, evokes cinematic space-travel scenes through sound and lyrics.

“The Prawn Song” — Superorganism

“I’m happy just being a prawn,” is the repeated line from the hook of this playful ditty, so you have to pay attention for the science references in the lyrics and video, which point to behavioral science, evolutionary biology, and microplastics pollution.

“DNA” — BTS

The K-pop boy-band BTS is the first K-pop group to top Billboard’s album chart with Love Yourself: Tear—and then did so again with their album of re-releases, Love Yourself: Answer. Their song “DNA” from that album explores the relationship between genetics and a sense of destiny. In the chorus, they sing in Korean, “From the day of the universe’s creation and on, through the infinite centuries and on, in the previous life and maybe the next, too, we’re forever together: DNA.” (Translation from their official music video.)

“The Spark” — GZA

Fans of GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan have been eagerly anticipating his next album, Dark Matter. Until that album drops, we’ll enjoy his 2016 song “The Spark,” the result of his teaming up with NASA as part of their musical accompaniment to the launch of the Juno spacecraft. The song’s wordplay includes a ton of textbook knowledge wrapped in poetic meanings.

“Heptapod B” — Jóhann Jóhannsson

Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, known for his avant-garde film scores for movies such as Prisoners and Sicario, passed away this year. In honor of his passing, we include his recent film score of the 2016 science-fiction movie Arrival, which is based on Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” and explores the ways an alien language can lead to a completely different way of viewing the world and time, is masterful in its use of voices and harmonics to create an otherworldly atmosphere.

“Native Tongue” — Mojo Juju

This title track from Australian singer Mojo Juju’s 2018 album is about her multiracial experience in Australia. “I don’t speak my father’s native tongue,” begin the bold lyrics. “I was born under a southern sun. I don’t know where I belong. I don’t know where I belong. My great granddaddy was Wiradjuri. My father came here from the Philippines. It’s where I live, it’s where I want to be. But you make me feel so ill at ease.” The song speaks to the larger issue of the loss of indigenous languages and cultures worldwide. This piece won the JAward for Australian Music Video of the Year.

“Dirty Computer” — Janelle Monáe

Pop innovator Janelle Monáe accompanied her album Dirty Computer with an “emotion picture” of the same title* that shows a dystopian science-fiction world where a surveillance state hunts down queer people and people of color. The scenes of police brutality and state-sanctioned violence have clear parallels to our reality. Monáe is known for incorporating sci-fi tropes and commentaries on technology and futurism in her work; here, she explores the dirty computers and corrupted drives of marginalized androids and people.

“DNA”* — Kendrick Lamar

This track from Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer-Prize winning album DAMN., compares how the world views his race versus the way he sees himself—and the way he has been shaped by these two conflicting views. This short Pitchfork review further unpacks how Lamar explores through this song the stories and programming that result from society’s views on rap and blackness.

* contains explicit language or mature content