Up, Up and Away: Songs for Balloon Boy's iPod

Last week, America was captivated by the saga of Falcon Heene, the six-year-old boy we were told was floating across Colorado in his father's experimental weather balloon. We were so riveted, in fact, that media outlets struggled to find airtime for other equally important stories, like Madonna getting sued and Beyonce canceling a show in Malaysia.

But all Rocks Off could think of, while we were watching that incredible flimsy foil contraption, that was supposedly keeping a 40-pound boy aloft, was: "If only that kid had some music for his voyage." After all, any trip is boring without tunes, so for any of you other wannabe balloon kids out there planning on trying this at home*, here are our suggestions.

*Don't try this at home.

Nena, "99 Luftballons"

On second thought, it's probably for the best that he didn't listen to this. If word got out that someone of Japanese ancestry was flying around listening to German music, it might have started a panic among Colorado's WWII veterans.

The 5th Dimension, "Up, Up and Away"

Well, duh. This admittedly goofy tune won the Grammy in 1968 for Best Contemporary Group Performance. But before you start feeling all superior about current musical tastes, recall that the 2007 winner in the same category was "My Humps." Those tuxedos aren't looking so bad now, are they?

Foals, "Balloons"

From the video alone, Foals reminds us of the band the Tri Lambdas put together for the Greek Games at the end of Revenge of the Nerds, which fits with Heene's dad wannabe-scientist aspirations. And as far as bands named after horses go, we'd rank Foals just above Wyld Stallyns and just below the Ass Ponys.

Robyn Hitchcock, "Balloon Man"

Not so fast there. After all, you don't earn the title "balloon man" until you've joined the Montgolfiere equivalent of the Mile High Club.

Goo Goo Dolls, "Black Balloon"

While it may seem lately like the "B" in all the major networks' names stands for "Balloon," rest assured that our abbreviated attention spans will soon relegate the Henne family to the dust bin of history. Right next to the Goo Goo Dolls.