Awesome Music

Milwaukee garage trio Violent Femmes’ first new original song in 15 years. We’re bummed original drummer Victor DeLorenzo is gone, but singer Gordon Gano’s distinctive voice has always been the hook for us. From the EP Happy New Year.

Vocalist Robyn Adele Anderson and Postmodern Jukebox crank out a jazzy rendition of Coolio’s classic Gangsta’s Paradise, set in the heart of the prohibition era. We kept expecting Nucky Thompson to make an appearance.

For his latest edit, sample-master Eclectic Method took sound bites from the Terminator universe, and mashed them up into an edgy electronic track loaded with the sounds of weaponry and futuristic killing machines.

Mashup master Neil Cicierga managed to combine two of the most incompatible tunes – Hall and Oates I Can’t Go for That and Metallica’s Enter Sandman into a single track that’s just so bizarre that it’s actually brilliant.

The Instrument 1 is a USB MIDI controller that can be played like a guitar, violin, piano and more. Its pressure-sensitive pad and companion app lets you play multiple notes per string, trigger a different instrument per string and more.

The guys from The Warp Zone and Dodger PressHeartToContinue turn in a fun rendition of the closing theme song to cult classic cartoon The Powerpuff Girls. The costumes are almost as entertaining as the singing. Especially Mojo Jojo.

Musician Sam Meador performs an incredible rendition of Avicii’s hit Wake Me Up, as he shows off his impressive percussive guitar skills. His covers of MGMT’s Kids and The Church’s Under the Milky Way ain’t too shabby either.

(NSFW: Language) Forget about throwing diamonds in the sky. Kanye’s on his flamethrower game. All Day serves as a warning that he’s still Yeezus. But this time instead of using Auto-tune and drums he’s just rapping his heart out.

Performer Daniel Koren turns in an unlikely a capella rendition of Nirvana’s classic Lithium, turning it into a finger-snapping, head-bobbing jazz/doo-wop track. I like it, I’m not gonna snap.

The music video for Let Go, a single from Afro-pop band The Very Best. Pixel artist Johan Karlgren of Päppas Parlor used Perler beads to create the 8-bit style stop motion animation.

Electronic maestro Dan Deacon made the staff of NPR work up a sweat in this amazing live set and impromptu dance party. Press play and wild out to Feel the Lightning, Sheathed Wings and Learning to Relax, from his album Glass Riffer.

(NSFW: Language) Bronsolino rides a laser shark, posts up on Godzilla and dunks while getting his hair done in the hilarious music video for Actin’ Crazy, a cut from his major label debut album Mr. Wonderful.

Greg Johnson of Acoustic Labs pays respects to Leonard Nimoy, Gene Roddenberry, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan and the other greats who we’ve lost from the Star Trek universe with this moving musical tribute. Download the track here.

An excerpt from Peasantry or Light! Inside of Light!, a ten-and-a-half minute epic from Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s upcoming EP Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress. It’ll make you want to rip your shirt off and celebrate life.

A single from Jackrabbit, the upcoming album from indie pop band San Fermin. As noted by The New York Times (paywall), in Emily composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone juxtaposed a dance-friendly instrumental with verses about loneliness.

Alex Boye and his bandmates aren’t fooling anyone in their old people’s makeup, but that doesn’t make this afro-pop cover of Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars megahit any less fun and funky. Download the track on Bandcamp.

Andy Rehfeldt took the classic kids’ tune Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Disney’s Mary Poppins and gave it a bit more of a hard edge. And yes, that’s a girl singing the Julie Andrews part.

Cellists Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser crank the energy level up to 9000 for this amazing, frenetic performance of the Muse classic Hysteria, done as only 2CELLOS can do it. One of the numerous epic tracks on their new album Celloverse.

“Was I in your way when the cameras turned to face you? No room in frame for two.” A single from Death Cab’s new album Kintsugi. Part of us wishes Ben Gibbard was Transatlanticism sad. Then we remember we’re not psychopaths.

Masters of the dancefloor Hot Chip worm their way into our ear canals again, kicking off their new album Why Make Sense with this smooth groove called Huarache Lights. The album drops 5/18/15, with a support tour this May & June.

The 2014-15 Louisville Leopard Percussionists, aged 7 to 12 practice a medley of Led Zeppelin classics Kashmir, The Ocean and Immigrant Song, played on marimbas, xylophone, vibraphone, drums, timbales, congas, bongos and piano.

Alex Fitts aka The KickDrums brought his electronica-infused style of rock to create this brooding remix of Sleeping Limbs, a track by indie rock artist Joey Vannucchi aka From Indian Lakes.

The kids of Bob’s Burgers rock out to Sleater-Kinney in the official music video for A New Wave, from their blast from the past new album No Cities to Love. A rare sighting of Tina feeling things. And not staring at butts.