Awesome Music

Musician Jack Fliegler (aka “ToxicxEternity“) arranged this heavy metal tribute that seriously expands on one of today’s most familiar sounds: a stock iPhone ringtone. Our next request: the classic Nokia ringtone. Oh wait.

Redditor Muffinizer1 says his Uncle Aoch was “super proud” of this video, in which the ol’ man sings a cover of Hugh Collins’ timeless jazz song Bill Bailey with a recording of himself. Now you can have a quartet, uncle.

La Blogotheque presents indie folk artist Andy Shauf and his band performing a single from his upcoming album, The Party. If you like Elliott Smith, Bright Eyes and other sad bastard music, you’ll love Andy.

Ice Music is an annual performance in Luleå, Sweden where the instruments and the concert hall are mainly made of ice. Ice sculptor Tim Linhart started it more than 20 years ago when he realized that the upright bass he carved was actually playable.

REM frontman Rip Van Winkle Michael Stipe dropped by The Tonight Show to turn in a haunting performance of the David Bowie’s 1970 classic in advance of The Music of David Bowie charity concert slated for NYC on 3/31 & 4/1/16. The 4/1 concert will be streamed live.

“It’s like Terminator, but with vegetables.” Régis Raffin’s hilariously odd music video for Republic of Rock N Roll’s Cyber Killer sees a dystopian future in which being a vegetarian is outlawed, and killer robots are programmed to hunt down and kill Earth’s remaining veggie eaters.

Charlotte-based crooner Anthony Hamilton and the Hamiltones do a set for NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concert to promote his new album What I’m Feelin. He opens up with Amen, a single from the new album, then does three songs from his older releases.

A completely silly, low-budget 360º video featuring the vocal stylings of a capella group VOCA People. Their all-white outfits and makeup are just goofy, but there’s no denying their musical talents. Be sure to check out their impressive Disney Medley too.

Musicians The GAG Quartet turns in a lighthearted tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that combines metal, salsa, and a bit of tango. Despite how that sounds, somehow it all works. Though Mozart might not be too happy with what they did to him in the video.

Somebody’s Heine’ is crowding our icebox. An suprising and awesome cover version of Weezer’s 1994 classic Say It Ain’t So performed on cello and djembe by Break of Reality. Be sure to check out their frenetic System of a Down B.Y.O.B. cover too.

An oddly soothing (and just plain odd) cover of Radiohead’s 1997 dark societal commentary No Surprises played entirely on kazoo. The fact that it took over 5 years for the internet to discover this video is astounding.

Musician Stephen Campbell lets his fingers fly across the frets in this mesmerizing bass guitar performance of his original composition. Grab the studio recording from Soundcloud. Be sure to check out his pal Robert White’s trance guitar performance as well.

Shit Robot’s captivating EDM track features Hot Chip’s inimitable Alexis Taylor on vocals, and is accompanied by a fascinating work of motion art by Kevin McGloughlin that will pull you in with its layered, ethereal imagery. Check out more of Kevin’s technique here.

One of our favorite 1980’s guilty pleasures is the music of German synth-pop band Kraftwerk. Andy Westphal feels the same way, and performed a fun cover of their track The Robots with the help of his son Hudson. Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance.

Night Verses drummer Aric Improta shows off an impressive bit of showmanship in which he performs a backflip between two drum kits, and manages to keep the rhythm going with only the briefest of pauses in his solo.

(PG-13) The first episode of Viceland’s music documentary series Noisey focuses on Kendrick Lamar and Compton, where everyone has the same dreams as the rest of America, but the paths they take are twisted by poverty and violence.

The electro dance duo return with a catchy disco track featuring Cat Power on vocals, with a brief cameo from the Beastie Boys’ Mike D. It may not be the Cassius you’re familiar with, but you can still dance to it.

A physical release of Hotline Miami‘s excellent soundtrack, spread across three 12″ vinyl records. All 22 tracks have been remastered, and also come with four bonus songs. The sleeve features original art from El Huerto and Protski. Limited to 5000 copies.

Musician Rob Scallon once again digs out his one-string shovel guitar and shows that it doesn’t take multiple strings or frets to rock out, as he turns in a very respectable performance of RATM’s Killing in the Name on a garden tool.

The latest from dance rock duo Spencer Petersen and Thomas Carroll aka Sego. The entire album is streaming on YouTube, accentuated by looping art from renowned gif artist Gustavo “Kidmograph” Torres. It’s also on Bandcamp.

The Chrome Music Lab Experiments are easy to use web-based apps that let you create music or play with sound right on your desktop or mobile browser. Just a few years ago stuff like this was available only on professional software.

Pulsing lights slowly reveal the stunning beauty of the Philip Johnson Glass House in the music video for Nebula, the lead single from ambient musician Julianna Barwick’s upcoming album Will.

(PG-13: Language) Producers Mick and Chi Duly mark Notorious B.I.G.’s 19th death anniversary by dropping this cool mixtape featuring some of Biggie’s most popular verses juxtaposed against the beats of phenom beatmaker Metro Boomin. Thanks Karlo!