Awesome Music

Musician Eric Coquin Poirier is the leader of a one-man band. He also likes to engineer his own musical instruments. Here, he shows off his Harp Reactor, an unusual wind instrument that holds up to a dozen harmonicas and is played sort of like a concertina. We’re guessing Michael Jackson never imagined Beat It could sound like this.

’80s kids will almost certainly remember the Mr. Mister track Broken Wings. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the hit track, the band gathered in the studio and proved they’ve still got it. Lead singer Richard Page is a rare talent who can still hit every note in their original key, while the instrumentation sounds even better than the original recording.

A slapophone is an instrument that makes music by banging a paddle on a PVC pipe. Maker Ivan Miranda created a version that can be played via a MIDI controller. His system uses motors to adjust the length of the pipes to change notes and to move its slappers. Musician and composer Lou Wiss demonstrates just how amazing the electromechanical instrument is.

With the help of Suisse Tourisme and Travel Switzerland, music producer Thylacine spent 16 days touring some of the Swiss nation’s sights and sounds. Along the way, he captured more than 200 sounds which he edited together into a rhythmic composition that celebrates the nation’s beauty, from rivers and waterfalls, to glaciers, to a cheese cellar.

The Kiffness made us laugh out loud with his silly remake of the 2011 Awolnation track Sail, which cleverly replaces the original’s synthesizer with the irresistible snoring sounds of a dog deep in slumber. Blame it on his floppy cheeks, baby!

Known for their richly emotive and atmospheric sounds, Air is a band that defies categorization. We were fortunate to see the French group in concert earlier this year. Now, thanks to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, you can too. The group turned in a hypnotic performance of tracks from their albums Moon Safari, Talkie Walkie, and the score for The Virgin Suicides.

The 1993 Portishead track Glory Box is a trip hop classic. The talented musicians of Brass Against gave it their own spin by performing the largely electronic track on brass and string instruments. The icing on the cake? Sophia Urista’s incredible lead vocals, which are every bit as compelling as Beth Gibbons’ original.

Musician Joshua Woo takes the Kate Bush track Running Up That Hill and transforms it into a Cure song. Not only does he nail Robert Smith’s emotive vocal style, he captures the musical nuances of the long-running alternative band. An MP3 is available on Joshua’s Patreon. His Cure-ified versions of Don’t Stop Believin’ and Rebel Yell are great too.

Just mentioning The White Stripes album Elephant conjures the chords of Seven Nation Army. Now, fans of the 2003 garage rock classic can put Jack and Meg White on their bookshelf. These ReAction figures from Super 7 capture the duo in their white and red outfits, with Jack’s electric guitar, and Meg’s drumsticks. Toy collectors, grab the Get Behind Me Satan figures too.

It’s the first morning back to work from a holiday weekend, and you might need something more than the usual cup of coffee to get going. This energetic ska cover of the Inspector Gadget theme from Jeremy Hunter aka Ska Tune Network will get you go-go-gadget-going for the day.

The loud screech in the House of Pain track Jump Around is unmistakable. For decades, it’s been debated where that sound sample came from. But contrary to popular belief, it’s not from the Prince song Gett Off. Music breakdown channel Synthet reveals the surprising origin of this sound, along with the similar Insane in the Brain screech.

David Byrne squeezed more than a dozen musicians behind NPR’s Tiny Desk for a stripped-down set inspired by his Who Is the Sky? tour. Wearing bright blue suits and carrying marching-band-style instruments, the group performed Everybody Laughs and Don’t Be Like That, along with Talking Heads classics (Nothing But) Flowers and Life During Wartime.

Japan’s Open Reel Ensemble is back with another captivating performance. They arranged six reel-to-reel tape players in a triangle formation and connected them with magnetic tape, making music by hitting the tape with drumsticks, causing it to rub back and forth against the playback heads.

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox has been entertaining us for years with wonderful cover versions of classic tunes. Their take on The Eagles’ 1977 hit Hotel California has a jazzy sound inspired by Cuban nightclubs of the mid-20th century. Rogelio Douglas, Jr. turns up the charm with his warm vocals and dance moves to accompany the smooth Latin beats.

Paisley pop pioneer Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate is back on the concert trail in support of his pulls-no-punches autobiography. The book candidly reveals Wynn’s now-sober (though fuzzy) rearview of his earlier slide into low-level rock ’n’ roll Babylon, and rollercoaster ride playing tiny gigs to major label tours and back again.

It’s been a long time since The Pink Panther series ended, but its music lives on. The musical mayhem makers Les Fo’Plafonds performed the Henry Mancini classic on a wacky mix of noisemakers: rubber chickens, squeaky pigs, and PVC pipes. Their YouTube channel has other treats like Thunderstruck on pots and pans and The Simpsons theme on bike pumps.