Awesome Music

The slide whistle is one of the goofiest-sounding musical instruments out there. Now, thanks to the engineering smarts of mitxela, we’ve now got a way for a computer to play music on a slide whistle using MIDI commands. It uses a pair of servos and a scissor mechanism to move the slide, and a pump to blow into it.

Remix master Eclectic Method chopped up pieces of classic martial arts action to create this entertaining music video. Watch closely, and you’ll see that every punch, kick, swoosh, and shout is part of the rhythm. For some reason we’re reminded of Parappa the Rapper.

Wicked Lasers shows off a neat use for its LaserCube programmable laser projector and LaserOS software. By syncing up the laser’s beams with MIDI keypresses they’re able to project colorful lights onto the keys of a synthesizer, synced perfectly with the music being performed.

Singer Robyn Adele Anderson applies her smooth and emotive vocals to this unique cover version of Led Zeppelin’s classic Immigrant Song. The jazzy arrangement is very different from the original’s aggressive guitars and wailing vocals, but it’s no less intriguing.

Members of the U.S. Army Band celebrated this past May the Fourth with a great orchestral version of Ludwig Göransson’s emotive and exotic theme from The Mandalorian. The performance is filled with wonderful woods and big brass sounds, but it’s strange to see musicians playing wind instruments with masks on.

A few years back, John Lagomarsino of The Verge recorded the sounds of various keyboards and edited them together to create a catchy and rhythmic track. The dozen keyboards used include a vintage IBM PC mechanical keyboard, a classic Olympia manual typewriter, and an Apple eMate portable computer.

(PG-13: Language) Back in 2008, comedian and actor Will Ferrell joined musician Dave Grohl on stage for an unlikely but hilarious performance. Sit back and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime duet of Stevie Nicks and Don Henley’s 1981 classic Leather and Lace.

Videogamedunkey presents the debut single off of his fictitious album “Yo Peter, pass me the meatballs.” The prolific video game reviewer offers up a rap about his mad YouTube and gaming skillz set to the tune of The Notorious B.I.G.’s Mo Money Mo Problems, which itself is set to the tune of Diana Ross’ I’m Coming Out.

The members of 40 Fingers put their capable digits to good use with this awesome four-part cover of the Dire Straits track Sultans of Swing. They did Mark Knopfler and company proud with this richly-layered acoustic arrangement of the rock classic.

A pipe organ is about the last instrument that comes to mind when we think of the pop-punk sounds of Green Day. But Wir sind da likes to defy expectations. So here it is in all its glory – a cover of Boulevard of Broken Dreams on a church organ. Check out their channel for more unexpected covers, including some Backstreet Boys.

There I Ruined It destroys another popular track. This time they combined the Sir-Mix-A-Lot hit Baby Got Back with the classical sounds of J.S. Bach, under the direction of conductor Leonard Bernstein. Our anacondas don’t want none of this.

Musician The Kiffness took footage of a strange-sounding kitty known as the “Alugalug Cat” and turned it into a smooth and mellow groove, adding just the right mix of electronic beats and velvety vocals to the cat’s melodic meows.

Finnish folk band Takapotku offers a fun, acoustic take on the 1999 Darude track Sandstorm, replacing the electronic synthesizer and drum machine beats with fiddle, guitar, drums, banjo, mandolin, accordion, and flute.

Kylie Minogue’s 2001 pop hit Can’t Get You Out of My Head is one of those songs you just can’t get out of your head. Leo Moracchioli’s heavy metal spin on the track is just as much of an earworm, though it might make them bleed more.

We’re used to musician Luca Stricagnoli performing fingerstyle arrangements of popular music on guitar. This time, Luca turned his attention to a classical composition – Mozart’s Serenade in G from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and played it on a six-string banjo. We love how he used that little bow to make violin sounds.

During their appearance at VAX LIVE: The Concert to Reunite the World, Foo Fighters performed a version of the rock classic Back in Black. To help celebrate their first concert in front of an audience in over a year, they invited AC/DC frontman Brian Johnson to perform lead vocals. (Thanks Harriet!)

For the first time since 1980, John Willams’ special concert suite from The Empire Strikes Back is being pressed on vinyl. The disc comes in black vinyl from Varèse Sarabande, Ice Planet Hot Blue from Vinyl Me Please, Imperial Grey Marble at Newbury Comics, and Cloud City Orange at Canada’s Sunrise Records.

Musician Jamie Dupuis offers up a great acoustic cover version of the 1970 Black Sabbath classic Paranoid, performed on his unusual hybrid string instrument that combines a guitar and a harp. This arrangement replaces the angry electric sounds of the original with a softer, but still ominous sound.

Inspired by a mechanical drum-playing machine designed by Leonardo Da Vinci, this LEGO music maker by Giuseppe Acito uses a series of pegs placed onto a spinning wheel to trigger sound sequences as its “fingers” press keys connected to synthesizers.

(PG-13: Language) Created as an April Fools joke back in 2011, the Clone Hero track Soulless 6 was designed to be impossibly difficult. It took 10 years, but someone has finally beaten the track with a 100% Full Combo score. Don’t blink, or you might miss CarnyJared’s fingers as they go flying across the frets of his video game guitar.

Imagine for a moment that The Beach Boys hired Ozzy Osbourne as their lead vocalist. Now click play on this video and imagine no longer. DJ Cummerbund’s unlikely mashup combines Ozzy’s earnest track Mama, I’m Coming Home with the California surf sounds of Fun, Fun, Fun.

As a follow-up to their track All Together Now, the guys from OK Go asked their fans and followers to submit collaborative art and media that illustrates people’s appreciation for each other. Among the videos is this great Symphony from Home collaboration performed by musicians located all around the globe.

A guitar typically has six strings. Even if you break one, you still have five to make music with. A follower of guitarist Ichika Nito wanted to know if he could play a song with just a single string, so he obliged. Can you imagine what he could do with a two-string guitar?