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Bat-tunes: 10 dark knight ditties

By Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Why should Superman have all the rock ‘n’ roll fun?

Hit song after hit song references Superman lore. Check 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite,” or, more direct, R.E.M.’s cover of the Clique’s “Superman.”

Referencing the 'man of tomorrow' even helped experimental performance artist Laurie Anderson enter the mainstream when her “O Superman (For Massenet)," landed in the top-10 in the U.K. in 1981. The Flaming Lips later tapped the all-American hero for the majestic “Waiting for Superman" in 1999, in which no Man of Steel can tackle all the world's problems.

But Batman? He’s had a far more scarce rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. In fact, the song most associated with the dark knight -- the vigilante who hunts crime in the shadows -- is a novelty Christmas song in which his diminutive sidekick lays an egg.

Yet there’s more to Bats than kid jingles. Here’s a look at some artists who found inspiration in Batman's legend.