I just got back from Comicpalooza and have Batman on the brain. I mean, I always have Batman on the brain because he's freakin' Batman, but now it's reached the jumping from furniture to furniture with a blanket tied around my neck screaming, "I am vengeance! I am the night!" phase.

Plus, I have a personal goal in life to make Batman a more popular keyword in the Village Voice Media system than Barack Obama because the ides of President Batman gives me sex shivers.

Where was I going with this? Oh, right!

This week's playlist is dedicated to Batmusic in various Batmedia in honor of Houston's comic con and the upcoming film The Dark Knight Rises. So far I have not as yet uncovered any songs actually sung by Batman, but there have been more than a few sung about him.

And no, "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" did not make the list, though I have gone deep into the looking glass before to try and find out where the hell that came from. That's not to say there won't be anything silly. For instance...

"Batusi": Somehow I don't think that we'll ever see King Tut as a villain again in the rebooted film universe... and that is just plain sad, because I would give Christopher Nolan every dollar I own to cast Al Pacino in the role and have him say, "Music! BAT Music!" Then Christian Bale would dance. Sigh... I never get anything I want.

U2, "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me": Despite the taint of Schumacher and the annoyance of O'Donnell, I think that Batman Forever isn't that bad a film. Val Kilmer plays a pretty fair Batman, and Jim Carrey doesn't get nearly enough credit for the awesomeness of his Riddler. The fact that Bono is basically Batman in this amazing video for "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me" is ego on such a massive scale that it almost knocked the song out of the playlist, but it really is an amazing tune. Maybe the last good U2 song, period.

Powerglove, "Batman": Coming off of their 2010 album Saturday Morning Apocalypse, Powerglove gives their speed-metal mastery the Bat-touch by covering the Animated Series theme. The video is even more fantastic than the song itself, with a full video-game playthrough. Seriously, every single song should have a video like this. I'd never stop watching Dragonforce if they did.

Miracle of Sound, "The Mind of the Bat": Much as I love me some Batman, you have to admit that he's really messed-up. Rather than using his vast fortune to attack the social causes of the crime in Gotham he dresses up in high-tech gear and hurls sharp bits of metal at the mentally ill and physically maimed. Have you ever wondered if Bruce Wayne is just as insane as the criminals he faces? Miracle of Sound has, and here it is illustrated in the brilliance that is Batman: Arkham Asylum!

Alien Sex Fiend, "Batman": Always end with Alien Sex Fiend if you can. That's my motto. It's not their best work, I'll admit, and far poppier than anything else I've ever heard from ASF. That being said, you have to pay homage to where it all began.