Dad rockers riff on graphene

By Hamish Johnston

I know there’s nothing sadder than a middle-aged man rocking out with an electric guitar – especially if he’s singing about condensed-matter physics.

I tried to resist, but I was strangely compelled to watch this reworking of that classic-rock anthem “Cocaine” by a bunch of physicists at Georgia Tech in honour of this year’s physics Nobel.

Fortunately the viewer is spared the Jeremy Clarkson jeans and other dad-fashion faux pas that the band members are no doubt making; instead the tune plays over what looks like a selection of Andre Geim’s PowerPoint slides.

Highlights include the verses:

“If you got bad gates and need quantum states…graphene”

and

“Don’t forget Dirac, straight bands are a fact…graphene”

and the chorus:

“She goes fast, she goes fast…graphene”

Actually, it’s not a bad version with some smoking riffs by Mike Duffee on guitar and a smoky vocal by engineering professor Paul Neitzel.

Makes me think I should dust off my axe, slip into a pair of M&S ComfortFit jeans, and pen a little ditty. Or maybe an entire concept album called “Tales from Topological Insulators”.