Awesome Music

Branson, Missouri performers Paul Harris and The Cleverlys turn in a twangy bluegrass cover version of Beck’s 1994 alternative anthem Loser. Get crazy with the Cheez Whiz.

Pianist D Wave mashed up two seemingly mismatched tunes, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee and John Williams’ Imperial March from Star Wars into a single cohesive track. There’s a hint of ragtime jazz in there for good measure too.

(PG-13: Language) “My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana, you mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bamma.” Beyoncé drops the hammer on all manner of haters and uses herself as bait to remind us of her home states’ woes. The song is exclusive to Tidal.

(PG-13: Language) “Just go play it live. Just play it live.” Foo Fighters’ frontman Dave Grohl spoke to Off Camera’s Sam Jones about Kurt Cobain, embracing mainstream success, his advice to (good) aspiring musicians and more.

Beat Breakdown reveals how Madlib sampled Johnny Guitar Watson’s Give Me My Love, Junie Morrison’s Suzie Thundertussy, Larry Graham’s Stand Up and Shout About Love, and Ghostface Killah’s Mighty Healthy to make the barebones music for Kanye’s latest single.

Well here’s something we didn’t know was a thing until today: Siri beatboxing. Here, Chinese beatboxer Heartgrey spits some mad mouth sounds while backed by Apple’s digital assistant reciting the answer to “what is 100 Trillion to the Tenth Power?” Oh, and this guy.

A brief demonstration of the shockingly good audio capabilities of a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero computer, as the bargain priced computer replicates the sounds and music of the iconic Doctor Who theme music. Remember when you needed a $1000 synthesizer to do this?

Prepare to have fun fun fun fun… YouTuber Mike Diva made a parody trap track using clips from the infamous kazoo episode of a little known ’80s TV show called Special Friends. You can buy the extended mix on Mike’s Bandcamp.

Indie folk artist Mendeleyev covers Huey Lewis and the News’ 1984 Vietnam War song Walking on a Thin Line without having listened to it. We prefer the original, but Lev did well bringing out the confusion and rage in the lyrics.

Multitalented musician Kawehi’s latest track is yet another wonderful cover version, made entirely her own. While it might not be immediately apparent, she’s transformed Led Zeppelin’s classic track Ramble On into a punchy electro-pop groove.

A hilarious, yet impressively accurate lip sync of The Bee Gees’ classic, as performed by comedian and Cirque du Soleil stage performer Jimmy Slonina. We now have The Barry Gibb Talk Show stuck in our heads. Also, Jimmy just he put a spell on us.

During a recent appearance on BBC Radio 2, original Life on Mars keyboardist Rick Wakeman plays an incredibly moving piano tribute to David Bowie. This track and Space Oddity are now available with the artist’s royalties going to Macmillan Cancer Support.

For his latest video redub, Mylo the Cat has Kermit the Frog channeling Rikrok’s vocals, and The Swedish Chef perfectly cast as Shaggy as they take on the classic reggae-rap track. All we can say is that Miss Piggy is gonna murder Kermie this time.

While on a trip to Africa, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard took the opportunity to remake the music video for Toto’s 1982 hit Africa. The end result is part silliness, part picture postcard, and part low-budget home vacation movie. Also, it’s time for a suspicious gorilla meme.

While digging around YouTube, we stumbled onto a true talent. Musician Christian Cuevas has a smooth and powerful voice that will pierce you to the soul, and won’t let go. Seriously folks, this guy deserves a major record deal. Check out more of his tracks here.

(PG-13: Language) The talented jerk that is Mark Kozelek aka Sun Kil Moon goes on barely controlled rambles about being mystified and being grateful for love amidst the droning waves by post-metal band Jesu. Even if the first track isn’t your thing, give the others a chance.

Guitarist Billy Watman turns in a fingerstyle rendition of Queen’s magnum opus which would be impressive if played by anyone, but it’s even more amazing that he’s just 14 years old and can play like this. More on Billy’s YouTube page. (Video by Tony Goode)

Sia, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots cover The Dixie Cups’ acoustic rendition of the Mardi Gras song Iko Iko, with the not-so-special participation of Natalie Portman, who seems to have mellowed down from her Lonely Island days.

Piers Faccini and Dawn Landes perform Heaven’s Gate, a single from their beautiful EP Desert Songs. After their first collaboration in 2013, the two talented folk artists wrote and arranged what would become a calming and mystical collection.

YouTuber Davie504 is back with the second batch of his favorite bass lines, including the ones in Black Sabbath’s N.I.B., Kool & The Gang’s Celebration and Justice’s D.A.N.C.E. At this point we’re more impressed by his stamina.

8 Bit Universe has made hundreds of chiptune cover versions of popular songs across the ages. From Devo to The Eagles, from Journey to Beastie Boys. The also make 8-bit versions of TV and movie theme songs. Though we think the ones with vocals should be sung by a robot.

“And the last thing she told me: I love you. Yeah that was beautiful.” The music video for Monument is about Charles “Lala” Evans. In 2011, shortly after his wife Louise passed away, Lala turned their house into a museum dedicated to their nearly 60-year marriage.

Beck teamed up with The Chemical Brothers provide the soothing vocals on their ’80s tinged synth track, accompanied by a minimal, yet visually stunning music video by directors Dom & Nic, with visual effects by The Mill. From the album Born in the Echoes.