Earlier today, we head-nodded along to Flying Lotus’s great new song, the glitchy, whirling “Kill Your Co-Workers.” Thankfully, for the fine folks in our office, it did not turn our thoughts to murder. Instead, it got us thinking about all the great songs out there about jobs. Since we are compulsive list makers, we couldn’t help jotting down these 40 theme songs for 40 jobs. Listen to the resulting mega-mix after the jump and add your favorite songs about the working world in the comments.
Actor: Roxy Music – “2HB” Artiste: Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Art Star” Attorney: French Kicks – “Young Lawyer” Chef: Hank Williams – “Hey Good Lookin'” Child care worker: Princess Superstar – “Bad Babysitter” Clergy: The Smiths – “Vicar in a Tutu” Cop: Lil Wayne – “Mrs. Officer” Creative work: John Vanderslice – “Dear Sarah Shu” Day laborer: Bruce Springsteen – “Working on the Highway” Dentist: Mojo Nixon – “Shane’s Dentist” Disc jockey: David Bowie – “DJ” Doctor: Ben Folds – “Dr. Yang” Drug dealer: GZA – “Life of a Drug Dealer” Farmer: The Who – “Now I’m a Farmer” Fashionista: The Kinks – “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” Filmmaker: Her Space Holiday – “Silent Films” Hacker: Barcelona – “I Have the Password to Your Shell Account” Hair stylist: Nirvana – “Floyd the Barber” Journalist: The New Pornographers – “The Fake Headlines” Librarian: The Go-Betweens – “Karen” Memoirist: Nick Lowe – “When I Write the Book” Military: Village People – “In the Navy” Model: Kraftwerk – “The Model” Night laborer: R.E.M. – “Daysleeper” Novelist: Elvis Costello – “Every Day I Write the Book” Nurse: New York Dolls – “Pills” Pharmacist: The Other Half – “Mr. Pharmacist” Prison laborer: Sam Cooke – “Chain Gang” Prostitute: The Members – “Working Girl” Rapper: Run-DMC – “It’s Tricky” Rock star: David Bowie – “Ziggy Stardust” Runner: Belle and Sebastian – “The Stars of Track and Field” Sailor: The Beach Boys – “Sloop John B” Scientist: of Montreal – “Enemy Gene” Secretary: Dolly Parton – “9 to 5” Seasonal staff: Art Brut – “Summer Job” Stay-at-home mom: The Rolling Stone – “Mother’s Little Helper” Surgeon: Weird Al – “Like a Surgeon” Teacher: Rufus Wainwright – “The Art Teacher” Waitress: Belle and Sebastian – “Dear Catastrophe Waitress”