Technicians, understandably, spend a lot of time in the lab. These long hours doing repetitive yet important work are the perfect time to listen to music. With this in mind, we tasked ourselves to make the greatest (perhaps only) pathology-themed playlist. Whether you like metal with your microscopy or hip hop with your hematology, we’ve got you covered in this 100 song playlist.
So throw on your lab coat, pop on some headphones, and jam out to these pathology-themed tracks. Read on for a breakdown of just 10 of the tracks that made the cut (and why) or simply jump straight into the full playlist!
1. Never Let Go of the Microscope - Enter Shikari
Kicking things off we have this track of microscopic metal that has macroscopic impact.
2. Down With Disease - Phish
There are only a handful of songs that come up when you search “disease,” but Phish’s Down With Disease is a particularly poignant example for the pathologically-inclined. After all, isn’t that a message we can all get behind?
3. Pink - Lizzo
Recommended by @MeredithKHerman, not only is this sugary-sweet pop song an instant mood-lifter, but it’s representative of the iconic H&E color!
4. The 1919 Influenza Blues - Essie Jenkins
This jaunty tune is a sobering reminder that pandemics are no new phenomenon, and that pandemic fatigue is a feeling that millions of people can relate to. A century before the COVID-19 pandemic, the so-called “spanish flu” had a shattering effect on the world, and, in classic blues fashion, this tune contrasts the dire subject matter with a toe-tapping rhythm.
5. In da Lab - ZDoggMD
If you’ve yet to hear the laboratory spoof of 50 Cent’s In da Club, then you’ve seriously been missing out. ZDoggMD, real name Zubin Damania, is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at UNLV School of Medicine. He’s also got pretty good flow!
6. Gross - Bulldog Eyes
Not a chart topper by any means, this relaxing, lo-fi lullaby is one that will keep you relaxed for hours at your workbench. Of course, it’s named for every anatomical pathologist’s favorite pastime: grossing.
7. Twinkle Song - Miley Cyrus
This is another song recommended by one of our readers, @veeshenoy. At first it’s not immediately obvious why this is pathology related, but once you reach the song’s climax where Cyrus screams “What does it mean?!” over and over, you’ll realize why every laboratory professional can relate.
8. In My Blood - Shawn Mendes
It’s not likely that Mendes was talking about hematological diagnostics when he sang “It isn't in my blood,” but we like to think he was. There’s a fair few tunes out there that mention blood – but this is more safe for work than the hundreds of black metal songs. Thanks, Shawn!
9. All Might to Tegnell - Clifford
This is one we discovered at our most desperate point of simply punching “laboratory songs” into a search engine. Amazingly, we found a metal song focused on Anders Tegnell – Sweden’s state epidemiologist from 2013–2022. Not even Fauci can boast that kind of achievement.
10. Bad Blood
Not every song needs to be a black metal ballad, and Taylor Swift proved with her 2014 song that even hematology can be a hit. That is what the song is about, right? Blood tests?
Check out the full playlist here.
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