Awesome Music

Turn up your speakers to 11 and scream at the top of your lungs to this re-upload of Leo Moracchioli’s excellent 2016 metal cover version of The Cranberries’ classic Zombie. It’s loud, intense, and apropos of the blood-boiling things going on in the world at the moment.

From 2010 to 2017, The Onion’s A.V. Club invited musicians to cover songs from a list of diminishing choices as the season went on. This amazing collection vanished a few years back, but has resurfaced on the YouTube channel Alvin Untercover. Bands include TMBG, GWAR, Punch Brothers, and more. Watch ’em before they’re gone again!

This documentary takes us inside the world of one of the most outrageous acts ever, GWAR. Along with interviews with the band’s members, you’ll hear how the masters of trash metal have influenced everyone from Weird Al to Bam Margera, and the hard work that goes into their fluid-soaked stage shows. Coming to Shudder on 7.21.22.

(PG-13: Language) Whether you’re a photographer, writer, musician, or in any other creative field, you’ve probably been approached by someone who wants your work for free in exchange for “exposure.” Laura Jane Barnes of Woah Dude has clearly had this degrading experience and wrote a little song about it.

Some of the spiciest peppers in the world come from India, so it’s only natural that the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers would fit right in. Musician Andre Antunes shows how that works by adding some Flea-inspired bass rhythms to a famous red carpet improv by Jalandhariye vocalists the Nooran Sisters.

Pianos must be able to play hundreds of thousands or possibly millions of notes during their lifetimes. This fascinating video shows how one piano manufacturer tests their mechanisms while loosening up any stiff parts before delivery. The machine has 88 “fingers” that each strike a key in rapid succession.

Just when we finally purged Los Del Río’s mind-numbing hit Macarena from the furthest recesses of our brains, remixer Bill McClintock had to go and put it right back in. Only this time, it’s been combined with the Disturbed track Stupify. Yep, this is definitely another disturbing creation.

Musician Seb Skelly turns The Human League’s 1981 new wave hit Don’t You Want Me? into a jazz tune, performing all five parts of his arrangement for brass quintet. We sort of miss the synthesizers, but Seb’s version is pretty great too.

The last time we checked in with German oompah band The Heimatdamisch, they were playing G N’ R’s Sweet Child ‘O Mine. This time, they turned the AC/DC track Highway to Hell into a festive polka, but not before trying to convince us that it was a regular rock cover.

It might not have 512 floppy drives, but the Device Orchestra has plenty of heart (and googly eyes). So crank up the volume, and get your day started right with a performance of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now that will have you buzzing like an electric toothbrush.

It was just yesterday that we paid our respects to Floppotron 2.0. As we hoped, Paweł Zadrożniak was at work building an even bigger and better electromechanical band. Floppotron 3.0 has 512 floppy disk drives, 16 hard disks, and four flatbed scanners for a richer and fuller sound than its predecessors.

Same as it ever was… or maybe not. The Talking Heads track Once in a Lifetime is a true classic. Ross Hudson wanted to know what the vocals from the 1980 track might sound like without the music and posted this clip of David Byrne’s isolated voice, which gives the song a whole new texture.

Paweł Zadrożniak’s electromechanical orchestra has entertained millions with over 120 covers of popular songs. Now, the Floppotron 2.0 is being retired, and Paweł is sending it off with a performance of Andrea Bocelli’s Con Te Partirò, and there’s not a dry eye in the house. We’re hoping he’s just making room for Floppotron 3.0.

When we watched Sesame Street, The Count helped us learn our numbers. But in Psychostick’s alternative-universe kids’ show, Kermit is responsible for the math lessons, and apparently he’s not very good at it. Let the numbers hit the floor.

Beatboxer Tom Thum shows off his versatility by using his throat, mouth, and a digital looper to create a synthwave track that would be right at home in a 1980s science fiction flick. He might look goofy as he makes noises, but he sure sounds good. They should hire Tom to do music for season five of Stranger Things.

Whenever we go to a mall, the music they’re playing is some kind of canned garbage designed to make you spend more money. But these shoppers were treated to something way better – pianist Glaucio Cristelo, who played an epic cover of Foo Fighters’ Everlong. His channel is filled with many more great performances.

Stranger Things season four has reignited the popularity of the Kate Bush track Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). Musician Jake Brodes of Drunk Uncle imagines what the 1985 classic might have sounded like if it were sung by Hank Hill instead of the enigmatic singer/songwriter.

Tenacious D’s 2022 covers-for-charity song is a trio of classics by The Who – Pinball Wizard, There’s A Doctor, and Go To The Mirror! Jack and Kyle bring their usual mix of humor and melodrama to the medley, which is available on streaming platforms, and an exclusive 7″ single, with proceeds going to Everytown for Gun Safety.

Do you like to create videos, but don’t know where to get music you can legally use when publishing to YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and other places? This bargain-priced library includes 896 royalty-free tracks you can use without copyright worries. Another great deal from The Awesomer Shop.

Hit play, rock hard, and ride free, super freaks. Rick James and Judas Priest team up for the latest of Bill McClintock’s unlikely musical mashups. Steve Perry and Journey pop in for a little vocal showmanship along the way.

Puddles Pity Party takes on haters and trolls by doing what he does best – singing away the pain. His mashup of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid and The Police track Driven to Tears is the perfect combination of madness and sorrow for the Sad Clown with the Golden Voice.

The opening of D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 Bob Dylan doc Don’t Look Back – featuring the zeitgeist Subterranean Homesick Blues clip with lyric cue cards – has gotten a redo with contributions from dozens of artists, designers, filmmakers, and musicians including Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, Jim Jarmusch, and Wim Wenders.

(PG-13: Language) Want to know the true story of Blackbeard’s last stand? Look no further than the music video for Alestorm’s track The Battle of Cape Fear River. It’s just one of the pirate metal tracks off of their latest album Seventh Rum of a Seventh Rum. Turn captions on for lyrics – including the guitar solo.